The Brilliance of the Bonding and Rapport Step

Any sales training that anyone has ever experienced includes plenty about building rapport and bonding with your prospect. The Bonding and Rapport step of Sandler is the very first step of the Sandler Submarine in the Sandler Selling System and is built to make executing the rest of the system so much easier.

While some selling methodologies are mostly based in building rapport (winning friends…), David Sandler understood that although bonding and building rapport is crucial to the sales process being successful, people don’t buy just because they like you. This step is certainly NOT an event; it is something that is continually done from our first ‘hello’ with a prospect for the life of the business relationship and beyond.

When you have built a rapport with someone, it gets easier to set a natural Up Front Contract, for them open up about any actionable Pain they have, and makes it easier on the salesperson to have the conviction to ask tough budget questions.

At Sandler, we utilize DISC profiling to elevate our communication with prospects and customers, versus superficial small talk about the weather and the game this past weekend.

A quick DISC reminder for how to communicate with these different profiles:
• Dominant – be direct
• Influencer – be friendly
• Steady Relator – don’t rush
• Compliant – use facts

In order to adjust your communication appropriately, you must be able to get an idea quickly of type of DISC profile your prospect may be. Always continue to be observant of other indicators as the relationship grows, but primarily remember:
• Extroverts are Dominants and Influencers
• Introverts are Steady Relators and Complaints
• Task orientation (get down to business) are Dominants and Complaints
• People orientation (get to know you) are Influencers and Steady Relators

Observe how open they are with their communication and how quickly they want to get down to business in order to make a more educated guess to their DISC profile and adjust your communication accordingly.

We all have experienced how much easier it is to run a good sales call when we have good bonding immediately with a prospect, using the tools above will allow you to do that more often and with intention. If you are a current Sandler client, do not overlook the importance of the Bonding and Rapport step in your Pre-Call Planning. If you aren’t a Sandler client and would like to know more about how this step fits in the overall Sandler Selling System, please reach out to set up a time to talk with a coach.

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