National Sales Center

Rapport Must Be Established Before Rapport Can Be Built

I work with salespeople. Often they ask about techniques to build rapport with sales prospects. I quickly remind them that they must first establish rapport before they can build upon it.

People buy from people. Sales reps know that so they are always interested in rapport building strategies. Establishing rapport is one of the most important steps in the sales process. For that reason I cover it in great detail in my sales training programs. However, let’s get back to basics. People buy from people.

This article about building rapport came to me in an odd way. I read that an overweight passenger was removed from a commercial flight yesterday. Some supported the passenger while others supported the airline. So, how is this connected with establishing rapport? Let me again remind you that people buy from people. This point is key in all my sales rep training.

In the case of the airline, let’s change the label from passenger to person. An overweight person was removed from the plane. Using the word person instead of passenger changes the equation. We are no longer talking about a passenger. Instead we are talking about a person… a person with feelings. A person that is just like you and I.

The problem with building rapport isn’t with the prospect. The problem with establishing rapport is with the salesperson. The salesperson is attempting to build rapport with a prospect, a decision maker, a CEO, a CFO, the head of procurement and a whole host of other labels. You can’t establish rapport with a label. You can only build rapport with a person. Once again… people buy from people.

How in the world can a sales rep, salesperson, account rep or an account consultant establish rapport? The first step to building rapport is to forget the labels. Establishing rapport only happens between people. Only when this point is understood and established can the rapport building process begin.

Labels remove the fact we are working with a person and that is the obstacle to establishing rapport.  I don’t even like the term Human Resources. Human Resources as opposed to what? Mechanical Resources. People… it’s about people!

People buy from people. Salespeople must stop trying to build rapport with prospects. Establishing rapport occurs between people and the good news for the salesperson is that they already are a person. When they act like a person and not a rep, they’ll be on the path to establishing rapport.

Just one “persons” opinion!

Nick

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