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Being in rapport is the ability to enter someone else’s model of the world and let them know that we truly understand that model.
To be able to establish rapport is one of the most important skills a salesperson can have. It is the ability to form a powerful common human bond and develop long-term relationships with customers.
Most sales people are trained to convince, persuade and manipulate the buyer by tricks and closing techniques. That was based on the assumption that the sales person knew best, and that the buyer had made bad choices in the past, had paid too much, got a product of inferior quality or received poor service. People will buy what they need. With that belief in mind; sales calls are easy, help the person find out what he needs, create an environment of agreement so that he feels comfortable with you, and if he needs what you’ve got and is in a position to buy it, he’ll buy it.
One of the fundamental rules of communication is that we to operate from the customer’s map. We need to create a buying environment. (A buying environment is a rapport-filled, relationship based, interactive climate in which a person with a need gets informed support in the manner most comfortable to him/her regardless of the outcome.) A buying environment demands a comfort zone to establish trust and rapport – to create a “we space.”
What are your personal beliefs around creating a relationship?
The knack then is to learn how to be in sync with strangers in order to feel comfortable. And rapport means being similar enough not to notice the difference. It is a highly individualised skill; different people will establish rapport with their customers in different ways. To some extent connecting is a matter of "chemistry" and chemistry is not always found between people.
If a salesperson is aware of the importance of building a bond, however, and makes an effort to do so, he or she will increase the likelihood of establishing rapport. Sincerity is the cornerstone of the salesperson's establishing a bond with the customer.
To get into rapport, we must learn to be comfortable on three levels:-
1. Physical (voice and language patterns)
2. Mental (shared interests)
3. Emotional (beliefs, values and goals)
"When people are like each other they tend to like each other"
Take any relationship between two people and you will find the first thing that created their bond was something they had in common. How do we create rapport? We do this by creating or discovering things that we have in common. This is called "mirroring".
The Secret of Rapport – PACING
Pacing means meeting the other person where he or she is, reflecting what he or she know and assumes to be true and matching some part of their ongoing experience. We can pace a person’s mood, body language and speech patterns (including speech, tonality, volume, and the words phrases and images the other person uses. You can pace their beliefs and opinions. You can pace their breathing patterns
Pacing is a way of building trust and credibility
The degree of rapport that you establish with a customer depends on your ability to MIRROR that person. Mirroring means getting into rhythm with the person on as many levels as possible. When you are mirroring that person in such a way that you are talking the way that he or she talks, sitting the way that he or she sits, moving in the general patterns that he or she is moving, breathing in the same general rhythms, and appearing to share the same values, you are establishing the basis of rapport.
Emotional Mirroring
If a person is emotionally down and you approach them with an enthusiastic, "back slapping", hail and hearty manner then rapport will not be established. The reverse is also the case, if the person is feeling on top of the world and you are obviously having a bad day, then the person will not want to be dragged down to your level of emotion. Meet the person at the emotion they are displaying. If it's frustration or anger you experience with them not at them.
Posture mirroring
Posture mirroring can be thought of as body language mirroring. Much of posture mirroring is done from the chin up. Posture mirroring is certainly not "monkey see, monkey do." This would look ridiculous and probably insult the other person. The technique called "cross over posture mirroring" is very effective at developing rapport with people.
If your customer crosses his arms then you cross your legs. If they rest their head in their hands, then you touch your chin. If your customer’s hands are in his pockets then you should put your hands in your pockets or fold your hands in your lap. Obviously matching the other person's body language should not be overdone. But done subtly, it can help to build rapport with a customer.
Tone and Tempo Mirroring
The tone and tempo of your voice are just another way that you can establish rapport. Tone and tempo is how you speak, not what you say but the way you say it. 38% of the impact of a message is how we say the words!! It's the speed, loudness, inflection and rhythm. Each of us tends to speak at a pace that we enjoy listening. The rate of speed varies among individuals and among cultures.
Values and beliefs mirroring
Values and beliefs mirroring means that you do not step on the other person’s values and beliefs. You should avoid using the word BUT because it negates everything you said before it. e.g..” You have a lot of great books in your bookcase, but I don't see any best sellers?" "It really is a lovely meal, but I'm not all that hungry". The best way to establish rapport is to not take exception or be argumentative, HOWEVER or AND is a better bridge if you wish to move from one supposition to another.
Shared interest
Shared interest can be an extremely strong rapport builder. You should demonstrate to a customer, for example, that you fully understand their problem and together you will work on finding a solution. If there is something that you can relate to that you also have an interest in e.g. children, football team, weather, etc. Then you can use this shared interest to build rapport. Be careful not to sound insincere and calculating!!
Studies have also shown that one of the skills that highly successful people in business have is the ability to build a strong rapport base before moving into influence strategies. This is a very valuable skill in selling and the foundation of all long-term business relationships.
Traditional sales methods and closing techniques don't work. Build valuable relationships by asking the right questions and watch your closing ratios soar.
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Rapport usually happens at a level that we are unaware of so people will say that they had a gut instinct or a feeling to describe having a good or bad rapport with another person. Statements such as ” I had a good ...
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website
Dianne Crampton
Dianne Crampton is an Executive Leadership Coach and Team Building Consultant and creator of the TIGERS team development model. For the past twenty years she has helped leaders and teams achieve goals with high levels of collaboration and teamwork.
Crampton is a published author. Her contribution to Working Together: Diversity As Opportunity was endorsed by Stephen Covey. She has written for trade magazines. Merrill Lynch nominated her business for Inc. Magazine’s regional small business and entrepreneurial awards. Her work with Native Americans was recognized at a United Nations sponsored conference in 1994.
The TIGERS model passed two rigorous validation studies in 1992 and 1994. The TIGERS Survey is able to measure and track team development over time.
Dianne is also the creator and distributor of the TIGERS Team Wheel game. This game helps groups identify behaviors that build collaborative groups and behaviors that cause conflict, morale problems, production failures, and misunderstandings.
For more information, or to subscribe to TigerTracks, a free monthly leadership and team newsletter go to http://www.corevalues.com - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website
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Colly Graham
(Visit Colly's Website)
Colly Graham CEO of salesxcellence After
graduating from college, Colly entered the
field of accountancy however after five
years decided to change his career
direction in sales. First working for a
Fortune 500 company in fast moving
consumer goods, his career progressed from
selling capital equipment, financial
services to internet services, with a wide
management experience in both telephone
and field sales, concentrating on the
recruitment, training and development of
sales people, in this role he gained
experience in designing and building a
number of successful sales teams. Colly
brings thirty years of practical
experience of selling and his ability to
empathize with sales people and establish
immediate rapport and credibility as a
trainer, (the accolade Colly receives from
most sales people is “that he has carried
the bag”). A licensed practitioner of NLP
Colly trained with Richard Bandler in
1998. When I entered the field of sales,
back in 1969, with local franchise holder
for Pepsi Cola because of my lack of
knowledge of any selling skills I set a
goal, to one day, start my own training
company. As my career in sales progressed
becoming a sales manager, group
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