How do you build rapport and trust with your prospects before, during, and after a presentation and pitch?

Referrals, mutual connections and projects are pieces of information that will get you through the door. Some of us may be tempted to read and glean a lot of information from annual reports and company product portfolios. Although this is useful, it may not be the quickest way to build rapport if prospects have never heard from you before. Dumb it down, chat about what they are emotionally attached to, not big words and figures that make you sound like you are part of an elite

A great way to engage with your prospects is to take a genuine interest in learning about them. Ask them questions about them as a person! LISTEN to them…that seems to be a lost art today. Don’t listen to respond, listen to understand who they are and what they are about. Be friendly, be a friend, be a resource if they need it. Let your potential customer know you are there for them when they need you. Be consistent with that approach and you will not only grow your network, you will make friends, business allies, sales and referrals.

I started off by being convinced that i had to explain my product well enough to a prospect to give me a chance to engage with me. I then realise that my conversion rates increased when: - I started smiling more - I listened carefully to their reactions and responded to them by handling objections or making a logical non forced connection (e.g. comment, empathy,etc.. - Not thinking about the product or benefits but focussing on listening to their pains ( which my product could sometimes fix) to chat about solutions - Showing them my interest for organising a meeting (at lest 3 times with a different wording) That alone got me a spot to be considered for a promotion.

The key is to be interested instead of just sounding interesting. Slides should be including a minimum information about yourself and your company prior to asking questions that will help you tailor their needs with your solutions. Quit adding tons of information that people will yawn about. Ask what they want, listen, and then provide it to them.

I'm not sure if there's anything that beats stories and analogies when explaining how a complex product works. Clients and people in general hardly walk away remember the features and details of a gadget. I remember a client and ex-colleague recently remembering about a product i sold to him years ago thanks to storytelling. Illustrating your explanations with anecdotes impact staff and customers way more.

Following up got me a 6 figure deal ($) that looked closed lost to me. It was a deal which i wanted to push to another quarter before i understood that the power of following up can be as strong (if not more) as an informative call that helps educate the prospect. No emotions, no presentation, just discipline can turn an opportunity into gold

I believe follow up his key to anything. Communication is the answer if people are not in the same page and on identifying what works or what does not work just going to be chaos. Sit down with each other talk about it say what you like say what you don't like brainstorm and figure it out by talking

The best way to build trust is through vulnerability, either yours or theirs. Which means you have to either get vulnerable with them, which might look like revealing a tactic you typically use in sales situations, and them telling them why you are not using it in their case. Or, you need to ask probing questions to find their vulnerability, and hopefully provide a resolution to it. Now there’s a delicate balance to exploiting your vulnerability or theirs. Get too personal, or take it too far and you lose trust. So go slowly, and look for reaction cues.