Building Rapport With Clients

[DHK]

Small talk and building rapport are not necessarily the same thing. If you want to study small talk, watch with Data and Picard.



But I agree with John Savage: "Before you speak, make sure you improve upon the silence."

Rapport is there once they know that you're on their side and they feel understood and you make them feel important. You can start out by simply asking "Before we get started, is there anything in particular you want to talk about? Or do you have any specific questions for me?" That shows that you're there to serve and find out what's most important to them.

 

[Markthebroker]

That's why he was a trainer. He didn't have the natural ability, but he learned his way around it, and was passing that on to others. If he had an abundance of natural ability, he wouldn't have had to figure anything out, and probably would be a terrible trainer.

 

[MedicareMillionair]

Hello community,

I am rather young (24) and sell Med Supps/ Life Insurance mostly to seniors. I am struggling to build rapport with clients. Occasionally I can find a similar topic to talk about and bond over. Most other agents I have gone on appointments with are much older can talk about vacations, their kids, their house, etc.

My questions are:

How do you build rapport with clients?
Do you have any go to topics?

Any tips would be appreciated!

Dale Carnegie's book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" pushed one primary premise; show genuine interest in others and they will like you. Let me suggest how you should proceed with this in mind.

First, have a list of questions starting with health. Seniors always talk about health, so a good starting point. When you have this conversation, forget about trying to build rapport, simply focus on the conversation. You're probably thinking too much in the process. Don't worry about building rapport, just ask the questions. One should lead to the next. Are they healthy? Does their family help them? Do they have family? What do you do all day? Do you get a pension or just social security? Do you run out of money before the end of the month? Keep asking questions and get better and better at doing this. It'll will become easy.

You have a built-in joke to most of their problems. You could say "Is that what it's like to be old?" always finish the joke with a smile on your face. I always joked with seniors by telling them, since I'm so much younger than they are, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to out live you, so I'll probably be your agent for the rest of your life." Again, with a smile on your face. You could definitely use this type of approach as young as you are. Seniors like to laugh. Bring a little sunshine into the house.

Over time you will develop a portfolio of one-liners that carry you through presentations. Until then, you must work very, very hard to compensate for your lack of sales skills. You're asking the right questions.

 

[somarco]

"Before we get started, is there anything in particular you want to talk about? Or do you have any specific questions for me?"

Wisdom from someone who has been in the game for a while.

If you ask the right questions your prospect will tell you exactly what you need to know to make the sale.