Conversational Strategies That Enhance Relationships

4.4 Describe conversational strategies that help us establish relationships

The foundation for a long-term relationship with the customer is frequently a “get acquainted” type of conversation that takes place before any discussion of business matters. Within a few minutes, it is possible to reduce the relationship tension that is so common when two people meet for the first time. This informal visit with the customer provides the salesperson with an opportunity to apply three guidelines for building strong relationships, featured in How to Win Friends and Influence People, the classic book written by Dale Carnegie.

Become genuinely interested in other people. Tim Sanders, former Leadership Coach at Yahoo!, says, “How we are perceived as human beings is becoming increasingly important in the new economy.”37 When you become genuinely interested in the customer, you add value and create an experience that is long remembered.
Be a good listener; encourage others to talk about themselves. Stephen Covey, noted author and consultant, recommends empathic listening. This requires listening with your ears, your eyes, and your heart.38 We live in a culture where empathic listening is quite rare. Interrupting has become all too common as people rush to fill every gap in the conversation.

Social Media and Selling Today Enhancing Your Relationship Strategy with Social Media

It is likely that your sales contacts and others associated with your accounts are using social media. This means that their postings will appear occasionally on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other similar sites. Most of these online services permit you to be notified by e-mail when such postings occur. Many entries in most social sites are frivolous, so a review of every post may be unnecessary. However, it is wise to monitor these posts carefully enough to detect important relationship information. It is always more efficient to use a social media dashboard to manage multiple profiles simultaneously. Tools such as Hootsuite and Fan Page Robot among others are particularly helpful here.

You may wish to make note of many of these postings in your sales database. A sales contact may mention recent activities such as events attended, hobbies, or notable experiences. Someone might make reference to an alma mater or to a friend who is well known. You can use this kind of information to add value to subsequent conversations with the person who posted. The information may give you a chance to point out interests or friends you have in common. You may also take note of issues to avoid, such as commenting on a recent varsity game your contact’s school may have lost.

Your own entries on social websites can also add value to your relationship with sales contacts. Usually, you can directly comment on a sales contact’s post instead of waiting until a subsequent conversation. You might comment that you agree with the entry or add helpful—and positive—information that supports the contact’s comment.

The length of this conversation depends on your sense of the prospect’s reaction to your greeting, how busy the prospect appears to be, and your awareness of topics of mutual interest. Keep any small talk conversation relatively short unless your client wants to expand on it. Even then, it is important to plan a way to move the conversation to the overriding business reason for your call. Never engage in any small talk conversation unless you are genuinely interested in the topics brought up. If your customer shows any indication of noninterest, move immediately to the business you are there to conduct. In developing this conversation, the following three areas should be considered. There will often be other times during the sales call when it may be appropriate to engage in one or more of these three areas of conversation.

Comments on Here and Now Observations

Observant salespeople are aware of the things going on around them. These observations can be as general as unusual developments in the weather or as specific as noticing unique artifacts in the prospect’s office. These observations often provide the basis for “small talk,” which can break the ice and speed up the building of a relationship.

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Conversational Strategies That Enhance Relationships