{"id":259,"date":"2011-10-06T20:42:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T20:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/?p=259"},"modified":"2011-10-07T12:10:22","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T12:10:22","slug":"letslunch-networking-tip-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/letslunch-networking-tip-3\/","title":{"rendered":"LetsLunch Networking Tip #3: Rapport First Ask Second"},"content":{"rendered":"
A guiding principle of being a good salesman is to focus on building rapport<\/a> with your prospects. \u00a0Having strong rapport increases the likelihood they\u2019ll buy your product especially when they feel a connection they don\u2019t have with another salesman. \u00a0Building rapport is part of the game and it\u2019s also critical to networking. \u00a0Each time you meet a new contact you are creating a relationship. \u00a0If someone doesn\u2019t feel a connection with you they\u2019ll be less willing to help. \u00a0This is why you should focus on fostering each relationship before asking for anything<\/a>. \u00a0Here are some tips for building rapport with your lunch match and other people you may network with:<\/p>\n
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  1. Find a Common Interest.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0People connect with someone who shares a similar interest whether it be cartoons, sports, video games, tech innovation, sailing, or brewing beer. \u00a0We tend to like people that are similar to us which makes feeling a connection that much easier. \u00a0Discussing your shared interests will help make your next lunch and future interactions flow smoothly.<\/li>\n
  2. Repeat, Approve, and Relate. \u00a0<\/strong>Most people like to know the person sitting across the table is engaged in the conversation. \u00a0You can show you\u2019re listening by briefly summarizing what they said (repeat), make a suggestion that you agree (approve), and relating it to a personal experience (relate). \u00a0This strategy can be very effective at showing you\u2019re engaged but it can also come across as a little fake when overused.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t be afraid to Swear.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0The LIGHT use of curse words can set a casual mood and make it easier for your lunchmate to relate. \u00a0Guy Kawasaki<\/a> covers this in his most recent book, Enchantment<\/a>, and recommends you: swear infrequently, when you can\u2019t control it, when the audience supports it, and if you keep it tame. \u00a0He also emphasizes that swearing can be a huge risk so look for cues from your match before dropping a shittake<\/a>…definitely avoid the F-bomb.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Above all else, be yourself. \u00a0People find it easier to relate to someone who is genuine. \u00a0Feel free to share your rapport building tips in the comments and help us improve the networking experience with your tweets and shares.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A guiding principle of being a good salesman is to focus on building rapport with your prospects. \u00a0Having strong rapport increases the likelihood they\u2019ll buy your product especially when they feel a connection they don\u2019t have with another salesman. \u00a0Building rapport is part of the game and it\u2019s also critical<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions\/261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslunch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}