How to Build Rapport the Right Way! - Over the phone or Physically - (With a few sample scripts)
What does building rapport mean?
A rapport which is successfully built means that - After a prospect is done talking to a salesperson over the phone or meeting with him/her physically - the prospect now sees the salesperson as the following:
- As a sharp, enthusiastic Expert (not just an expert but a smart/sharp one) who can solve their need, help them get what they want, and they can take his advice.
- Someone they like and can work with personally.
- Someone who can help them make decisions.
- Someone who cares not just about the sales but about them (not after their money to screw them up)
- Someone who understands them better.
- And many more...
Remember that we are talking about building rapport here, not presenting your offers, not talking about developers not offering projects! Just building RAPPORT!
INTRODUCTION
The most powerful way to get a report is to establish yourself as a sharp, enthusiastic expert. The real report is to ask the prospect relevant questions using the right tonality and then those little grunts and groans, your facial expression, hanging on to every word. What does that say? It says, I care. I'm interested. And there comes the power of building rapport. Wait first! Are we on the same page? There are many things you think you can't use as a salesperson while building rapport, but believe me, they're just things that are part of the power of positioning. I rely on these, but in a practical system. I, use, them, every, single day of my life! They have helped me build meaningful and massive rapport and established long lasting relationships.
Consistency Technique
Most salespeople tell me that many prospects disconnect from them after the first call or the first meeting - they promised to do something, but they didn't do it. This means that the rapport was lacking something called consistency. Meaning people want to remain consistent with things they say out loud, right?
So, if you could get people to commit themselves and say it out loud - you could eventually be able to commit them to taking the actions that you want them to take.
Me towards the end of a sales call…
Me: John, for the presentation of the Al Habtoor Tower, what time works best for you?
Prospect: Monday, around 2pm or maybe Tuesday at 3pm, I don't know (he was indecisive about the timing)
Me: (I made a sound in affirmation with a power word “excellent”) Let’s lock down a time, I am putting it on my calendar right now at 3pm Tuesday, that's a good time for you, yes? (Here I helped him make his very first decision)
Prospect: Yes Diamond (he agreed)
Me: Okay 3pm your time, that's 11 am my time - what I am going to do is lock it down on my calendar right now (as I say this, I simultaneously write it down or mark it in my calendar).John, can you do me a favor real quick?
Prospect: Sure
Me: (Said this with a smile but with seriousness) John, save my contact on your phone or write it down somewhere, put a dollar sign in front of it (maybe a million dollar) - "Diamond, Dubai real estate Advisor - 1m dollar" because that's what this presentation we'd do on Tuesday is going to be worth to you.
Prospect: (Smiles or nods in agreement) ok, no problem!
Me: John, is there any reason why you would not be available on Tuesday at 3pm your time for this presentation that would help making an informed decision?
Prospect: NO, THERE IS NO REASON! Except if I'd be busy!
Me: Great John, I understand you are a busy man - there's nothing as important as being busy, sir - nothing at all - except what I am about to show you on TUESDAY AT 3 PM. So, see you on Tuesday, 3 Pm your time!(We both laughed and closed the call with some greetings)
What I did above was to repeat Tuesday 3pm as many times as possible and I also made him say it out loud that there is NO REASON why he wouldn't make it! if he got 3 calls about real estate that day, he would not forget me!
See, I am not promising you that this will be the case with every prospect but what I know for sure is that when you use this, it will work 70% of the time and for the times it wouldn't work - you would walk away knowing fully well that you have done everything possible and that no one else would have done it better! You don't want to finish a call or a meeting feeling like you didn't know how to handle them better!
Reciprocity Technique
Another is that you have to know how to use reciprocity techniques to build rapport.
Imagine when you give someone a compliment - there’s this innate subconscious obligation to return the compliment to you right? By giving someone a compliment, you are creating some amount of reciprocity. Or when you care for someone, they kind of feel obliged to return the favor.
It's like the golden rule. Do unto others as they do unto you. And then at a higher level, I have sent someone a book on a first call before, I have sent someone a “welcome to the investors club” box before after a first meeting - they haven't even invested yet when I did that - but because I had done my qualification to see how serious and motivated they were - I knew they were motivated, they have the ability to buy and we have created a need. So, I used that as a subtle way of getting them to subconsciously feel obliged to invest through me.
I'd just send them, you know, and they received this book with this box and my handwritten card customized for them, with a customized pen. They had some value and they felt obligated because of reciprocity. Okay? They felt obliged to essentially get back on the phone again, to come to my office and we were able to book a few units of apartments.
Note: You don't have to use gifts or books - but think of what you'd do to them or say to them that would oblige them to want to reciprocate or want to keep talking to you - then do or say those things and watch how you'd be building massive rapport with prospects.
Third party technique
People want to act, also called consensus. People want to act with the crowd, okay? They most times want to do what they are sure, or they heard that other people have done and were successful! Also, they want to work with someone that they know other people have worked with successfully. Of course, use real, traceable third-party stories.In their minds, these people are experts, these projects are working - for people to have tried it out and for them to have done it through this person - there is something he is doing right.
Use as many third-party stories and testimonials as possible inside your conversation, while talking, give references, cite examples of people you have helped, use examples of certain challenges and how you skillfully overcome these challenges, talk about a certain problem and how you solved or handled it. Even without being asked, direct their mind to the kind of products and services you want them to pick by using third party technique.
Likability
And lastly, likability. You know, people want to do business with people who are just, people who process the world, who see things generally the same way, who understand. That's what that really means. You get it? Active listening.When you actively listen to someone and let them feel like you care, hang onto each word that comes out of their mouth and you are not listening to respond but you are actually just listening to understand them better. The best way to do this is NEVER to be thinking of what your next answer will be when they are done talking - but just listening! What you will say (the response) will be found inside one of the things that they are saying by themselves.
Please focus on that this week and going forward. But make this your active listening when you're asking questions, you're, uh -huh. Mm -hmm, mm -hmm, mm -hmm. Yeah, oh, uh, yeah, I got it. You are nodding your head, and making gestures like; Uh -huh, yeah, make, oh, mm -hmm, mm -hmm. , uh -huh, mm -hmm -hmm. Then, watch your tonality when you ask your question.
Ask your question in the right tonality.
Tonality and Asking questions using the right tonality
So, you might say to someone who appears to be skeptical about investing in Dubai; “Ahmed, if you don't mind me asking - what's your biggest worry right now about Dubai real estate investment? You know, what's really keeping you up? I mean that one thing right now with your current investment or past investment that's just really, you know, kind of not going well as you envisaged?”
What did you notice in the way the above question was asked?
It is different from “Why don't you want to invest in Dubai?” - yes they may both produce the same answer but the first question will build more rapport than the second one, the first one [if asked with the right tonality] will pass a subconscious feeling to the client that you really do care to know what happened and not just interrogating them so you can use their answers against them.
PRO TIP
When you sit in front of a prospect - remember to lean forward into emotion, and empathy (when the client or you are talking about something that is emotional or requires empathy - lean forward, use a soft tonality and look into their eyes quickly and look down, look into their eyes again and briefly look up before you return your eyes back on them)
So, you lean back for logic, and use your hands - in this sense, avoid too many explanations and use only “power words” - straight to the point and factual. If after you went logic, the client dragged you into emotions - fold into emotion. Those elements of body language, tonality, those grunts and groans - That's where real rapport gets built.
Over to You
Have a great rapport building strategy I didn’t cover here? Let me know in the comments. Visit my blog website; Dubai Real Estate Advisor - Diamond Ilori (site123.me) Text me on WhatsApp at Share on WhatsApp
