Check Your F.O.R.M.
Ever since Xerox pioneered consultative selling over 20 years ago through its Professional Selling Skills training program, people in sales have heard about the importance of establishing rapport. Rapport is all about making a personal connection with the potential client/customer before engaging in the “business” part of the interaction. Many newer sales people have an intuitive sense of what this means, but may lack a method for channeling their intuition into actual behavior. Before breaking down F.O.R.M., we must understand two caveats.
- While building rapport occurs in every selling (and life) interaction, F.O.R.M. is more appropriate in personal selling situations where the salesperson anticipates a longer relationship with the client. This is not to say that a supermarket checker shouldn’t be pleasant and personable with the shoppers who come through the line. The nature of that interaction focuses on speed and accuracy. F.O.R.M. takes time.
- F.O.R.M. is not a mechanical technique. It is a communication approach the acknowledges that people buy from other people, and buyers need to feel comfortable with the seller as a person.
That said, here’s a simple F.O.R.M. to follow that facilitates rapport-building.
F = Family
After an initial greeting, it is quite natural to ask after the well-being of the client/customer and his/her family. If it is the first meeting, you may not know if the prospect has a family. In that case, you might have to wait for cues from the prospect. But in subsequent encounters, you will know, so frame your comments/questions accordingly.
O = Occupation
After inquiring about family, it is a natural transition to ask about the prospect’s job. If meeting with a couple, be sure to divide your attention (and eye-contact) between both members of the pair. Without getting into too much detail, try to learn what the job(s) entail. If the job is not something you run into everyday, a good secondary question is to ask about the biggest challenge in that kind of job.
R = Recreation
Another common area people make small talk about is their recreational activity. An easy entre to this topic is to ask, “What do you do for fun?” Keep in mind that sometimes a recreational activity provides important insights into the person’s character or style. You can assume a skydiver is more of a risk-taker than a quilter.
M = Money
Unless you are in financial services, the money question is more metaphoric than literal. So think of the money question as a way to transition from rapport-building to the business reason of the meeting. So M = money really translates into business purpose (but F.O.R.B. just doesn’t quite make it as an acronym). The transition question sounds something like, “Well, as you know, the reason we’re getting together today is . . . “And you then summarize the purpose of the meeting.
Follow that F.O.R.M. every time you meet with a prospect or client, and you will build a firmer basis for earning their trust, confidence, and business.
Schedule a complimentary “F.O.R.M. Check-Up” Coaching Session.
For more information: Harvey Mackay’s How to Swim with the Sharks and not be Eaten Alive lays out the Mackay 66. The Mackay 66 is a 66 point profile sheet that allows you to record 66 important pieces of information about your prospects and clients that you gather over time and that help you to really understand them and their needs. Check it out.
