Lots of nice conversations = Zero business!

I used to work with a salesman who was brilliant at getting his prospective clients talking.

He could build rapport almost immediately, had incredible social skills and sounded like his client's best friend in no time at all.

But there was a fundamental issue with his approach. Hardly any people would actually do business with him. He couldn't seem to move from 'friend zone' to serious business partner.

Much like meeting someone of the opposite sex that you are attracted to. If you're too nice, overly accommodating, and not direct enough you will end up in the friend zone.

Yes you'll have long conversations with things in common and lots to laugh about, but it won't go anywhere unless a change of gear takes place.

High performing sales professionals know when to up the ante, and go from a place of rapport-building to a place of being taken seriously and actually engaging in business.

Average salespeople ask questions which don't turn the needle. They've probably been on a training course and been told they have to do this. But they're not really thinking about it, they're not genuinely curious.

Effective salespeople ask probing questions which put their buyers on the spot. They drill into each answer and make it engaging & interesting, using instinctive conversational skills to uncover issues, and make it easy for their buyers to do business.

So whilst rapport building is important it is only the start of a business relationship and fundamentally redundant in its own right.

Lots of nice conversations = zero business.