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BUILDING TRUST AND RECOGNIZING INNER DRIVERS

This sequence forms the foundation for effective communication.
Consider negotiations: Every negotiation starts with rapport-build-
ing, followed by clarifying one’s mission. Influence comes only after
these stages.

The focus here is on the initial bonding: the process of engaging
someone to the point where they share information, allowing you to

understand their true desires, goals, expectations, and needs. Trust-
building entails gaining someone’s confidence to the degree that
they reveal their personality and desires, enabling you—in a sales
context—to provide the precise product or service they require.

Similarly, for managers, rapport-building aids in the mission of in-
spiring employees to excel. By earning their trust and understand-
ing what truly motivates them, you can tailor your leadership to

tap into their inner drives and spur them (influence them) toward
improved customer interactions.

The goal of rapport-building is to cultivate a reciprocal connection
where the other person’s trust outweighs their skepticism. This is
fundamental for an investigator to gather useful information from
an interviewee.

Let’s be candid: Aren’t customers, particularly new ones, and pros-
pects in the customer acquisition phase generally more wary? If a
salesperson fosters a longer relationship, trust levels rise, potentially
diminishing suspicion entirely. However, at the onset of engagement
with a potential or new client, skepticism often prevails. Rapport-
building is crucial for surmounting such barriers of mistrust.

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