Building Rapport With Customers – The Key to Successful Sales
Customers need to feel that those they speak to care about helping them find solutions, but acting too concerned could backfire and give the impression that you’re just trying to sell something to them.
Establishing rapport with customers is straightforward: simply be yourself. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
1. Be yourself
Salespersons ability to connect with their customers is now more crucial than ever in this digital era, where customers demand personalized interactions and high levels of personalization. Establishing rapport with your customers can help you delight them, solve their problems, and make more sales.
Step one in creating rapport with customers is being yourself. Aim to exhibit a positive, approachable demeanor while smiling often. Additionally, matching the customers pace will help make them more relaxed.
Avoid sensitive topics, like politics and religion, in favor of lighter conversations about sports or music. Furthermore, use an authentic voice and tone of voice – scripted responses may come across as impersonal and fake; by smiling more slowly with genuine facial expressions you will make customers more at ease and foster trust with an increase in authenticity.
2. Listen to them
People tend to be most interested in themselves, so ask questions about their business, family and hobbies to create rapport. When people feel they are being heard and appreciated they’re more likely to open up about themselves – an essential step toward empathy which in turn builds trust between individuals.
Practice paraphrasing their responses back in your own words in order to demonstrate your comprehension, which will reduce any miscommunication and force you to pay close attention during conversations. Doing this forces you to listen more attentively.
When customers call in with complaints, don’t just tell them their issue has been taken care of; allow them to vent. After listening, take their feedback seriously and implement changes based on it; this will show customers you are committed to improving – and give them another reason to come back.
3. Ask great questions
Asking great questions is one of the best ways to create customer rapport. Customers enjoy hearing open-ended inquiries that allow them to find answers themselves and also appreciate hearing different perspectives on a single issue and working towards creating solutions together.
Preparation is key when asking great questions, so take time to think through what you hope to gain from responses, how best to frame the question without sounding scripted or artificial, and why using templates may put customers off.
Finally, it’s essential to identify points of similarity between you and your customer. For instance, if they mention their hobbies, ask follow-up questions that lead them into sharing more details. Also try using their name whenever possible as research shows that people enjoy hearing it pronounced; hearing their name spoken aloud helps establish rapport faster.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback
Remind yourself that feedback is an act of good will – showing customers you care and are invested in their experience.
Make it more palatable by prepping for the conversation before it begins. Instead of dwelling on how feedback could go-wrong, write out all of its benefits instead. This will keep your motivation high and may encourage your conversation partner to do the same.
Asking customers their name early on and using it frequently will create instantaneous rapport, helping them feel like more than just another customer service ticket in your queue.
Reps should avoid mispronouncing their customer’s name or overcompensating when trying to build rapport, as this may create the wrong impression that you genuinely care about their needs and find solutions for them.
