Mirroring to Build Rapport
Have you ever just clicked with a prospect? Everything worked from the minute you met. It was an easy sale.
More than likely, you and the prospect share similar social styles. You have natural rapport. You click.
It's great when you benefit from automatic rapport. Too bad it only happens around one time in four. Most of the time, your social style conflicts with the prospect's.
When your style conflicts with the prospect, you don't click. Yes, you can still make a sale, but it's more difficult. In fact, when the salesperson's social style is in direct conflict with the prospect's style, the sale is made in spite of, not because of the salesperson's efforts.
So what can you do? Well, one simple technique is mirroring. Match the prospect's verbal tone and pacing. Match the body language. If the prospect leans back, you lean back and vice versa.
Be careful not to mirror so closely that you mimic the prospect. If noticed, mimicking can be perceived as an insult.
Frankly, it's uncomfortable to mirror a prospect. It's counter to your natural social style, but it improves your focus on the prospect and helps the prospect become more comfortable. Give it a try.
No comments:
Post a Comment