Go beyond mere
words to sell more

A person's body language, rate of speech, and tone of voice will also give you clues to what type of language pattern your client or prospect prefers.

The easiest way to gain rapport with someone you've just met is to model his/her behavior in a natural way. Try to mirror his/her hand movements, eye contact, and rate of speech. This does not mean copying their movements exactly. Rather, it's a way of honoring a person's communication style of interacting with others.

Have you ever been at a party with a "close talker"? No matter how many times you back away, they seem to get closer and closer, invading your personal space. This is an example of a rapport breaker - not respecting someone's personal space. Instead, you want to be a rapport builder; make others feel comfortable being in your presence and encourage an atmosphere where people want to talk with you.

Case Study: Theodore was in Best Buy, trying to figure out whether he should buy the current X-box gaming system, or wait until November when X-box 360 is released. The salesperson had successfully gained rapport with him. But even after showing him the differences between the two products, he was reluctant to choose one over the other.

Theodore has a digital language pattern, and should be treated uniquely, and respectfully, allowing him to process and think about his decision. If the sales professional tries to rush him into making a decision, he may simply walk out, or he'll come back and ask for a refund for his hasty purchase.

The need for Theodore to justify this purchase is a simple process that will help him feel more comfortable with his buying decision.

When you notice your prospect saying things like, "I need to understand and process this decision," you'll want to walk him/her step by step through a system or comparison chart of pros and cons to help them make the best decision.

Take action! The better you are at identifying the approach a person prefers, the more you can assure yourself of long-term success by adapting your words and style to the way he/she most readily receives information.

If you are interested in learning the key words and phrases commonly used by people in each of the four language patterns, e-mail news.support@RPMsuccess.com and ask for the "Words that Trigger Buying" action sheet.

Utilize the action steps in this seven-part series combined with the right words and tools for communication, and you'll begin to develop more meaningful connections with people up to 30 percent faster.