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Building Relationships Through Agenda and Rapport!

Date Published: 27th December 2006
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Author: Don Dennison RSS Views: N/A PRINT ASK ABOUT THIS ARTICLE



We are starting a series of articles on The Sales Cycle. The first points of The Sales Cycle are Agenda and Rapport.

There are two parts to point number one of The Sales Cycle. The first part is the Agenda. To set the Agenda means to establish the amount of time the potential customer has given you to present yourself, your company, and your products. This can be done on the phone when you are making the appointment. However, you also need to re-confirm the allotted amount of time agreed upon at the beginning of your meeting. You don’t need to be caught off guard when the potential customer tells you that you only have fifteen minutes of time, because they might have another meeting.

Remember to establish guidelines when you are using The Sales Cycle. Agenda and Rapport are the heart of the message, but after you have obtained the appointment, you need to start the confirmation all over again at your first visit. You could have missed something on the phone when you made your appointment. Also, during your appointment, you can re-establish points of agreement from your time on the phone. Both the time on the phone and the actual appointment are times when you are building a relationship with the potential new customer.


Now let’s look at Rapport. Rapport is one of the main building blocks in sales. If you can’t build Rapport, you will struggle with building relationships in sales. When you are visiting a new client for the first time, a sales person needs to relax and have fun. What is meant by building relationships? Every relationship had a starting point. Some of my best friends of today are people in whom I have invested my time. The next customer you visit could potentially become your next best friend. Remember, people like to buy from someone they like, so take more time to build rapport. Are you different from the average sales person? Do you want to be different? Then do this exercise for yourself. The next time you have the privilege of visiting a prospective new customer and doing a presentation… Build Rapport Only! On your first visit, you don’t need to ask the customer to buy your products. Just build a business relationship and friendship with the new person. What is a business friendship? A business friendship is a relationship where you can be honest with each other. In the event your company or you have made a mistake in the process of the order, or the service was very poor, they won’t just cancel service. They will call you, because there is mutual respect and friendship between them and you. In other words, they will give you and your company a second chance. When the prospective customer is ready, they will ask you to talk about your product, so take a risk, and build rapport only. (The greatest risk is not taking one at all). I have spent 20 years of my career in sales and sales management. In sales, setting the agenda and building rapport works!


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About the Author
Occupation: Sales Management
I was born in the Ghetto. Of course, it was not by choice. Let me tell you some of my story of how I went from the Ghetto to my MBA. I was born on the eastside of San Jose, California, USA. I hated people for most of my young life. I had a mother who was never home. My father left my mother when I was 6 months old, and I had no contact with him. Because of my sad circumstances, I joined a gang called the Blue Jackets. Later on, I became the president of the gang, staying in it until I was eighteen years old. I was involved in five gang wars by the time I was fourteen years old. In one of the gang fights, I lost my best friend, Hector Lopez. I will never forget his name because he took a knife that was supposed to go into my body. In another fight, I was hit on the head with a bottle that knocked me out cold. There was a lot of pain for me in those days. I was taken to Juvenile Hall for the first time at nine years of age, and I was in and out at least twenty times before I hit eighteen. At that time in my life, I started to realize that there was something wrong with my life. During this time, I met a girl by the name of Beverly, who was from the other side of the tracks. She helped me to realize that I needed a change in my life, so I decided to go into the U.S. Army. My enlistment really helped me grow up and see things in a different light. During this time, Beverly and I got married and we had a son and daughter. To this day, we have been happily married. When I was in the Army, I did get my GED. I have always been a hard and ambitious worker, so when I left the Army, I immediately got my first job delivering milk to homes. Yes, I was a milkman! As a milkman, I had the time to go back to school and then college. I worked my way up the ladder with a few companies, going from a sales person to the GM/CEO of First Choice Services, a consumer products company. In May 27 of 1996, I got my BBA and in May of 2000, I received my MBA. As a business consultant, I have had the privilege of working with some companies internationally, as I really enjoy working with people from other cultures. I have learned so much from friends that we have in Japan, Australia, the U.K., The Philippines, Korea, and Costa Rica, just to mention a few. Presently, I am a Business Consultant for One Cup International Consulting Group. My background in sales, sales management, and operations provide strong organizational credentials. I have over 20 years experience as an employee and consultant with such companies as: Langendorf Bread, Coffee Systems, Inc., Bobart Consulting, Inc., San Jose Chamber of Commerce, Turning Point Programs, Majordomo Services, Inc., First Choice Services (a division of Daiohs, Inc.), Associated Services, F. Gavina and Sons, Inc., Take a Break Service, Lindsey Coffee Company, and at the present time, One Cup International Consulting Group. My goal as a business consultant has always been to help companies build their sales, management, and marketing teams and/or reorganize their business, so they can make a profit or improve their bottom line. As a team player, I work with management and operations to get the best results. Finally, let me say that I am looking for a new career that will both reward me inwardly in my personal growth, and financially. I am a very active person. As a business consultant, I find that I have too much time on my hands. I want to be more actively involved, helping grow a sales staff or a business, by using my many skills. As you can see from my opening statements, I have endured much in my life, but out of lemons, I’ve decided to make lemonade. I am available for sales and management seminars. Also, I would be glad to do seminars for any organization, to reach young people, in order to help them get out of the ghetto and poverty. I require a small honorarium, plus traveling expenses.
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