I’m often met with blank stares when I tell rookie reps that they need to build rapport with a prospect. Mostly because they don’t know where to start.
One definition of rapport is “a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well.”
That sounds like something that would take years to develop! So how can you possibly get into rapport with a prospect in the first few minutes of a phone call?
A lot of sales reps overcomplicate rapport building.
They try to search for something in common with their prospect. They look up the weather in their zip code or read up on their local news—this is trying too hard.
It’s actually much easier than that, and it starts with a simple question: “How are you doing?”
I was recently catching up with one of my friends from college and he was telling me about how he admires his girlfriend’s ability to maintain a close network of friends.
I asked him, “What do you think makes Lauren such a good friend?”
He thought for a second, and to my surprise, he had a very clear three-bullet-point answer:
- Regularly and consistently asking, “How are you?”
- Listening deeply and empathetically to their answer
- Following up and checking in on updates in their feelings
He gave an example of one time when Lauren had asked how he was doing and he said that his back hurt.
She then checked in with him every half hour or so about how his back was feeling and offered different ways that she could help.
She didn’t stop checking in with him until he finally said that his back was feeling better.
Now, switching gears back to sales, our relationships with our prospects are rarely as intimate as this. But the principle remains the same.
- Ask your prospect how they’re doing
- Listen (really listen) to their answer
- Build rapport from there
#1 is something most salespeople already do automatically.
#2 is where improvement is needed.
For example, let’s imagine you’re calling a prospect for a pre-scheduled appointment to pitch them your product.
Salesperson: “Hey Karen, this is Cole from ABC company, how are you doing today?”
Prospect: “I’m alright, just been so busy.”
[Now, here is the golden opportunity to build rapport by asking a follow-up question with a caring tone. Let’s look at the wrong way to respond and the right way to respond.]
“I don’t care” salesperson: “That’s great to hear, so like I mentioned last week today we’ll be going over …”
[If you respond like the “I don’t care” salesperson, you’ve already missed a huge opportunity to build rapport. Instead, respond like this …]
Rapport-building salesperson: “Oh, busy in a good way or busy in a bad way?”
Prospect: “Well, I guess it’s good, but it’s getting really hard to keep up with our growing clientele and I don’t really feel like we’re making much money from these projects.”
Rapport-building salesperson: “Wow, that sounds tough, are you doing anything to solve it?”
Our main goal is to build rapport, but you’re also gaining valuable qualifying information.
For example, if you’re trying to sell an advertising product, and Karen is already saying they have too much business and low margins, that’s a red flag.
On the other hand, if you’re selling a POS system that increases Karen’s margins and helps her business handle more volume, then this is a green light.
But, I digress. This is about rapport building, not qualifying. You can read more about qualifying here.
Now, we’ve established a “point of rapport” with Karen to which we can continue to return throughout the rest of the sales encounter.
For example, when you’re ending the phone call you can say, “Good luck with all those projects!”
Or, if you have to make a follow-up call, you can start that call by asking, “Still crazy busy over there?”
And it all starts with a simple question: “How are you doing?”
The underlying principles of this rapport-building system come from four of Dale Carnegie’s “six ways to make people like you.”
- Become genuinely interested in other people.
- Be a good listener.
- Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
- Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
Prospects buy from salespeople that they like. Rapport building is key to getting your prospect to like you.
At the beginning of the conversation, follow where your prospect leads you. Meet them where they are. Mirror their tonality and mood. Have an honest and genuine conversation about something other than the product or service you are trying to sell.
If you do these things, closing the deal gets a lot easier.