5 Ways to Quickly Build Rapport and Increase Your Sales
When you meet someone for the first time they make initial decisions about you. They are looking to discover whether you have the same viewpoint as them or whether you see the world in the same way they do. If you do, then they’re more likely to trust you and, in turn, buy from you.
1: Open with killer sentences
When you speak with a prospect you want to trigger feelings of trust by demonstrating there are more things you have in common than not. So, start with one fact that you both believe. For example if you work in advertising you might make a comment that advertising is very expensive.
You might then say you wished there was a way to reduce current expenses so there was more money for advertising. Or you might say it would be great if customers could advertise on behalf of organisations so that costs were eliminated altogether.
Opening up a conversation with these sentences is likely to get the other person nodding, engaging and trusting you.
In order to make use of this tactic, do some research online to find something you could share with your prospect. If you can identify something unique or specific to them then you’re more likely to get a positive response.
2: Smile
Smile! From six weeks, babies can respond to their parents’ smile by smiling back at them. Smiling at someone communicates a lot of information very quickly and increases your odds of engagement with them. A genuine smile says, “Hello! I’m not threatening. And I like you,” all in one simple gesture.
3: Get on Message
Getting “on message” quickly is important. Treat people’s time like their money and use it wisely. A classic marketing technique is to focus on the benefits that your product / service provides, rather than the features. However, to make your message even more engaging, start putting it into context. For example, if you’re selling fleet cars mention the fact that a recent customer loved the flexibility of your service and when they needed to downgrade their package they could do so without incurring any fees. Testimonials from existing customers are far more interesting to your prospect than you reeling off a list of benefits.
4: Be humorous
If you are someone who can make most people laugh most of the time, then you are equipped with a powerful rapport–building asset. (If you are not one of those people so gifted, then it’s better to stay away from this.) Laughing together breaks down barriers between people and removes any tension.
5: Create thoughtful emails
Personalize, personalize, personalize. Sending generic emails to huge mailing lists might be quick but it isn’t necessarily very effective at getting a response from your prospect.
In an interview with Ryan O’Hara from LeadIQ, O’Hara indicated that in his organization response rates for poorly written emails were around 4-5%, but with carefully written emails he has seen response rates as high as 35%.
Based on Ryan’s logic he would have to send out 80 non-personalized emails to get the same number of responses as he would from just 12 personalized emails.
Once you’ve established a goal for your email (i.e. starting a good relationship with your prospect) here is how to structure it:
- Explain the reason for your email
- Prove why the prospect is special to you
- Explain who you are
- State a call to action
