The young salesman took a deep breath and walked into the lobby. Grinning at the receptionist, he tried to sound confident. “Hi there! Is Mike in today?” It ended up coming out much louder than he’d intended. Was loud the same as confident?
The woman behind the desk nodded. “Mm-hmm. Can I get your name?”
“Just tell him it’s Jerry.” Still too loud. He kept the grin going, even though it felt forced.
She looked at her desk calendar and her brow furrowed slightly. “And will he know what this is regarding?”
He dialed the grin down. “Uhm… yeah. Can you tell me where his office is?”
The receptionist was looking less friendly by the second. “He’s very busy this week. If you don’t have an appointment…” She turned back to her computer. “Why don’t you leave a card, and I’ll find out if he’s interested.”
The Importance of Rapport
As sales professionals, we all know it’s true: rapport is critical. Opportunities to build rapport occur throughout all our interactions with contacts and customers, but it’s particularly important to start out on the right foot and establish a connection at the very beginning.
In the opening minutes of any sales interaction, the customer is trying to decide whether they even want to keep talking to us. If we come across as annoying, incompetent, insincere, or – worst of all – deceptive, our customers will shut the conversation down before it even gets started.
1. The Golden Rule of Sales
The Golden Rule of life is “treat others the way you want to be treated.” The Golden Rule of sales, however, could be “treat others the way THEY want to be treated.” A big part of creating rapport with people, especially at the beginning, is knowing – or guessing – how they prefer to interact, and making sure you start in their comfort zone. Some people enjoy small talk; others really don’t. Some people will prefer that we get right down to business, and others want to get comfortable with us first and then ease into the sales conversation. Opening the conversation the wrong way with the wrong person can be a major misstep.
It’s unfortunate that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but luckily for us, there are some loose guidelines we can use to figure out how best to approach our contacts. Even if we have never met the customer before, we can make some pretty good guesses within the first few seconds of the conversation. Figuring out this much about someone in just a few seconds sounds like a magic trick – and actually, this kind of “cold reading” has been used by magicians and fortune-tellers throughout history. Sometimes the most basic of information and some sharp observational skills are all we need to create a general sense of someone’s personality and preferences.
2. Know the Role – Know the Goal
If you know the person’s role in the organization, this is already a huge clue. Depending on their role in the organization, we can get an idea of their goals, challenges, and even what kind of person they are. People with different jobs have different focuses, and people with different personalities tend to gravitate toward careers or jobs that fit their character.
For example, those of us in sales don’t tend to be a shy bunch. As a general rule, we like to talk to people, and we have enough charisma to convince them to talk to us – otherwise, we don’t stay in sales for very long! We all face similar challenges – prospecting, keeping the pipeline full, meeting quota. Most of us are fairly comfortable in social situations, and have a bit of a competitive streak. We enjoy accomplishing things and getting recognition for it.
However, the person we’re talking to may be in a different type of role, and may have a different outlook on things. Here are a few quick guidelines for recognizing who we’re dealing with, what their goals and challenges are, and how best to interact with them.
Administrative Staff – If our point of contact is someone like a receptionist or office manager, we’re talking to the person whose job it is to keep things running smoothly, and to support the activities of the executives. They’re usually well-organized and helpful. These administrative professionals don’t like unexpected events shaking up their plans, though, and will appreciate it if we aren’t too disruptive to the office routine. If we make an effort to be respectful and friendly, though, and show value that may benefit their boss – that is, give them a good reason to help us – often they will.
Technical or Financial Professionals – If we are selling tech solutions or dealing directly with someone who holds the purse strings, we can put odds on meeting with someone who wants specifics, and is concerned about accuracy. They tend to be logical, thoughtful types. Tech people want an effective solution that will integrate with their systems; financial people are trying to maximize their investment. Don’t try to make small talk or emotional appeals with either. Logic is what will win the day.
Executives – The people who end up in charge don’t get there by accident. They are usually driven, goal-oriented, and determined folks. They don’t have time to waste, and what they care about most is getting results. Our best bet is to find out what their most pressing need is, and position ourselves to answer that need. They tend to respond well to a confident, businesslike presentation. The typical executive is more interested in the big picture and working towards strategic goals than in technical details.
3. Hear the Talk, Watch the Walk
We already have an idea of the customer’s primary interests. We can find out even more about their personality and preferences by paying attention to how they talk – their speech patterns, volume, speed, and vocabulary – and to their body language. Reading both speech and body language in a sales interaction is a very dynamic process, as the signals may change depending on the customer’s mood and how the conversation is going. In these first few seconds, though, we’re just getting a snapshot of the customer. A quick assessment of the way a person talks, moves, their facial expressions, and their posture can tell us a significant amount about their personality, likes and dislikes.
For example, people who talk more than listen tend to get impatient with too much detail. If our customer takes the lead in the conversation, and especially if they are fast or loud talkers, we’ll be best off sticking to the big picture. Someone who primarily listens, on the other hand, will usually be more receptive to detailed information. In fact, they may insist on it, particularly those in technical or financial roles. Such detail-oriented, thoughtful individuals may not talk much at first – just listen or take notes. Eventually, though, they will probably ask a whole lot of questions – and we better be able to provide accurate answers.
A customer who comes across as rather brusque or formal – as with many executive types – is likely to be more interested in the task at hand than in socializing. We’ll want to take a very businesslike approach with them; chances are that chitchat would be considered a waste of their valuable time. If they have a strong “executive vibe” – upright posture, squared shoulders, and forceful, confident movements combined with clipped speech – we’ll want to get to the point quickly, or they will become impatient and may not give us their attention for long. Not only that, but they are going to want us to make a very good case for our presence.
More gregarious, people-oriented types will tend to be more friendly and casual in their speech patterns and more welcoming in their body language, at least as long as they’re feeling comfortable. Taking the time to foster that personal connection can pay off for us, especially with the administrative professionals who act as gatekeepers. A little polite, warm chitchat will help them feel more comfortable. Our best course of action is usually to be respectful, friendly, sincere, and not too pushy.
Bonus Tip:
If we can’t readily size up our client’s orientation early in the interaction, it’s a fairly safe bet to break the ice by referencing common business interests. We might discuss other companies whose problems we have solved, or current issues within their industry or company. This type of opening has almost universal appeal – it is business-oriented, while also demonstrating some personal interest. As the conversation progresses, we can continue to assess the customer and gauge how to build further rapport.
Baker Communications offers leading edge sales training solutions for sales makers and sales managers that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.
