Building Rapport

you need to work at your customer's comfort level, not your own.

What happens in the first few minutes of a sales visit sets the tone for the entire meeting. It helps to break the opening down into three critical steps: Building rapport, confirming the agenda, and moving into the meeting itself.

At the start of the meeting, make sure everyone is comfortable, knows who is who, and has a chance to connect informally. Encourage small talk or a discussion of general business conditions. Use your intuition to decide when to move on -- you need to work at your customer's comfort level, not your own. Here are a few ideas to help you get off to a good start:

• Look around the client’s office for something to trigger conversation, such as a picture or trophy.
• Compliment the customer on their office or facility -- but you must be sincere.
• Thank the customer for their time.
• Discuss something you know about their business -- a relevant news event, for example -- to show that you've done your homework.

ACTION POINT: Be prepared and seek to create a level of comfort with your client.