Building a good rapport is vital to any successful sales effort. And it doesn’t come as a surprise considering it helps make your interactions feel more human, frames you as a consultative resource, puts prospects at ease, and eventually helps you develop trust on a limited timeline.

Things tend to be quite different with an ineffective rapport since it can read as sleazy, disingenuous, or flat-out strange. And in the event that you exhibit any of those qualities, rest assured you’ll have a difficult time sustaining productive conversation with prospects.

So to help you build rapport as swiftly as possible, we’ve outlined mistakes that can trip any salesperson up. Let’s dive in!

You’re Not Doing Any Research

With what social media platforms offer, you can learn a ton about your prospects before you ever pick up the phone or send them an email. Be sure to check out your prospect’s LinkedIn and Twitter profiles together with any other social media profiles they may have. Unsure of what you should looking for.

Well, it simply narrows down to examining things such as mutual connections, content they recently shared, professional achievements, and blog posts they’ve written, to mention a few. Having a few conversation starters up your sleeve has the potential to help you avoid stale questions.

You’re forcing It

Not every prospect wants to make a small talk. Actually, some people find casual conversation stressful, annoying, or inefficient. In the event that your prospect appears uncomfortable answering your questions or gives incredibly short responses, persisting in a ‘get-to-know-you’ conversation will do more harm to the relationship than good.

Rather, you should consider introducing a topic they will be more open to discussing like their industry experience. Considering such topics are business-centered, people who dislike small talk usually regard them as more valuable.

Even if you choose to bring them to safer conversational ground, some prospects still might be quite reluctant to chat. In such instances, it’s usually best to move on to the agenda. That way, you can avoid leaving the door for errors open.

Eventually, building a rapport can be a delicate process. Doing it right entails finesse, situational awareness, active listening, and a solid sense of how people operate. When you make it the norm to stay on top of those elements and remain mindful of potential misstep like those listed here, you’ll be in an excellent position to consistently and effectively build rapport with prospects