"The farmer, it appears, must not be approached too abruptly. If you are to get his money you must break the news to him gently. You should first talk about horses, soil, and market conditions. This conversation will show that you are interested in things close to him and likewise give you a chance to study his temperament and to learn his likes and dislikes, and discover his weaknesses."

-Clarence Darrow, in The American Mercury, writing about the topic of "Salesmanship"

The concept of Rapport building is not new. You can find book after book written from the 1920's onward that will teach you ‘techniques' for Rapport building with your prospects. For example, you might be told to look around their office and talk about what you see. "Ah, I see you have a big fish on your wall. Are you a fishing enthusiast? I go trout fishing all the time in Wyoming. Let's talk about trout." Unfortunately, many people today, both buyers and sellers, equate the concept of Rapport building with this type of contrived chit chat.

Rapport building is not the planned buttering up of the buyer before a sales person moves in for the kill. The mindset behind this approach to Rapport building is underhanded. Our emphatic response to this approach: don't do it.

Yet the fundamental underlying need for a buyer to connect with a service provider--or at least to generally like him or her--exists and must be attended to. At least, it must if you want to generate new clients and retain your existing ones.

In the RainToday.com research report How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing and Selling from the Client Perspective, 26% purchasers of professional services surveyed reported that they have experienced having no personal chemistry with service providers. In and of itself this might not seem like a problem. (Although, who wants to feel that they have cultivated no personal connection with 26 out of 100 potential clients?)

We also learned that 85% of these same unconnected buyers would be either somewhat or much more likely to consider purchasing their services of the provider if some kind of personal chemistry was established.

Building Real Rapport

Many professional service providers are natural "people people" and connect with almost everyone they meet. Many of us, however, feel uncomfortable making initial connections with potential clients, especially when we are meeting them for the first time.

When you look to build Rapport--real Rapport that helps you make a connection with your prospect or client--keep in mind the following advice: