How to build rapport with clients

The digital wave has taken the world by storm. Our days start with technology, run with it, and essentially end with it too. Thanks to it, newer innovations come up in the market each day enabling the daily consumer, and hence the need to focus more on how to build rapport with clients. It’s a never-ending recursive loop to be true. There’s a new demand that comes with the shift in market conditions and environment, and newer products and businesses are created to cater to the evolving needs of consumers. All in all, it’s a good functional world we are mutual partners of, isn’t it? This post will talk about How to build rapport using NLP, and enhance your rapport-building skills.

Ever wondered how did businesses come into being in the first place, and how did they learn how to build rapport with clients? What stepping stones did your hairy forefathers laid down hundreds of decades ago to build foundations of the business world? How did the marketplace evolve? The answer is- through barter systems- the basis of which was the exchange of goods and the starting point was inter-personal rapports.  A lot of people are searching How to build rapport using NLP, as NLP is a result-based approach, and NLP provides a structured approach to go about rapport building, and that starts with becoming aware of your self-awareness, improving your listening skills, improving your communication skills, and being authentic while having a conversation.

Typically the nature of business has not changed much over the years. Businesses still strive to provide
for their customer’s needs and demands. However, what has changed in essence over all these years is
the fact that businesses now constantly make efforts to increase their consumers, and be better than
the competitors. A vast number of businesses are now catering to the same customer group, forging a
breeding ground for ever-increasing competition.

How to build rapport with clients ~ Core questions

What do you think makes one business better than the others?

What will give your business an edge to stand out in the crowd of competitors offering equally good
innovative products, and satisfactory customer service?

What helps you mark your territory and erect fences to secure your customer base?

Speaking frankly, it’s the rapport you create with your customers.

How rapport building will give your business the edge it is lacking?

Today’s customers are highly demanding and informed individuals. They do not fall into advertising
gimmicks that worked a couple of years ago. Hence, how to build rapport with clients is a much-needed skill.  Clients are more invested in knowing about you as a business person and not just in your products. Consumers judge the product, the company, and the people behind it. In such a scenario, rapport definitely helps because people are more likely to listen without skepticism to those with whom they share a good rapport.

As a matter of fact, rapport is a connection you make with someone else. It gives a face-lift to your
relationship with not just the customers but with your team members as well. Everybody likes to be
associated with people and brands which are respectful and which have a relatable disposition.

Sometimes rapport comes naturally, and at other times it has to be established with efforts.
Nonetheless, both result in worthwhile opportunities for flowering trust in the eyes of people and
building loyalty. Thriving businesses look for creating familiarity with customers and why wouldn’t they?
This familiarity, after all, makes them the preferred choice during their buyer’s journey. Something as
simple as “Have a nice weekend.” goes a long way at creating a bonding rapport.

What should you do to improve your rapport-building skills?

How to build rapport with difficult clients?  How to build rapport with clients to boost sales?

Building rapport is a skill that doesn’t come effortlessly to everyone. However, it’s actually very simple
and doesn’t need a lot of effort once you know how to bring it into being.

Here are 5 easy to implement tips: 

1. Ask genuine questions that show that you are interested.
According to Neuroscience, people love talking and be listened to. So, allow the other person to
talk. It gives them the impression that you are interested in their side of the story. Also, this
allows you to understand the person’s needs, requirements, interests, and concerns. End the
conversation on a note where they are satisfied. This positive feeling serves to your benefit to
make connections that last. How to build rapport using NLP can help in asking genuine questions, as you can listen more, and that improves being a genuine listener and enhances the overall communication experience.

2. Find a common ground to celebrate.
People subconsciously have very strong feelings about their preferences and choices. It is what
separates them from others and validates their being. So when someone tells them that they
believe in the same things (example social causes, exciting events, etc) as them, it gives them a
strong sense of connection. It’s an underlying statement that says that your minds work similarly
and that you understand them better than others. Affinity, friendship, and understanding are
the iron pillars for strengthening rapport.

3. Be your true self.
Creating rapport is one thing and sustaining it is another. Being authentic and honest goes a
long way in creating lasting rapports, both in personal and professional life. People will face a
hard time connecting with you if they believe that you are holding back. If you are not a fan of
small talk, that’s okay; you do not have to force it. Different people have different personalities
that they are comfortable in. Your comfort shows to people and encourages them to build a
connection with you.

4. Read the culture the other person belongs to.
Things can be awkward when you try to create rapport without knowing about the culture of a
person. It is one thing to be authentic and absolutely another thing to hurt another person’s
sentiment in that process. Be flexible in your approach when dealing with people of different
gender, religion, ethnicity, beliefs etc.

A simple example would be- Women in western countries would take offense if you do not
make eye contact while talking to them. However, this would not be appropriate if you replicate
the same in a village in the Middle East.

Be sensitive to others and look into their psyche before making jokes or statements. Stick to
making comments about things that are in plain sight and don’t venture into the unknown
terrains.

5. Give genuine compliments.
People love compliments but not when they see through your plot. Praising someone’s artificial
terrarium garden for fruits it could fetch shows your ingenuity or plain stupidity. Look for things
around you or in the person that you genuinely like. It could be something as simple as his/her
perfume or hairstyle. Giving genuine compliments make you seem interested, observant, and
truly appreciative of the other person.

A person does not have to worry too much about How to build rapport with clients, as rapport building is an innate nature of all homo-sapiens, as we are all social mammals. Make a good mix of rapport with your value propositions to build a great business. With practice and effort, you can become a natural at it. It is not that difficult a skill to master.

Rapport building is a very vast topic in NLP. How to build rapport with clients using NLP is covered at length in our Certified NLP Practitioner program
For details write to us at info@nlpcoach.in or call +91-9841619669.