Build Rapport During Telemarketing

Customers buy from people that they know, trust, and like. To make your prospects or customers like you, you have to build rapport. Even if you're just selling over the phone, building rapport is important during telemarketing.

There are several ways to get your prospects/customers to know, trust and like you.

1) Listen and Acknowledge

If your customer feels that you're not listening and hearing what he is trying to say, it instantly kills the rapport. To make sure you don't kill the rapport, let the customer speak. After the customer is done speaking, pause a little while then start talking.

Remember to acknowledge whatever the customer has just said during your sales call. To acknowledge, you can just say " I know what you're trying to say" or " Yes, I understand". Or you can simply repeat parts of what your customer has said.

2) Use Self-Disclosure

During the sales call, listen attentively to what your customer is saying and identify with what your customer is trying to say. Try to converse by sharing a bit of your own experience. You can start by saying, " That has happened to me, too!" or "I know what you mean because I did the same thing."

Be careful when you use this powerful rapport-building telemarketing technique. You might be disclosing too much information about yourself when instead you should be closing a business deal and not making a new friend.

3) Empathize.

Remember to empathize whenever when you are speaking to a disappointed or irate customer. Do not be tempted to be defensive when something has gone wrong. Instead of getting defensive, acknowledge your customer's feelings.

People want their emotions acknowledged, to be heard, or that somehow someone cares. When you empathize , you do not only calm your customers but help establish rapport as well.

Remember that to make people buy your service or product, they have to know, trust and like you. Now that you know how to establish rapport, you can start making more sales and become a successful telemarketing professional.