3 Enhance your Telephone Sales Skills with Rapport
Alan Stewart on Aug 05 2007
Rapport is a process of responsiveness. It is literally the magical ingredient of persuasion. It is best understood through the simple presupposition or convenient belief:
“when people are like each other they tend to like each other.”
Witness two people who are in rapport, who are responding well to each other and you’ll notice they become more and more alike. As they share commonalities they unconsciously start to imitate each other’s physiology, tonality, and language patterns. Hypnotherapists refer to this as mirroring and matching each other.
In some cases the rapport is so strong, when recalling the conversation, an individual may believe that the other person’s dialogue was their own. They will often argue to the contrary even if you were to produce a taped version of the discussion. Imagine your delight if a client started telling you why they should buy your product or service.
If you truly believe that what you are selling or recommending is of genuine value for your client, then why not utilize the power of unconscious communication? Be like them intentionally to increase their responsiveness and give them the opportunity to truly evaluate what you have to offer.
THIS IS THE SECRET OF STAYING ‘IN PROCESS’.
To do this you’ll need an understanding of…
The Components of Communication
Research shows that only:
7% of communication is words,
38% is tonality, and
55% of communication is physiology or what one does with their body.
When speaking on the phone we are primarily concerned with words and tonality. At first glance, unless you’re video conferencing, there is very little use of physiology to convey your message. But in the future I will share with you a little known technique using your physiology to enhance your ability on the phone.