The Three R’s of Influence
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Before you can sell you need to respect your prospect, build rapport, and understand the rules of how your prospect makes decisions. You can choose to ignore these three points but you will not be as effective as you could be.
1. Respect: All people want to feel that on some level they are held in esteem or honor - one where consideration is shown for their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This is also true when making a purchasing decision. They make will make a judgment based upon how well you communicate with them and create a ‘connection’.
- What do I/could I like about this person? (connection)
- Do I understand this person? (communication)
- What ideas does this person have that I can appreciate?
2. Rapport: Before influence happens an air of trust and rapport must be created. Rapport can best be defined as an agreeable or harmonious relationship.
We all do business with people that we like and trust. They feel a sense of rapport when there is a harmonious relationship where the buyer feels you understand their feelings and ideas. You know you have rapport when you and the buyer each sense a connection, have things in common, or each identify that there are good reasons to maintain and build a business relationship.
On some level every prospect is asking the following questions, you need to do our best to answer them:
- Does this person have my best interests at heart or able to assist me? (interdependence)
- Do I like this person? (connection)
- Do they have something I need and want? (common link, interdependence)
- Could I do business with this person and feel comfortable? (trust & rapport)
3. Rules: Every buyer has an agenda or reason to make a purchase and by understanding the rules your prospect uses to makes a purchasing decision can make a real difference in doing business with them. The best indicator of a prospects buying pattern is how they have made a similar purchase in the past.
- How does this person make a formal decision? If they have made a similar decision in the past, what were the most important criteria as to why they bought, what changed their mind?
- What are their beliefs/perceptions about your industry, people and products/services?
- What do they need to control?
- What governs their decisions?
- Why not ask them how they’ve made a similar decision in the past?
Keep the answers to the above questions in mind while communicating with your prospect.
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