Building Rapport

“Build rapport.”

It’s one of those pieces of sales advice everyone agrees with.

But what does it actually mean?

For a lot of salespeople, it means a few minutes of small talk at the beginning of the meeting.

“How was your weekend?”

“Did you watch the game?”

“How’s the weather?”

Then we mentally check the rapport box and get down to business.

But that’s not really rapport.

Rapport is connection.

And connection comes from curiosity.

If you want to build rapport with someone, learn something about them.

Ask a question you genuinely want to know the answer to.

“How did you get into this business?”

“What brought you here?”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“What do you enjoy most about it?”

Then listen.

And when they tell you something interesting, stay with it.

Ask another question.

That’s where rapport starts to happen.

The mistake is thinking rapport has to happen in the first five minutes.

It doesn’t.

You can build rapport throughout the entire conversation.

In fact, some of the strongest connections happen after you’ve moved into the business discussion.

Someone tells you how they built the company.

Why they chose this career.

What they’re proud of.

What frustrates them.

What matters to them.

Now you’re getting to know the person, not just the prospect.

And that matters.

Because people are more likely to open up to someone they trust.

They’re more likely to tell you what’s really going on.

And they’re more likely to listen when you eventually have something to say.

So don’t make rapport something you do at the beginning of a sales call.

Make curiosity something you bring to the entire conversation.