Sales Blog: Three Ways to Create Stronger Business Bonding

Often times, sales professionals experience the unfavorable behaviors of their prospects. These habits can be something small like taking days to think a decision over, or not allowing for a reasonable amount of time to discuss their product or service. Sometimes these behaviors can have a direct impact on the sales professional’s ability to sell their product or service. This usually happens because the sales professional and prospect have different ways of communicating and making decisions.

One fatal error for sales professionals is to not to develop a professional rapport with their prospect. A sales professional may have technique, but lack a compatible communication style with a prospect. At the end of the day, people buy from people who are like them.

Here are three ways your sales team can avoid making fatal communication errors when making cold calls or in meetings with prospects:

1. Business bonding questions- Asking business bonding questions allows a sales professional is to analyze the movements and speaking patterns of a prospect and determine the best way to interact with the prospect. By asking question such as “how long have you owned or been with the company?” Or “what got you into the business?” a sales professional can understand more about the prospect from a business perspective and determine how they communicate without committing social faux pas that can occur when attempting to social bond with prospects.
2. Matching and mirroring body movements- When a sales professional subtly matches or mirrors body movements of a prospect, the prospect subconsciously concludes that the sales professional is like them. For example, if the prospect is leaning forward while talking, a sales professional might subtly lean forward when talking as well. This allows the prospect’s mind to observe common characteristics making the sales professional more likable and people buy from those they like.
3. Understanding behavioral styles of the prospect- Looking for key communication factors like fast pace and slow pace speakers, as well as the amount of information a prospect is looking for allows a sales professional to make necessary adjustments to their delivery. By understanding how the different personalities and behavioral styles communicate, sales professionals can communicate in a similar way and give the prospect the information they are looking for.

By utilizing these three tactics, your sales team can better connect and build business rapport with their prospects thereby increasing the number of appointments set and deals closed.