Are you feeling the pressure of missed sales targets and a team losing motivation? You’re not alone. In a world where remote selling and digital self-service are everywhere, the personal touch is becoming a rare commodity. Yet, it’s this very scarcity that can set you apart.
74% of B2B buyers choose the vendor first based on the value they get from the interaction (Source: Gartner)
In 2024, as organizations invest in emerging technologies to drive business and digital transformation, worldwide IT spending is forecast to increase by eight percent, reaching approximately five trillion U.S. dollars. This surge underscores the urgency for tech company owners like you to adapt and thrive.
Empathy is the key to influencing by fostering genuine connections and providing what your customers need for them to keep talking to your sales team and to buy your product. As with any social interaction, empathy has no script. Let’s deep-dive into a roadmap to show empathy and convert your sales opportunities with these steps and the conversation guide “cheat sheet” to start putting empathetic rapport into practice.
"In sales, you don’t have to be the smartest, you just have to be the most empathetic." - Simon Sinek
What is Rapport Building?
Building rapport is the bridge to your client’s trust and loyalty. It’s about making a true connection that goes beyond just a sale. This guide will help you set the basis of your playbook and templates that your whole sales team will follow to get genuine interactions that lead to lasting relationships.
This is the essence of the Sales Rapport Roadmap. It’s not about manipulating a sale; it’s about understanding your client’s world so profoundly that your solution becomes their idea.
“Negotiation is the art of letting the other side have your way” - Chris Voss
As we embark on this journey together, remember that every missed target is an opportunity to refine your approach. With the Sales Rapport Roadmap, you’ll transform your sales approach with your commercial team and build rapport without alienating clients—because when they succeed, so do you.
🏀 Your Game Plan
Before you meet, and before any salesperson meets, do your homework. Understand your client’s business, their challenges, and what they value. This knowledge shows you care and lays the groundwork for empathy.
Preparing every customer interaction
Research both the company and the people you will be interacting with beforehand to build a good foundation in your plan which you can later validate.
Company - objective, recent developments, values, business model, internal structure, competitors, types of customers
Person - career path, current role, professional/personal interests, common acquaintances
Remember things they have already told you before (concerning your project or even about personal matters)
Main conversation framework
For yourself and your team, establish the goal of the presentation: is it to start a conversation, to reach a specific stakeholder, to start a proof-of-concept (POC), to make a final decision, etc.
Is the content flow aligned with your goal?Keep a light, professional, and genuine conversation starter. Start with a warm greeting and a personal touch.
Provide context through a quick recap to align everyone on where you are and why are you having today’s conversation
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Set expectations regarding: outcomes, content to be covered, and time length (how long will you take? and make sure to respect it)
Has your team practiced the content flow given different slots of time available?Close on time your conversation
Summarizing key points and agreed actions
Expressing appreciation and setting up follow-up steps
After the meeting, reflect on what went well and what could be better. Take notes on the client’s interests for future conversations.
*Tip: hold biweekly or monthly meetings to incentivize reflection, best practices and exchange what works for different members of the team.
“We do not learn from experience . . . we learn from reflecting on experience.” - John Doerr
🔥 Build Trust
The role of transparency
Be clear about your offerings. “Our product can help with X by doing Y. I want to be upfront about what it can and can’t do.”
Honesty fosters trust.
"Trust is the lubricant that makes commerce work" - Dale Carnegie
The integrity you demonstrate as a person will build bridges to enable or disable a business relationship. Remember that trust, once lost, is hard to regain.
How do you build trust?
Be transparent in your sales process
Be empathetic
Be honest in your interactions with customers.
Keep promises and commitments
Solve any problem quickly and efficiently
👋 Empathetic rapport-building
The 3 ingredients for the secret sauce to scale sales
Communication
Active listening
Forget sales monologues and focus on listening carefully to your prospect's needs, emotions, and goals.
Listen more than you speak. Nod and respond with phrases like “I see,” or “That’s interesting, tell me more.” Show you’re engaged and value their input.Empathetic language usage
Use phrases like “I understand where you’re coming from,” or “Your concerns are valid.” This language resonates with clients and shows empathy.Mutual understanding
Guarantee understanding from both parties, confirm by paraphrasing what the customer said, and also ask for confirmation from the customer to make sure they are on the same channel.Handling client responses
Provide a positive reinforcement of client’s statements: acknowledge their answers. “That sounds challenging. Our clients have faced similar issues, and here’s how we’ve helped them…” Guide the conversation gently.Identify emotions
Pay close attention to gestures, position changes, or behaviors between the customers’ team that could tell you more about the customers’ emotions. Since not everything is words, identify the client's emotions to focus on; when you do, dive deeper, for example:What is the main concern on your mind?
You don't seem to agree with X what is it that doesn't match your expectations?
Storytelling
Align your storytelling based on what the customer is going to get, and provide real and measurable benefits.
* 🗞 * If you also got access to the B2B clear messages guide, you’ll have a set of main offer formulas to start applying today - make sure to check it out in the additional resources of your access request.
For example, align your messages by asking yourself:
What's in it for them?
What can they learn?
How can they look good?
How can they earn money?
How can they save time?
How can their lives be made easier?
Asking engaging questions
Ask open-ended questions. “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?” These questions invite clients to share more about their needs.
Important! Remember:
- preparation is everything
- don't ask obvious questions
- challenge by the quality of questions
- don't interrogate, hold a conversation with empathy
- every question you ask must have a distinct and purposeful aim
Empathetic conversational guide
You’ll find the full script for open-ended questions based on the customers’ funnel stage in the documentation guide below.
Take Action Now. You’ve made a connection, now take the next step. Book a call to make sure your whole team incorporates empathetic rapport to successfully turn connections into growth. Let’s talk!