You’ve probably heard me say this before, but it’s so important I’ll say it again…
“People only buy from people they know, like and trust”.
The more you nurture a relationship and build trust and rapport with your prospects, the more clients you acquire and the more sales you make.
But trust is more than a vague feeling. It’s actually a SCIENCE! The man who actually cracked the science of trust is Dr. Robert Cialdini.
Over 30 years ago, Dr. Cialdini wrote a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. To this day, it is considered a game changer for all sales and marketing professionals.
In the book, he listed seven science-based principles of persuasion. I won’t go through them all right now, but I want to mention one you need to know about today…
Reciprocity – and why it’s key to building trust and relationships. Cialdini argues that we hate owing someone a debt, whether it’s of gratitude or of a financial nature.
We’re likely to take any opportunity that gets us out of that perceived debt as quickly as possible. If you offer someone something of value that helps them, you’re priming them to say “yes” to you when you have that eventual sales discussion with them.
Think about how you feel when someone solves a problem for you or gives you something of value for free? You like and trust them more, right?
It’s the same in sales. If you offer help, you build trust. In fact, a LinkedIn study found that:
B2B buyers are five times more likely to engage with someone who provides content and share insights about their industry
Content shared by employees receives eight times more engagement that content shared by brand channels
If you find lead generation, relationship building and content creation a hit-and-miss struggle, don’t leave it to chance…
Apply the science!
I have a subtle and highly effective rapport-building process that has been perfected through years of testing. It creates a stronger connection with your prospects so they know, like, trust and, most importantly, BUY from you.