I recently met with a contractor that I was incredibly impressed with. This gentleman, Ralph, was 87 years old and he was still running his business and doing much of the sales work for the company. He came out for a sales visit so that he could provide an estimate for the services that he would perform. The first thing that he did, that no other salesperson did: Ralph gave me a big, genuine, sincere compliment. He admired the house that I was building by looking up at the ceilings, pausing briefly, and then looking me in the eye and saying with a smile, “This must have been one tough build.” He then paused again. I then became excited to talk with him about the build and how we constructed the home over the coldest winter months. Ralph just listened to me talk and tell the story.
Right then and there, I knew I wanted to do business with him. He was genuine and gave me a flattering compliment. What a way to kick off a meeting with a potential client! He also listened and didn’t do all the talking. Ralph knew the value of building rapport. I would have hired him if I was creating a salesforce! Somewhere along his 87 years of experience, he learned these very important selling skills. NO OTHER SALESPERSON did what Ralph did. Not a one out of the half-dozen contractors that I met with. This equates to 80% of the other salespeople missing the mark (remember the old 80/20 rule?).
Ralph and I continued to talk together and discuss my needs and his services. It was a very well-balanced conversation. He also provided me with a few options on his services so that we could make the numbers work. Ralph walked out with a $5,000 deposit check from me that day. He built enough trust with me in that short period of time for me to make my final decision and to write him a check. I suppose that is what 87 years of experience will do!
But even without all those years of experience, you can do exactly what Ralph did. Start off your next meeting with a SINCERE compliment to your customer about them or their business. Be genuine about it and truly mean what you say. Then listen. This will help you build incredible rapport early in your meeting. Let the customer do the talking about their needs and when applicable, discuss briefly how your services would best fit the client’s needs. If you are a solid fit, tell the customer how confident that you are in being able to provide them with exceptional service and quality. Provide options and then ask for a shot at the business.
But before you can do all this, you MUST build rapport and you can do this by making a sincere compliment to the customer early on in your visit. Try this during your next sales engagement and let me know how it goes. On occasion, some customers may take your compliment and seem even-keeled, giving you mixed signals. Others will show appreciation and will get more excited to talk with you. Regardless, it certainly won’t hurt as everyone likes a genuine compliment!
-Happy Selling!