All successful businesses are built on a solid foundation of a happy customer base that is loyal and continues to return to you again and again, referring you to new customers throughout their time as one of your loyal customers. In order to have that solid foundation of customers you must first be able to build a relationship with those customers. Each customer is unique and it is important to build rapport in as natural a way as possible to build trust and ensure they have full faith in your customer service and your brand.
A lack of rapport will have a negative impact on your ability to build a relationship, and it is important that there is consistency throughout your organisation, from the sales teams who first make contact with a potential customer, to the customer service teams that deal with returning customers sometimes years down the line. Brand consistency comes in many forms and having a ready-made rapport with a customer is one way where this is displayed in important terms.
You don’t have to immediately become the best buddy of the person you are having a conversation with, instead it is about creating an environment that is relaxed within the conversation, where you can come away from the script if cold calling and use it as a framework to nod to. It is at this perfect point where you can have a casual and natural conversation that is more likely to lead to a positive outcome for you.
It is important to start in a positive frame of mind and remain consistently positive throughout a conversation. This does transmit through to the other person on the call and helps to create a relaxed atmosphere straight away. Start the conversation by asking the other person about his or her day so far, or a simple question along those lines, it helps to relax them and isn’t just a case of dropping straight into a serious sales call.
The other important factor to always be ready and willing to do is to listen to your potential customer. This is a fantastic way to build rapport. Always repeat the other persons name to them throughout the call so they know that you have heard their name and are connected to them. Aside from that, allow space to listen reflectively to the other person, allowing time to repeat back what they have said, to again build trust. Once they have heard that you understand what they have said completely you can begin to put forward solutions to any objections or obstacles that are in the way of you making a sale or moving the call to the next stage.
Finding a contact centre service that is experienced in dealing with outbound sales, as well as inbound customer service work will help your company to develop real, honest, and trustworthy relationships with customers that stand you in good stead for the long-term. It is always vital that relationships are worked on rather than short-term gains preferred.
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