Sales trust is something one earns and is certainly required in order to make a sale. Without trust, there is no rapport or connectivity. Sales and sales results are based on trust. Securing trust should be your first objective in the sales process.

How do you secure trust in your sales approach today?

Do you talk about yourself; your products and services; and your company?
Do you look around for something of interest to the prospect, such as a golf trophy on the office shelf? Do you offer a firm handshake?

If you use any of these traditional sales techniques, you should stop immediately. In today’s market, you will not secure trust or respect in the field of professional sales by using out dated techniques.

Trust comes from building a rapport. Rapport is derived from the French word meaning “to bring back”. Nero Linguistic Programming (NLP) states that our body speaks louder than our words, especially when referring to building a rapport with a customer. Body language attributes to 70% of rapport building while tonality falls in second place at 23% and words are a mere 7%.

If your body speaks louder than words in building rapport, what must you do?

The technique is known as mirror and matching. It is a sales technique that comes naturally to some sales professionals, but not easily to most.

You automatically build rapport with people who remind you of yourself. This is called commonality. You want the customer to think you remind him or her of himself or herself. Mirror and matching the manner in which people shake hands, walk, stand, sit or gesture is complimentary and shows the customer that you are in sync. This works with tonality and by using the same words.

However, be careful with mirror and matching. Don’t ever mimic! If you mirror or match a prospect, do so gradually. Take your time and allow the change in your body language to evolve naturally.

An additional sales tip on building rapport and trust is to ask open ended questions on topics of interest to the prospects. Involve them in a discussion about themselves, their family, their job, their hobbies, etc. Your objective is to get them to relax and enjoy simple conversation. . The more they talk, the more you listen and learn. You will inevitably gain their trust and amity.

Hence, sales is no longer about you or what you have to offer. It is about the prospect and meeting their needs. You must view the sales approach as a new and interesting relationship. It is a significant communication for today and in the future.

Tags: increase sales, sales coaching, marketing and sales strategies, sales techniques