Gaining Rapport
Have you ever met a person and felt an incredible instant connection? It’s almost as if you’ve known this person forever. Your gut tells you this person is someone you can trust and would enjoy getting to know better. Although you can’t consciously make up your mind why you’ve sensed this connection, your subconscious mind has made the decision for you.
People hire professionals they like and trust — in other words, people they feel a bond with and connect with on an emotional level. And since this type of bonding takes place at the subconscious level, you better learn how to access it if they are trying to sell their services too. Amazingly enough, the words that actually come out of a person’s mouth when talking to people don’t have much to do with establishing a bond. While I’m not suggesting that you should say whatever the heck you feel like to prospective clients, you must understand it’s not nearly as important as you might think. In reality, what is important is how you say things to people and your body language. They both work on the subconscious level and that is what establishes the bond between you and your prospect.
SPEAKING BODY LANGUAGE
So how do you use body language to your advantage when trying to sell services? The best thing to do is to “mirror” the prospect. Never mock your prospect; merely assume the same body language he or she is presenting. If the prospect is the type of person that “talks with his or her hands,” then you should do the same — even if you don’t normally speak with your hands. If the prospect is standing and you are sitting stand up and greet the prospect. You need to have the same body language as the prospect.If you do not use this technique already you’ll be amazed by the results. The connection you will feel with the prospect will be uncanny. More than likely, you’ll be able to find the emotional reason the prospect wants to achieve his or her desired fitness goals. And, since people hire fitness professionals for emotional reasons and not logical ones, they’ll be halfway to closing the sale after about 30 seconds of conversation and bonding with the prospect.How you say things isn’t as important as body language, but it’s still essential to bonding and closing a sale. You need to be a bit of an actor.
Mirroring the prospect’s tonality, sounding like they sound, makes them feel comfortable with who their trainer is. If they talk fast, then you need to talk fast. If they are speaking slowly then you should speak slowly. While this does take a little while to get used to, it’s astoundingly powerful.You can strengthen the bond between the prospect by using the same words they use. As an example, if you prefer the term “physical therapy” and the prospect refers to it as “rehabilitation,” be sure to begin saying “rehabilitation” during your conversation. This might seem insignificant, but the prospect’s subconscious, where bonding takes place, will take notice. And whatever you do don’t use complicated terms your prospect has never heard of. If you ramble on about subluxation and x-ray findings, there’s a good chance the potential patient will glaze over. When that happens, guess what? You’ve destroyed the bond between them and more than likely blown the sale. There’s no need to try and impress them. The prospect thinks you are an expert, otherwise he or she wouldn’t be talking to you in the first place.
These bonding techniques aren’t meant to trick people to pay for something they don’t need. They are powerful methods to help prospective patients discover they need the services of a qualified professional. Yes, the goal is to close the sale. But more important, you have gained a new client. And that means another person has begun the journey that is chiropractic and wellness.
Dr. Perry Nickelston
1-973-800-6570
1-866-595-7749 Ext. 102
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment