Mirror, mirror…

I wish all my prospects were just like me — it would be so much easier to sell to them! But that’s just not the case. People are who they are, and it’s our job as salespeople to make them feel comfortable with us.

One very effective rapport-building technique is to mirror your prospects’ behavior. Reflecting their body language and demeanor back to them quickly puts prospects at ease — the first step in building a relationship with them.

The toughest person I ever had to deal with was a man called Don. He was wonderful — seriously — a real nice guy. But I dreaded talking to him. Before picking up the phone, I’d have to close my eyes, take a long, deep breath and then slowly exhale. I would do this multiple times to calm myself down before calling. Why? Because Don was the world’s slowest talker.

If I caught him on the phone, I might say “Hi Don. This is Jill Konrath calling.”

“Ohhhh, Jillllll. Howwwww niiiiiice of yoouu to callllll. Weee’ve beeen trying to deeeciiiiide if Tuuuuuuuesdaaaaay or Thurrrrrsdaaaaay is beeeeeettttter for the demonnnstraation.”