Category: Rapport and Trust

Listen to this training call with Scott and Noelle Kim with her team of Advisors at World Financial Group (Aegon) to discover the secrets of selling like a pro.  Developing long-term successful client relationships is much the same whether selling individual services to consumers or selling multi-million dollar capital equipment to industrial process facilities.

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I have finally found the perfect system for automating my strategy for building customer rapport, and I must say that it is everything I had dreamed of.

For those of you who want to differentiate yourselves from your ‘peers’ and competitors by vastly expanding your network of contacts and generating a full pipeline of leads that know you and like you, this system is quite impressive.  I have put together a great description of how the system works at www.SalesRaceHorsesCards.com.

Several people have asked me recently, “How do I prevent a competitor from undercutting me, or otherwise influencing my customer to go with the competition?”

The scenario typically goes something like this:
“I just had a great visit with a prospect, and he really seems excited about the project we discussed.  I think he’s going to go with it, but what if  a competitor convinces him that their solution is better?”
My question to them is, “Which of the following 6 key strategies have you implemented to competitor proof yourself?”

Not too long ago, I was inspired by my friend and great sales mentor, Dr. Bob DeGroot - founder of the leading online sales training organization, Sales Training International - to read the outstanding book Law of Attraction.  Then, a couple of days ago I was reading a blog post by John Dornoff on the importance of building rapport in sales.  I thought I’d share my perspective on the connection between the two in this post.

I’ve been pretty successful at B2B sales, sales leadership, and/or sales coaching for more than 20 years, and I advocate John’s points vehemently.

My background and education are in engineering, and I’ve always been able to communicate the technical benefits as well as the value of my products and services to customers…

BUT…That’s NOT what keeps my customers coming back for more…

What keeps my customers loyal to me…

How I competitor proof my services…

“We don’t need your service.”

This objection means one of two things. Either:

“I have no problems related to your services right now,” or
“I am too busy with something else to talk to you,” or
BOTH, which is probably the case.

While customer profiling and targeting are keys to developing new accounts, sales prospecting is still a numbers and timing game. The fact is, you won’t get anywhere with anyone who has no need, whether actual or perceived. There are many ways to overcome this sales objection, and I recommend a good balance of grace and perseverance.

The sooner you establish trust and rapport with your prospect, the sooner (s)he will candidly answer your questions and enable you to understand the nuances of the business situation necessary to identify relevant opportunities for your business. Quickly establish trust and rapport on the telephone or in person with your prospect by following these positioning, pacing, and mirroring techniques.