Having rapport with others is crucial if we are going to move forward together. We need engagement and that begins with rapport. If we don’t have any kind of relational collateral, then we will not be able to ask people to walk with us on a adventure.
First and foremost, we need to remember that when we are hosting meetings, we are asking others to give up one of their most precious commodities. Something they can not add, multiple, but only subtract. It’s their time. Time is the most precious of commodities to individuals and organizations.
We need to make sure that we are focused on others if we are going to build engagement. To do that we need to build relationships with them. The hot word on this topic currently is Rapport. If you have heard me speak at any event / training you know that I believe rapport is something we should start with, but we need to go deeper with others.
That is why I do the house exercise in my trainings to help individuals take the focus off ourselves and onto the others they are engaging with.
Now it is hard to build rapport with people at first because most people are guarded. We need to make extra efforts to build that exchange. We can do a few things prior to meeting with the individuals.
Social Investigating – we can look up their social profiles to learn a little bit about them prior to meeting with these individuals the next time. What are their hobbies, what does their family situation look like, what are their interests, etc. Do they post about certain topics that resonate with us? Where can we find common ground?
CRM – keep a customer relationship management tool in use when learning about people. The more we learn the more we can relate. If they say something in a meeting, or talk about their weekend experience in passing, write it down. We can’t remember everything especially as we get older, but we can review our crm profile prior to meeting with the individual again.
Social Proof – This phenomenon is really effective in growing trust fast. Basically, it is having someone that we know and have a good relationship with that knows the person that we are trying to gain trust and influence with introduce us. The mutual person is actually allowing us to have levels of trust immediately with the new person. Some call it the Oprah Effect that when someone was on Oprah’s show they immediately were known as someone of trust and an authority in their field. It was overnight that these people had authority.
These are a few ideas, but the main topic is taking the focus off ourselves and our needs and turn the focus on others. When we do that, we will grow levels of trust and engagement with others.
Have a great week!
“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet
https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training