If you’re in business, your main goal is to make a sale. To do this, you’ve got to be able to make people believe in your and your product or service. But because you can’t become close friends or even close acquaintances with every person that you’re trying to sell to, you’ve got to be able to know how you can quickly build rapport with someone so that they feel comfortable buying something from you.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for building rapport during the sales process.
Show Your Happiness
Everything that you do during the sales process will have an impact on the person you’re selling to. Knowing this, it’s vital that you start out on the right foot.
To do this, Jason Aten, a contributor to FitSmallBusiness.com, recommends that you always show your happiness to be talking to someone by smiling when speaking to them. If your prospect is able to see your face, the happiness that you convey through your smile can help to put them at ease when speaking to you. But even if you can’t see each other, people are able to decipher if someone is smiling even through just hearing their voice. So even if you’ve had a long day, try to put on a happy face when speaking to every lead.
Get Them Talking
Once you’ve been able to generate a lead who you know is interested in what you’re selling, the next best thing you can do to build a rapport with that person is to get them talking about themselves.
While this might seem counterintuitive to some salespeople who are eager to share everything about what they’re selling, Dan Tyre, a contributor to HubSpot.com, shares that not only does asking questions and striking up conversation with your lead help to make them feel more relaxed with you, but it can also give you great information and insight to help you close the sale, too.
Be Empathetic In Your Responses
As you’re able to get your prospect to speak to you during the sales process, you’ll want to be very careful about how you respond to what they say so as to lead the sale in the right direction.
To do this, Dr. Jack Schafer, a contributor to Psychology Today, advises that you try to speak through empathetic statements. By responding by saying something like, “So, you…” and then essentially repeating back what they said while also adding an assumption that will lead closer to the sale, you’ll show that you understand what they need while also expressing an interest in helping them.
If you need some help building rapport with your prospects during the sales process, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you achieve this.