Rapport: Risk of Relationships...

 As you travel the world on business or around your particular county neighborhood, do you ever experience true “Rapport”?

You know it when you hear it, see it or you feel it.

When you encounter an employee working at the desk of your favorite airline, at your grocery store and your local banking branch, do you ever experience true rapport?

rapport

Noun rap· port | \ ra-ˈpȯr

Definition of rapport

: a friendly, harmonious relationship

especially : a relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy

Is it the persons own words, their actions or their behavior that this particular person caught your attention?  One might find themselves wanting to revisit this establishment, business or professional service instead of one of the competition.

Brand loyalty or repeat business or the ability to get one customer or client to tell someone else about that customer encounter is what rapport is really all about.

It is all about building long lasting relationships. It is about using true rapport.

How excellent are you as a Senior Leader in your organization at using rapport with employees or new potential clients?

You may have heard some of the classic lines utilized in the past, depending on the business. If you heard: “What brings you in here today?” You might think you just walked into a Ford dealer.

If you heard: “Did you find everything you were looking for”? You might think you were in the aisle at a Gelson’s market.

If you heard: "How might we exceed your expectations today"? You might think you were working with someone who really cares about your needs, your individual requirements.

The entire brand experience with you and your organization from the first phone call, the first web site visit or E-mail inquiry or the first in-person meeting is at stake.

Building rapport shall begin on the first encounter with another person and it shall continue throughout the entire lifecycle of the relationship.

How might you start any initial meeting with another person to give them that feeling of rapport on your 2nd visit, a 3rd encounter, or every encounter by phone, e-mail or in person going forward?

The shareholder, stakeholders or owners of your organization are counting on your Senior Leaders in the business enterprise, to build the brand and grow the numbers.

The 20% at the top of your organization are most likely to be excellent at the Art and Science of rapport. Leadership really is about making everyone else better.

Remember, "Operational Risks" in your business or organization includes People, Processes, Systems and External events.

What are you doing to utilize the 20% of your people to reduce risk in your business, as your next generation of "Senior Leaders" model the true power of Rapport…