Establishing contact with a client is a mandatory and invariable stage in any sales. If this step is completed successfully, the client can already be considered “warmed up”, which means that he is 50% ready to purchase. It only remains for you to delicately but persistently lead to a positive decision.
But this is only in theory. The modern buyer is very demanding, and the techniques of classical advertising will not interest him, and the methods of simple auto funnels will cause a condescending grin.
But we know the recipes for competently establishing contact with a client and are ready to share them with you in this article.
9 Must-Have Rules For Establishing Contact With A Client
There are a number of rules for communicating with a client that will help establish initial contact. They are suitable for all types of sales: on the sales floor, by phone, in the office, etc.
In addition, you can use them if necessary to establish contact with someone in everyday life. These rules will allow you to demonstrate interest, but not “bend” to the client, attract and retain his attention, show your best side, and please.
1. Negotiating Position
Having taken the right negotiating position, the manager or seller should make a good impression on the client and please him. If this happens, it will be much easier to build further dialogue. This is a guarantee of trust on the part of the client.
Agree, when a person is unpleasant to us, then everything he says does not evoke a response in us and even sometimes annoys us.
2. Congruence
This unusual term in the context of sales means the adequacy of what the seller says to how he behaves. In other words, everything he says and does in the negotiation process should be natural.
A good manager acts from the position “if it is beneficial for both of us, we will agree”, he will not insist, press, take a pitying look. Whatever his personal situation may be, he maintains dignity, behaves at ease, but confidently.
For example, a manager who speaks about the high quality of the products but does not himself believe in it, most likely will not look congruent.
3. Mirroring
There are different techniques for establishing contact with a client, but one of the most popular is mirroring, that is, imitation of the non-verbal behavior of the interlocutor. Such a technique can only work if the person using it acts naturally, as if subconsciously.
If you are good at using it, it’s a great way to connect. The fact is that people love themselves very much, and they like those who are somehow similar to them. And as we already said, if you like a person, you start to trust him, listen to his opinion.
4. Commonality
A great way to establish contact with a client is to find common points for you, points of intersection of interests.
It can be a hobby, area of residence, university, faculty, etc. On a subconscious level, this serves as a signal to people that the interlocutor is “from their team” and can be trusted.
5. Hot Topics
There are topics that almost everyone is ready to talk about, because they cause a lot of positive emotions, make it possible to talk about their experience, and people really like to talk about themselves. These topics include children, pets, travel, hobbies, work, achievements, homeland (if a person is away from it).
If you manage to find one of these triggers, it is worth promoting it, giving the client an opportunity to talk about what is close and interesting to him. This will increase the chances of being liked by your interlocutor and will have a beneficial effect on establishing contact between the parties.
6. Active Listening
In active listening, the emphasis is on allowing the client to speak and to listen carefully. The manager, using this tactic, himself only asks leading questions. Anyone who wants to establish contact with clients should have this skill and be able to use it.
Listening carefully and understanding the client is especially important now, when communication is increasingly moving into the online sphere. Personal contact is lost, you do not see the client, and you have to notice everything from his message or voice.
7. Special offers
Speaking of online communication, we need to know that it is very specific. You won’t be able to use many techniques, but there are always a few tricks you can use to soften and win over a client.
Give discounts to the most active, send merch or corporate gift boxes. Everyone loves presents and special offers.
8. Be Positive
Everyone understands that a person who is tuned in to a positive wave is more attractive to others. Try to be easy to talk to. You don’t have to glow like a light bulb and smile endlessly.
However, a general positive attitude, friendliness and goodwill are essential for a person working with people, especially if he is a sales manager. Establishing contact with a client is impossible without a good mood on both sides.
9. Expertise
People expect high qualifications and a lot of knowledge from a sales manager. You will be trusted if you have sufficient experience, you know your product and the market as a whole, you understand the psychology and technologies of sales.
Without it, it will be difficult to maintain a consistently high level of sales and income. Thus, a good salesperson is an expert in different fields.
However, there are other qualities of a good salesperson. For example, he must be able to argue with the client at the right time if he has inaccurate information or is objectively mistaken in his choice. You need to help the buyer choose what will really be useful to him.
Conclusion
The profit of a company is determined by the customers. Today the market is highly competitive in literally all areas. Buyers are almost snapped up.
Banal methods of attracting their attention (such as a beautiful catalogue or creative texts) do not always work.
Other methods of getting the attention and sales should be considered and establishing good contact with customers is the most important one.
Read Also:
- 5 Ways To Improve Interaction With Customers
- 4 Tips for Creating a Trustworthy Relationship with Customers
- 5 Best Ways to Deal with Difficult Customers
Author: Emma Williams
