Six Critical Skills</a> for effective <a href=https://www.richardson.com/"https://www.richardson.com/en-gb/sales-training-programs/sales-professionals/consultative-selling//">consultative selling</a>. It is the foundation of a relationship based on harmony or affinity.</p>\n<p>It doesn’t pay to be casual about making connections with clients \nbecause people have a natural preference for doing business with those \nwhom they know, like, and trust. Rapport building in sales seems \nintuitive, but it’s a challenging skill to practise because of its \npersonal nature, and it’s sometimes difficult to mirror behaviour with \nskills.</p>\n<h3>How to Build Rapport in Sales</h3>\n\n<p>Sellers can easily miss opportunities to connect and create rapport \nwith clients when they take the situation for granted, are nervous, or \nare pursuing their own agenda. The salesperson who excels at this \ninterpersonal skill is one who thinks about their plan to build rapport <em>before</em> the client meeting takes place.</p>\n<p>The techniques you must be both genuine to the salesperson and \nappropriate for the client’s style and culture. There doesn’t need to be\n a long, drawn-out process. By paying close attention to how the other \nperson reacts and responds, it should be easy to gauge how much time to \nspend on this relationship-building stage and what needs to be \ncommunicated.</p>\n<p>The following are two simple tactics your sales team can employ to build better rapport with their clients.</p>\n<h3>(1) Build Rapport By Asking Questions</h3>\n\n<p>The best way to build rapport is to use questions that show interest, then listen closely and respond appropriately.</p>\n<p>You should look for authentic opportunities throughout the meeting. \nIn some cases, a client who wants to get right down to business may be \nmore open later in the meeting. And if a visual cue in the office \nprovides an opener, all the better.</p>\n<p>Whatever you learn about the client in one meeting can always be used\n in future meetings, especially with growth in social media. The \nstrength of the client rapport emerges when the connection continues \nafter the sale is made.</p>\n<h3>(2) Build Rapport on Two Levels</h3>\n\n<p>Rapport in sales can be built on two levels: personal and business.</p>\n<p>The internet has made learning about clients faster and easier. Even a\n quick online research session should be enough to provide some solid \nquestions in areas that matter to the client.</p>\n<p>A bonus is that sales professionals also have the opportunity to \nlearn about the larger company culture while researching the individual \nprospect. Such preparation earns their respect and time.</p>\n<p>Here are some quick tips on how sales professionals can use the \ninternet to research information that will help them build rapport:</p><ol><li><strong>Personal Level:</strong> Personal\n information can be found through Google searches and alerts, LinkedIn, \nTwitter, free articles, and other social sites. You can see where the \nclient has worked and in what cities, or you can even discover recent \nconferences that the client spoke at or attended.</li><li><strong>Business Level:</strong> Business\n information is most readily found on the client company website, along \nwith YouTube channels, LinkedIn company pages, and company Twitter \naccounts. Information can also be found on marketing automation systems \nin which you can track what web pages they hit and read.</li></ol><h3>Sincerity is a Key Strategy for Building Rapport in Sales</h3>\n\n<p>Whatever preparation method you use, be genuine. Your sincerity and \ninterest must come through and be perceived by the client. When creating\n strategies for building rapport as a part of the sales process, \nremember these key concepts:</p><ul><li>Be sincerely interested</li><li>Pick up on cues</li><li>Do your homework</li><li>Be client-centric</li><li>Be polite</li></ul>And,\n when you layer on the skills of verbal acknowledgement to what the \nclient says and empathy to your efforts, you will have set the stage to \ntruly and authentically relate and build rapport with sales clients.<br><br><h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=https://www.richardson.com/"https://www.richardson.com/en-gb/sales-resources/rapport-building-sales-ebook//">Download the Full eBook</a></h4>"],"url":[0,"/sales-resources/build-rapport-sales/"],"type":[0,"non_gated"],"livePreview":[0,{"content":[0]}],"className":[0,"flex-7"]}" ssr client="only" opts="{"name":"BodyPost","value":"react"}">
