Building Rapport With Clients

Ever noticed how saree shops don’t start with sarees? You walk in. The salesperson barely asks what you are looking for. Yet a chair appears out of nowhere…and before you even settle in, someone places a hot cup of tea in your hand. I used to think this was “good hospitality.” It’s actually brilliant business. Because the moment you sit down, sip tea, and relax… you stop being a hurried customer. You become a guest. And guests don’t browse. Guests stay, explore and trust - which is what the shopkeepers want. Hospitals call it “patient experience.” Startups call it “user onboarding.” Luxury brands call it “client delight.” But Indian saree shops figured this out decades ago. Lower resistance before selling. Let comfort do the conversion. It’s the same principle every business can use: Before asking for attention, create ease. Before asking for money, build comfort. Before selling, make people feel welcome. A cup of tea isn’t a beverage. It’s a strategy.

Excellent tips here illustrating how a subtle change in tone can have a massive influence upon how your message is received. 1) Acknowledge Delays with Gratitude "Sorry for the late reply…" "Thank you for your patience." 2) Respond Thoughtfully, Not Reactively "This is wrong." "I see your point. Have you considered [trying alternative]?" "Thank you for sharing this—I appreciate your insights." 3) Use Subject Lines That Get to the Point "Update" "Project X: Status Update & Next Steps" 4) Set the Tone with Your First Line "Hey, quick question…" "Hi [Name], I appreciate you. I wanted to ask about…" 5) Show Appreciation, Not Acknowledgment "Noted." "Thank you for sharing this—I appreciate your insights." 6) Frame Feedback Positively "This isn’t good enough." "This is a great start. Let’s refine [specific area] further." 7) Lead with Confidence "Maybe you could take a look…" "We need [specific task] completed by [specific date]." 8) Clarify Priorities Instead of Overloading "We need to do this ASAP!" "Let’s prioritize [specific task] first to meet our deadline." 9) Make Requests Easy to Process "Can you take a look at this?" "Can you review this and share your feedback by [date]?" 10) Be Clear About Next Steps "Let’s figure it out later." "Next steps: I’ll handle X, and you confirm Y by [deadline]." 11) Follow Up with Purpose, Not Pressure "Just checking in again!" "I wanted to follow up on this. Do you need any additional details from me?" 12) Avoid Passive-Aggressive Language "As I mentioned before…" "Just bringing this back in case it got missed."

MIT ran an International AI Negotiation competition and studied 120,000 negotiations between AI negotiators. The results are fascinating and inform the potential and optimal structures for Humans + AI negotiation. From the paper I would highlight three major points and three insights into configuring human-AI hybrid negotiation (below): 🤝 Warmth builds long-term value despite short-term trade-offs. AI agents with high warmth (friendliness, empathy, and cooperative communication) reached more agreements, making them more successful over multiple negotiations. While they claimed less value per deal compared to dominant agents, their ability to close more deals led to greater overall value accumulation. This mirrors human negotiation, where trust-building and relationship management create lasting advantages. 💪 Dominance increases value claimed but reduces collaboration. AI agents that displayed dominance—through assertiveness and competitive tactics—secured better individual outcomes but created less overall value. These agents were less likely to foster positive subjective experiences, indicating that aggressive negotiation styles may be effective for short-term gain but could hinder long-term relationships. 🎭 Prompt injection wins in the short term but undermines long-term success. One leading AI negotiator used prompt injection to extract counterpart strategies, maximizing value claims. However, it ranked poorly for counterpart subjective value, meaning agents found these interactions highly unfavorable. Since negotiation rankings balanced value claimed and relationship quality, the strategy failed to dominate in the long run. Emergent strategies for Humans + AI negotiation: 🧠 AI for deep preparation, humans for real-time adaptation. AI excels at structured reasoning, analyzing trade-offs, and predicting counterpart moves through chain-of-thought processing. Humans bring intuition and adaptability, interpreting social cues and adjusting strategies dynamically. A hybrid approach leverages AI for pre-negotiation analysis while allowing humans to refine tactics in real time. 🤝 Blending AI precision with human warmth for trust-building. AI can optimize negotiation strategies, but humans naturally build trust through empathy, humor, and rapport. AI-enhanced systems can recommend tone adjustments, use linguistic mirroring, and strategically deploy warmth versus assertiveness based on sentiment analysis, improving long-term negotiation outcomes. 🚀 Human oversight to counter AI vulnerabilities. AI negotiators are susceptible to manipulation tactics like prompt injection, where counterparts extract hidden strategies. Humans play a crucial role in monitoring AI-generated offers, preventing unintended disclosures, and leveraging AI-driven detection systems to flag potential deception, ensuring negotiation integrity. The future of negotiation will be Humans + AI.

Lawyers love words like "ipso facto". Clients don’t. ⛔ Newsflash: Most of them don't know Latin. 🤣 They want clarity, not complexity. Connection, not cold professionalism. Want to be the lawyer they trust and rave about? Here’s what they wish YOU knew: 1/ Speak Human, Not Legalese ↳ “If they leave confused, they leave frustrated.” ↳ Simplify. Use analogies. Add visuals. 2/ Ask Better Questions ↳ “What’s keeping you up at night?” gets you closer to the real issue than “What’s the matter?” 3/ Learn Their World ↳ Tailored advice > textbook advice. ↳ Know their business. Speak their language. 4/ Set Expectations Early ↳ No one likes surprise bills or radio silence. ↳ Map the process. Flag risks upfront. 5/ Be Accessible (Without Burnout) ↳ Boundaries matter. But so does communication. ↳ Tools like case dashboards help. 6/ Acknowledge Their Emotions ↳ A little empathy goes a long way. Legal issues are personal—even in business. 7/ Celebrate Wins ↳ A simple “Congrats! So happy for you!” builds trust faster than a 30-page opinion. 👉 Final Thought: Clients may never say it out loud, but they notice the small things. Show you get them, and you’ll be the one they recommend. What’s one lesson you’ve learnt from your clients? Drop it below. 👇 ♻️ Repost to help lawyers. 🔔 And follow Shulin Lee for more.

Copywriters, Freelancers, and Agency Owners: Want to know the #1 secret to landing high-ticket clients? It's not about sending 100 cold emails or DMs a day or having the perfect outreach method. The real key to winning over big clients is... PERSONALIZATION! I receive tons of cold emails and DMs every day, and most of them miss the mark. They aren’t targeted enough, and often, I don’t need the service at all. After nearly a decade in the trenches and landing over 1,000 clients, I’ve learned that personalization is the make-or-break factor in your outreach messages. When you take the time to: Do Deep Research: Understand your prospect’s business, industry, and specific pain points. This shows you’ve invested effort into understanding their unique needs. Create Custom Value Propositions: Highlight how your services can address their specific challenges and help achieve their goals. Use relevant examples and case studies. Build Genuine Relationships: Engage in authentic, personalized communication that fosters trust and rapport. Mention specific details about their work or recent achievements. That’s when the magic happens. Your prospects start seeing you as a valuable consultant, not just another generic freelancer. And that’s when the big deals start rolling in.

Can you see the sign just behind me? It says: "YOUR FAMILY IS EXPECTING YOU HOME TONIGHT" I saw it on the gate to a building site, on my way out of London City Airport. It utterly stopped me in my tracks. The sign was from a construction company, 8build and though it was clearly aimed at site workers, it stood out as a brilliant piece of communication that contains a wider lesson. Health & Safety messaging is often serious, procedural, and repetitive. Wear goggles. Watch for moving machinery. Fill out the form. Important? Absolutely. Memorable? Not always. And that's a problem. Because on building sites there is a phenomenon called Alarm Fatigue. It essentially means that if you work on a building site you can quickly become so desensitised to the beep beep beep of a large earth-moving diggers reversing that you tune it out. Which if you're standing behind one can have nasty consequences. The same phenomenon occurs in hospitals where monitoring machines sound alarms so frequently that nursing staff start to ignore them - which can be similarly harmful to human health. But the "family" message reframes the issue entirely. It isn't about the rules. It is about the personally-relevant reason to follow them. In a world where we're bombarded with signs, warnings, checklists and compliance notices, it's a powerful example of how to have people re-engage with boring but important signals. Imagine how other organisations could transform their tired messaging using this approach: Instead of "Please wash your hands" in hospitals, signs that read "Your next patient is counting on these hands being clean" Rather than "Back up your data" IT reminders, companies could use "Your best work deserves to survive a coffee spill" Instead of "Confidentiality agreement required" in client meetings, say "The trust our clients place in us begins with this signature" Rather than "Remember to schedule your annual review" in HR communications, remind your teams that "Your next promotion depends on a conversation we haven't had yet" An imaginative reframe can shift focus from dull procedures to clear purpose, and from reluctant compliance to consequences that matter personally. The sign at City Airport was a lesson about how reframing language inventively can have more impact on behaviour than almost anything else. What stale language in your organisation is no longer being heard? Are there critical messages for your teams, customers or suppliers you could refresh and reframe today? (And, hey, don't forget to stay safe: our families are expecting us ALL home tonight.)

The #1 mistake I see in client relationships? (It took me years to learn this) Confusing contact with connection. Most professionals think staying “top of mind” means constant contact. So they: ❌ Send generic check-ins. ❌ Ask for meetings without clear value. ❌ Share the same articles everyone else does. Then wonder why response rates keep dropping. 20+ years in client relationships has taught me: The best way to stay memorable? Show up as someone who genuinely cares about them  (and their success). Instead of asking: ❌ “How do I stay visible?” Ask: ✅ “How do I show I care?” Here are my favorite 6 ways to show you care: 1. Spot Opportunities They Might Miss ↳ Share competitor moves and market shifts before  they hear it elsewhere. 2. Be Their Connector ↳ Introduce them to people who can help them grow. 3. Offer Insights They Can Use Immediately ↳ Send relevant research they can apply right now. 4. Celebrate Their Successes ↳ Spotlight their wins like they’re your own. 5. Invite Them Into Your World ↳ Include them in events and conversations that matter. 6. Check In With a Personal Touch ↳ Reach out with no agenda, just genuine care. Here’s the truth: Most people only show up when they want something. Top performers show up because they genuinely care. Because they know when someone’s ready to buy, they don’t research who’s available. They call those who’ve already proven they care. Agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear your take on it in the comments below. ♻️ Valuable? Repost to help someone in your network. 📌 Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies that don’t feel like selling. Want the full cheat sheet? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e3qRVJRf 

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. 

Many financial advisors struggle to build a strong social media brand. But you don’t have to be one of them. When I first started, my social media presence was stagnant. But I quickly realized how crucial it is to build trust and credibility online For financial advisors, it's especially important to understand that your audience values authenticity and expertise above all else. I knew I needed a better strategy to grow on social media. So, I worked hard to understand my audience and experimented with different types of content. Over time, I figured out what works, and now I’m sharing these strategies with you. ✅ Share Your Daily Habits: → Let people in on the routines that shape your day and your financial expertise → Authenticity helps build a stronger connection with your clients. ✅ Highlight Your Unique Traits: → Make sure your posts reflect your true personality and financial philosophy. → Be yourself; it’s the best way to stand out in the crowded market. ✅ Understand Your Audience: → Get to know your clients' needs and connect with them on a deeper level. →Tailor your content to what they find valuable and interesting. ✅ Be Open About Your Thoughts: → Share your decision-making process and market insights. → Transparency fosters trust and credibility in your financial advice. ✅ Show Your Passion: → Don’t hesitate to be emotionally open about why you do what you do. → Genuine emotions resonate deeply and build loyalty. ✅ Engage Consistently: → Regular interaction builds trust and familiarity. → Make engagement a daily habit to stay top of mind. ✅ Share Success Stories: →Highlight your clients' achievements and how you helped them reach their goals. → Real success stories motivate potential clients and provide valuable insights. ✅ Provide Value: → Offer actionable insights or tips that can help your audience in their financial journey. → Valuable content keeps your audience coming back for more. Your authenticity is your strongest asset. Use it to build real connections and make a lasting impact. How do you keep your social media content engaging and authentic? P.s. ✍🏻 I am Benjamin Loh, CSP, a strategic growth coach and consultant who has taught over 65,000 leaders in over 20 global cities and constructed some of the leading icons (TOT, Award Winners) in the financial industry in Asia through the power of authentic storytelling and authority building. 💪 Enjoy this post? Follow me for personal brand and growth insights. #topofmind #millennials #business

"𝗔 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲, & 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿." – 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗵 Ever had a conversation so enriching it lingered in your mind? That’s exactly what we explored in my recent session with sales professionals in the private banking sector, focusing on 'The Art of Conversations'. Common Questions Raised: ❓ Initiating Contact: How do I start a conversation with someone new? ❓ Maintaining Flow: What to do when I run out of things to say? ❓ Building Rapport: How can I connect with someone of a different level? Truth be told - I've had my fair share of conversational mishaps—early in my career - struggling to engage in any meaningful conversations beyond the weather, & I was left being perceived as an order-taker. 🙈 After more than a decade of doing work on social & emotional intelligence, here's some wisdom that has worked. ✅ Light & Casual - Not everyone opens up at hello. It’s not a rejection, it’s just human nature—why would they spill their secrets over the first cup of coffee? Keep things light. Aim to connect as a friend rather than impress with your knowledge. This takes the pressure off & keeps you both at ease. ✅ Ready-to-go topics: Watched an interesting movie lately? Read some news which intrigued you? Visited a nice place with your family? Bring them in any time during a lull moment rather than staying awkwardly silent. Sharing about ourselves also opens up the space for the other person to do the same. ✅ Probe a little - Hopping from topic to topic can make a conversation feel like you're channel surfing—quick, jumpy & unsatisfying. Instead, delve deeper into one subject, asking open-ended questions that encourage more detailed responses. Think of it as choosing one good show to watch all the way. ✅ Acknowledge before moving on - Just like you wouldn’t switch TV channels without asking, don’t leap to another conversation topic without acknowledging what was just shared. A simple "That’s really interesting," or "I had no idea about that," before asking another question keeps it smooth & connected. ✅ Engage on emotion, not just information - This can often tell you more about what the person values than their words alone. Instead of just exchanging facts, tune into feelings. Ask yourself, "What’s the emotion here?" It helps you to respond with empathy, turning standard chats into memorable exchanges. 🤔 What conversation strategies helps you connect more deeply with people? Here’s to turning every interaction into an opportunity—not just for business, but for a genuine connection. May your conversations this week be as rich as a well-brewed coffee that leaves you energized to connect more meaningfully. #EmotionalIntelligence #SalesEQ #Connections This is Cindy Tien, EQ Maven, CSP - Inspiring Sales & Leadership Teams to Strengthen Connections, Conquer Challenges, & Claim their Messages.