Are you establishing rapport or hurting your business success?

Recently, I had a client call and tell me about her experience on the telephone with someone she had looked forward to hiring. My client called a business owner to inquire about her services. The business owner in her attempt to establish rapport ended up losing the sale. The business owner talked excessively about her hobbies. She talked about how she loved to be outside instead of stuck indoors. Her remarks made my client question her commit to her business and the quality of services she would be providing. Another example of a rapport building blunder was when someone told me about her “Girls Gone Wild” weekend and made it sound like it was a regular part of her week. It left me wondering why in the world I would trust her with my personal or financial information.

Have you made a similar blunder when attempting to establish rapport? We all learn that people do business with those they know, like, trust and see as the expert. Take a moment to think about your past conversations. How may the listener have perceived what you were saying? Are you giving away too much personal information? Does the topic of conversation present you in a favorable light? Does the topic discussed present you as an enterprising person or a Negative Nelly? Were you smiling during the conversation or were you tired and grouchy? Could the listener hear the enthusiasm in your voice over the telephone or did you come across as unknowledgeable or disinterested?

Establishing rapport is key to business success. You must:

1. Active Listening: You must actively listen to what the caller is asking. Answer the callers’ questions concisely and confidently. If you do not know the answer just say you do not know.

2. Be prepared: Be prepared to answer any questions the caller may have and provide a written proposal or contract and references to the caller. Do not act like sending a written proposal or a contract is a foreign concept. It will make you look like you do not take your business seriously.

3. Do not be pushy or nosy: Do not be overly aggressive and ask for a credit card payment within the first few minutes of establishing rapport. This scares off potential clients. Also, do not sound or act offended when the potential client states they must discuss your proposal with their business partners. Do not sound amazed or shocked that they are a business with business partners. You must relay to the potential client that you respect their need to review the documents with their business partners or Board of Directors. I do encourage you to set an expiration date in your proposal or contract when sending one so that someone does not wait a year or two and expect the same fee for the product or service.

4. Follow up: Follow up after the phone call with the potential client. Ensure that they received the contract or materials they requested. Ask to clarify any questions they may have. Do not lose the sale because you assumed they received the information when in fact it was eaten by the email gremlins or lost in the mail.

5. Learn from Your Mistakes: Learn from your blunders. Take time to self reflect after a phone conversation with potential clients and think about what went well during the conversation and what you think you may need to improve upon next time. Use step 4 above to clarify anything you think you could have explained better during the phone conversation. Embrace each conversation as a learning experience.

Falling in love with selling over the telephone is not easy for everyone. Establishing rapport sounds easy to do but often it is not. If you do not know the caller extremely well and cannot see them to view their body language, you may not know you are steering the conversation down a slippery slope. Using my five tips above will help you ensure that you are successful at establishing rapport with new clients. When you master rapport building you will grow your business.