Techniques for Building Rapport in Cross-Functional Negotiations

Too many sellers inadvertently lower their status in their attempts to "build rapport" with prospects.  Here's how you gain your prospect's RESPECT in the first 90 seconds of a call: First, let's look at how 90% of sellers try to build rapport: "𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮?" "𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘩𝘶𝘩? 𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳!" "𝘏𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘈 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?" ^Sports/Weather/Location based rapport isn't really rapport. It's schmoozing, and your prospect can see through that BS. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 '𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲, just like every other seller who talks about the exact same stuff! If you're OK being treated like a run of the mill salesperson, by all means continue to schmooze. For those of us who'd like different results, read on. --- The easiest way to build rapport is to show you respect your prospect's time + know something about their business. You can do this by following the 90 second rule: 𝗦𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟭.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. Examples: 1. For health insurance, we might comment on a new location opening: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 3𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳?" ^New office = more employees who are going to need insurance. -- 2. For our Club Pass sales training program, we'll might comment on something we read on a job posting for an AE: "𝘋𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘋 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘈𝘌 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?" ___ To be clear, there's nothing wrong with bonding over a shared love of the Buffalo Bills, but let that be the cherry on top to your demonstration of prep + respect for their time, not the only way you build rapport. 

One bad conversation can stall a deal.  (Let's fix that.) Here's the trap even the best can fall into: ✅ You said, “Can I get 15 minutes?” ❌ They heard, “You’re just a name on my calendar.” ✅ You said, “Here’s our pricing page.” ❌ They heard, “You’d better be ready to commit.” ✅ You said, “Do you have any questions?” ❌ They heard, “I’m done talking, it's your turn to buy.” In client development, tone is strategy. And the difference between pressure and partnership? Just a few words. Because the real challenge isn’t getting time  with a client. It’s making that time count. Here are 12 proven phrases to build trust  (without sounding like a sales rep): 1. “How have things been going with [X]?” → Feels personal, not transactional. 2. “What’s your thinking around [this topic] these days?” → Opens a door, not a pitch. 3. “What would success look like if everything went right?” → Focuses on their goals, not gaps. 4. “What’s one thing you’d love to improve in 90 days?” → Specific, hopeful, and actionable. 5. “What feels risky or fuzzy about this?” → Makes doubt safe to share. 6. “Want to sketch some options together?” → Co-creates instead of prescribes. 7. “Want me to mock up a few paths forward?” → Shows flexibility, not a fixed pitch. 8. “Want to hear how others tackled this?” → Adds value, zero pressure. 9. “What would need to shift to make this a priority?” → Respects their timeline, invites partnership. 10. “Would a custom version be more helpful?” → Tailors the next step to them. 11. “Great point, can we unpack that together?” → Builds trust through collaboration. 12. “What’s the best way I can support you right now?” → Puts their needs first, signals partnership. These phrases do more than sound better. They feel better. Because they reflect how great BD actually works: 👉 With empathy 👉 With curiosity 👉 With clients, not at them Try one this week. It could turn a stalled deal into a deep conversation. Which one will you lead with? 📌Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies  that don’t feel like selling.

Are your direct questions killing your deals with indirect buyers? Most sales reps approach every conversation the same way. Direct questions. Pushy tone. Bad timing. I learned this lesson the hard way selling to “softer” personas like HR, generally speaking. I'd ask "What's driving this to be a priority?" and watch them instantly close up. What changed my results was what I call the Triple T approach: 1️⃣ TACT: Frame questions through a third party lens ("I typically find that leaders like yourself...") 2️⃣ TONE: Slow down, soften your voice, appear thoughtful and curious rather than interrogating 3️⃣ TIMING: Build rapport first, then ease into business questions gradually Here's a practical example: BEFORE: "What's your pain point? Why now? What's your budget?" AFTER: "What's interesting is... usually when I talk to HR leaders like yourself who are considering a change... I find there's something happening in the business driving this to be key priority for them. What's that look like in your situation?" Same core question. Completely different response. This approach creates psychological safety for indirect buyers to open up about their real challenges. Since implementing this method, I've uncovered 10X more pain points and closed deals other reps couldn't touch. The best part? This works in ANY high stakes conversation (personal or professional). - Want to run better discovery than last time? You’d be foolish not to check this out: https://lnkd.in/gexS_66B

Pattern interrupts led to multimillion deals by enhancing influence during negotiations or conversations. The lowdown: A pattern interrupt is a technique derived from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) that disrupts a person's typical thought processes or behaviors. By introducing an unexpected element, you can capture attention and encourage a more open and receptive mindset. This technique is particularly useful in sales, negotiations, and personal interactions where traditional approaches may lead to disengagement. How to Use Pattern Interrupts 1. Identify the Routine: Recognize the usual patterns in your conversations or negotiations. This could be a repetitive greeting, a standard pitch, or predictable responses. 2. Introduce an Unexpected Element: Disrupt the flow with something surprising. This could be: Asking an unexpected question (e.g., "What would you do if you had no constraints?"). Sharing a relevant but surprising statistic. Using humor or a light-hearted comment to break the ice. 3. Engage Emotionally: Use storytelling or personal anecdotes to create an emotional connection. This helps to shift the conversation from a transactional nature to a more relational one, making the other party more receptive to your ideas. 4. Be Authentic: Ensure that your pattern interrupt feels natural and aligns with your personality. Forced or overly dramatic interruptions can lead to discomfort and disengagement. 5. Practice Active Listening: After your interrupt, pay close attention to the other person's response. This shows that you value their input and are interested in a genuine dialogue. Examples of Effective Pattern Interrupts In Sales: Instead of starting with a typical greeting, say, "I know you’re busy, can I steal just 23 seconds of your time?" This specific request can catch attention and prompt curiosity. In Meetings: Begin with a surprising fact related to the agenda, such as, "Did you know that 70% of our competitors are not using this strategy?" This can shift the team's focus and encourage engagement. In Personal Conversations: If discussing a serious topic, you might say, "Before we dive in, I just want to share a quick funny story that happened to me today." This can lighten the mood and make the conversation more approachable. Tips for Effective Implementation Observe and Adapt: Watch how others successfully use pattern interrupts in conversations. Learn from their techniques and adapt them to your style. Be Mindful of Timing: Use pattern interrupts when you sense the conversation is becoming monotonous or when you need to regain attention. Timing is crucial; a poorly timed interrupt can backfire. Experiment: Try different types of interrupts in various contexts to see what resonates best with your audience. Did you notice the pattern interrupts I used in this release? #SocialFriday