How To Build Rapport

"In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the consumer. It must build trust and RAPPORT. It must understand the customer's needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits." - Jay Levinson

By Patrick Driessen & Tony Jeary

As the above quote by Jay Levinson states; building relationships which are based on trust and rapport are essential to be able to succeed in business and in life. It also is one of the most important success factors for true leaders: building valuable and trusted relationships. For sales executives it is one of the most important success factors in the process to become a trusted advisor of the customer. And... it is a proven fact that building and having valuable relationships increases your happiness, which helps you to become even more successful!

So what does building rapport means? The Dictionary.com website defines 'Rapport' as follows:

1. A relationship of mutual understanding or trust between people
2. A feeling of sympathetic understanding
3. A sympathetic compatibility.

In the world of presentations, all of these can apply. In our context, Rapport is an important connection made between the presenter and the participants based upon some level of real or perceived commonality.

Why: Rapport is important because it reduces tension. It allows the audience members to be more open to your message, more likely to accept your logic and facts, and be ready to respond favorably to your proposed actions. Without rapport, the presenter is at risk of being dismissed out of hand, without getting a chance to get the facts on the table or argue the case. In extreme cases, people may say (to themselves) "Who you are speaks so loud I can't hear what you're saying."

How: The ability to build rapport begins with knowing your audience. With a clear picture of the participants' backgrounds, likes and dislikes and views on the subject at hand, you can be prepared to build a positive relationship. Importantly, you can also avoid sensitive areas and potential "hot buttons" that might otherwise cause unintentional triggering of emotional reactions.

Below are ten specific suggestions on how to use your audience knowledge in a positive way to build the rapport that you need to succeed:

1. Meet & greet beforehand, and turn these people into Audience Champions who can provide support during the session.
2. Make contact. Shake hands, and when appropriate, demonstrate warmth by placing a hand on their shoulder or even by giving a hug. Read their body language and use yours to effectively communicate with them.
   
3. Use a Host Introduction. This provides trust transference and establishes initial credibility.
4. Demonstrate that you've done your homework. Communicate the research you've done and the knowledge you have about the participants' situation. Share their thoughts, and express the doubts that they may have about you or your proposition. Show how what you're going to say directly relates to and benefits their world.
5. Understand that like attracts like. When people are similar to each other they tend to like each other. When people are not like each other they tend not to like each other. Language and attire are the first tip-offs - if you're presenting to a corporate board, suit up and use the big words. If you're meeting on the plant floor, lose the tie and adjust your vocabulary accordingly.
6. Adjust your body language, tonality, volume, pitch, and speaking speed to suit the audience. These factors can have a significantly greater impact on how your communication is received than the words that you use in your pitch. Especially in one-on-ones, sales situations and small groups, try to match the voice tonality and physiology of the other person. If they are fast talkers and your pace tends to be slow it would behoove you to speed it up. If they sit ramrod straight and cross their legs - you do the same. You will be amazed at how this simple technique will help you make your point.
7. Eye contact is very important as well, both before and during the presentation. As you shake hands, you need to hold eye contact long enough to note the color of the person's eyes. This demonstrates that you care about them personally and can make them feel special. In large room settings where you can't see well past the stage lights, pick target faces in the audience and hold your direction for about 7-10 seconds. Even though you don't make literal eye contact, you'll be perceived as making a connection that will add warmth to your delivery.
8. Demonstrate Caring and Generosity. Give away things of value, make yourself accessible, and incorporate a personal touch. Learn people's names and use them.
   
9. Prove you respect their time: begin and end on time.
10. Be Integer, Sincere and Honest. Trust is the foundation for building a valuable relationship with your audience. This is not something you can fake! To be successful, you must be sincere, integer and honest throughout every step of the rapport building process. Being sincere means believing in yourself, your product, your company and in your audience wholeheartedly. It means believing the unique value of your product or service will benefit the audience you are presenting to. You must be passionate about wanting to help your audience and do so in an honest way. Without sincerity and honesty you have no chance at building the rapport that will lead to vaulable relationships and loyal business! Always remember to relax, laugh, be yourself and enjoy yourself; by building rapport you are really just making new valuable friends!
    

Key Benefits:

• Good rapport, established early, will get you past a critical "credibility checkpoint", and open minds to what you have to say and message you are trying to deliver.
• In addition to basic receptivity, skilled use of the techniques noted above will set you up for a more effective and a much easier "close." People will be open to what your call to action is suggesting.
• In addition to credibility and compatibility for the moment, a good job in building rapport for a single event sets you up to come back again, and gives you a "leg up" for future presentations.
• Strong rapport forms the basis of valuable and trusted relationships from which you can benefit in business and in your private life. It makes you happier and more successful!
  

Action Plan:

• Before your next presentation or group meeting, think about who will be attending and do your homework. Be prepared!
  
• Plan ahead to set up key supporters. Contact and arrange for both a strong Host Introduction and for positive Audience Champions.
  
• Work out the words that both you and your supporters will be comfortable with, and be careful not to go overboard with glowing comments. The rest of the audience will spot an insincere "shill" a mile away. Practice in advance!
  

Additional Reading:

If you would like to read and learn more about building rapport and building valuable relationships, I can recommend the book "How to Win Friends & Influence People" written by Dale Carnegie.

"The most effective way to achieve right relations with any living thing is to look for the best in it, and then help that best into the fullest expression!" - Allen J. Boone

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming!" - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe