In the seven steps of the sales cycle, building rapport is probably the most important aspect of the sales cycle. One thing that we know is that people will do business with people that they like and trust. When building rapport we are also building trust.

The key to building rapport is to master the art of asking questions.

Never ask a prospect questions that you can find on their web site.

e.g. How many employees do you have?  How long have you been in business? Etc…

A good sales person will have done their homework and know the answers to the basic situational questions.

When building rapport, we want to ask the prospect questions that they haven’t been asked before. Every sales person that has come in before you has asked questions based on the pictures hanging on the prospects wall.

We want to ask questions that: a) make them think in new ways.

                          b) your competitor failed to ask

                          c) give you credibility

                          d) develop trust

                          e) set you aside from everyone else

                           f) create value for the prospect

                          g) create relevance of your time spent

Sample Questions:

Does your company look today like you thought it would when you established it? Why did you get into business for yourself? Why did you choose this industry? What do you like most about your role? What industry changes have you seen over the years? What are your future plans for the business? How has technology effected your business? What opportunities for your company have the last few years and the technology change created? Have you always been in this role or have you worked in other departments? What is most important when you hire people? What is the extent of new positions that your organization will be creating in the next year? How are you presently dealing with the skill shortage? How do you develop people internally? What effect does the skills shortage have on your employees? What strategies do you have in place to locate and retain good quality people. How does that effect your business? How does that effect your other employees? How does that effect you personally? How do you feel about that?  

Once rapport is established you can move on the next stage of the sales cycle, permission to proceed.

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