Establishing rapport in sales

I’ve said it before, and I say it again. Very few prospects will buy anything from you if they don’t like you.

So how do we make somebody like us? One of the most powerful techniques is to establish rapport with the person you are talking to. In few words, creating rapport could be explained as «mirroring» or acting/being similar as the other individual.

Why does this work you might ask? We human beings actually (on a subconscious level) tend to like people who are similar to us. As with anything else in selling or other aspects of life, you get better at doing something the more you practice it.

One of the easiest (and most natural) methods is to share common hobbies/interest with your prospects(at least pretend that you like the same things as them).

If you for instance are having a salesmeeting in your clients office, and you see a big Manchester United poster on the wall, things are pretty certain that he is a Manchester United fan. Simply start asking him questions about that particular soccerteam. He will immediently start talking with true passion, and not only will he start liking you, but you also puts him into a good state of mind (which always is good in the world of selling!).

Copying body language, tone and speed of voice is another powerful technique. If your prospect is talking very slowly, it would be very unwise of the salesperson to talk very fast. If he is talking very loud, you should do the same thing etc.

A final note: It is very important to establish rapport *before* you start talking about your product or service.