How to Build Rapport With Anyone - Part Two

Yesterday we talked about the importance of building rapport with your clients and sales trainer Dave Kahle offered up some advice on how to build rapport with anyone. Today, Kahle is back with a few more tips to help you build rapport and make more sales!

4. Use a sincere compliment

Everyone likes to be complimented. When you sincerely compliment a customer (or his company), you communicate that you are interested in him/her, that you have noticed something they do that stands out, and that you aren't afraid to say something complimentary. Those are all good things.

5. Ask a perceptive question

A perceptive question, asked with sincerity, does everything that a compliment does and then some. When the compliment doesn't call for any response from the customer, a question does. If done correctly, it can initiate the conversation and help the customer feel like you are interested and care about him.

6. Indicate a personal connection

If you have something in common with the customer, mention it. You don't have to beat it to death, just mention it. When the customer discovers that you both know the same person, went to the same school, vacationed in the same place, or belong to the same organization, he realizes that you are alike in some ways. It's easier to do business with someone who is like you.

7. Tell a short personal story

It doesn't have to be a major digression, but a short story about something personal is a great rapport builder. Something like this:

"Boy, I had a hard time getting here on time. I must have run over some glass or something sharp, because about half way here, my right front tire went flat. Took me a while to change it. Glad I made it on time."

That's short, it's personal, and it's a bit transparent because it reveals something about you, as a human being. And, it's something to which everyone can relate.

"Building rapport is a science with proven practices and tactics," says Kahle. "Use any of these techniques and watch your ability to create rapport improve, and thereby smooth out the way to more sales."

Dave Kahle is the President of the DaCo Corporation, specializing in helping business-to-business companies increase sales and develop their people. Learn more at www.davekahle.com