Is asking for help as a sign of weakness or of incompetence?
Operator: 9-1-1, what is your emergency?
Caller: Hello! I need help building rapport with my prospects and clients! Can you help?!
Operator: Although this phone line is for emergencies only. You NEED to read this post.
Do you consider asking for help as a sign of weakness or of incompetence?
No matter how high we climb the ladder of success, we need to ask those around us for help. Regardless of the position you hold within a company, asking for help is essential in order for a business to thrive and progress. There are many benefits when asking for help and one of them is building rapport.
When we say ask for help to build rapport, we don’t mean you should be asking everyone you meet “Help me?! I want to build rapport with you!” Yeah, we don’t recommend that desperate approach since it definitely will scare people away. Approach the person with the intention of getting to know them. Ask them questions. Be present with them and let the conversation flow.
Let’s use this scenario as an example, Dan is a real estate agent who is in the neighborhood looking for homeowners who want to put their house up for sale. He decides to do this by going door-to-door knocking.
Knock. Knock.
Dan: Hello, I’m sorry to bother you but I really need some help. Do you have just a moment?
Homeowner: Yes. (About 80% of the time. Otherwise, they’ll say something like “What is this about?” Either way, reply with the following…
Dan: Thank you. Here’s my problem. I’m a local real estate agent and there are people who really want to live in this neighborhood. Do you know anyone who’s thinking about selling?
Homeowner: [they will or they won’t] Why as a matter fact I do.
What did you think? Easy, isn’t it? A few of our real estate clients have actually used this approach and one of them earned twelve listings in a single month by doing this. Asking for help pays off! The reason why this approach works so great is that most of us love to help other people. It feeds our need to contribute to others and to our community. By helping others you are helping yourself. Everyone wins!
For an in-depth overview, watch Dan Stewart’s webinar, The Magic of Instant Rapport. In this webinar, Dan not only demonstrates using each of the five approaches to building rapport, but he also dives into the psychology behind them. For more sales tips, be sure to tune into Dan’s next webinar, or pre-order his Seriously Happy book!
