Episode #5: Use These Three Powerful Sales Amplifiers

Building rapport in the first meeting with a prospective client is a critical make or break for establishing likeability or trust. The first three to thirty seconds is vital, so what do we need to do?

Here are three things we need to get right:

1. Pay attention to our dress and our posture! Looking sharp and stand straight – this communicates confidence. Walk in standing straight and tall, stop and then bow or shake hands depending on the circumstances. If there is a handshake involved then, drop the dead fish (weak strength) grasp or the double hander (gripping the forearm with the other hand). The latter, is the classic insincere politician double hand grip. Some Japanese businesspeople I have met, have become overly Westernised, in that they apply a bone crusher grip when shaking hands. Don’t do that.

2. When you first see the client, make eye contact. Don’t burn a hole in the recipient’s head, but hold eye contact at the start for around 6 seconds and SMILE. This conveys consideration, reliability, confidence – all attributes we are looking for in our business partners. We combine this with the greeting, the usual pleasantries spoken with supreme confidence, “Thank you for seeing me”, “Thank you for your time today”. Now, what comes next is very important.

3. We segue into establishing rapport through initial light conversation. Try and differentiate yourself with something that is not anticipatory or standard. Be careful about complimenting a prominent feature of the lobby, office or the meeting room. Say something unexpected, intelligent and memorable. For example, “Have you found your brand equity with your client’s has improved since moving here?”. This get’s the focus off you the salesperson and on to the client and their business.

Having a good stock of conversation starters should be basic for every salesperson. It might mean imparting some startling statistic that they may not have heard. For example, “I read recently that the number of young people aged 15-24 has halved over the last 20 years, are you concerned about future talent retention as demand exceeds supply?”. We might educate the client with some industry information they may not be aware of, but which would be deemed valuable. We face a lot of competition for the mindspace of our prospective clients. To counteract that possible external pre-occupation and to get them back in the room with you, use a question – it works every time.

Remember: Refine an image through dress, posture and eye contact that projects confidence; stock your opening comments such that they are really well differentiated from all of your competitors, who have swanned in ahead of you; provide useful business references to introduce something new to the client that gets the attention off you and on to the client’s business