Establishing rapport with a potential client or with customers will provide many benefits for a small business. Establishing rapport allows the individuals to gain each others trust, and remain open to their ideas which translates to word-of-mouth advertising, and repeat business. For most small business owners, establishing rapport with their clients and customers is a great way to build trust in their business. 

Consider someone that you do business with that has established a good rapport with you. Bet you feel comfortable, even glad to interact with them. My local dry cleaner is a great example. Over a period of a few visits he made a point to learn a little about me with simple questions, "Do you have far to drive to work?", "Do you need suits for work?". Each time I return he asks about my work, or commute, or family. I enjoy dropping off and picking up my dry cleaning even though our interactions are only a few minutes out of the day. Using rapport building, I've learned about him as well. 

Building rapport is easy and only takes a few minutes. Here are a few steps to building rapport: 

1. Take a minute to "chit-chat", get to know the individual - Use your visual observation skills to identify topics that may be of interest to the individual. Maybe it's a trophy in their office, or you can see they are stressed or in a hurry. "That's a nice trophy." Or, "It appears you are in a hurry today, how can I help?" Conversation starters can include the weather, or asking about their company. 

2. Pay attention, listen to the other person - Practice active listening. You practice active listening by really listening. You can paraphrase what they said or comment on what they said to you to let them know you are listening. "Wow, sounds like that trophy took a lot of hard work on your part." Let's face it, most people will like others who seemed interested in them. Listening, asking questions about the person, and responding to show you are interested are great ways to establish rapport. 

3. Mirror the other individual - Use the same gestures where appropriate, use similar language to theirs. This shows you are on the level with them and use of body language clues shows you are comfortable with them and are listening. 

4. Look for shared experiences - Often in conversation someone may share an event, or action they have recently taken. If you've had a similar experience, share it with them. Don't try to upstage, just relate. One business owner shared that when she took time to chit-chat with a customer/client she often found they had something in common. If they didn't she would say, "I've never had that experience. What was it like?" 

Building rapport only takes a few minutes, some concentration, and the benefits are great. You will not only make your client's/customers come to trust you, you will gain some friends as well!!!

Consumer trends have been changing with the influences of improved product delivery, ability to research products before buying, technology to find and purchase their products.

For small business owners, looking for ways to make shopping more convenient for their customers is one way to support and grow sales. 

• Product delivery - Many retailers offer fast delivery of products. Depending on where you live, same day delivery or two day delivery are becoming more common. For small businesses there are opportunities using existing delivery services to ship products to customers near and far. Incorporating online purchases for quick in store pickup is another convenience to consider adding for your customers. 
• Product information online - Providing product information online is one way to grab customers as they search the Internet looking for detailed information before they buy. How big is the product? What does it do? What do other customers think about the product? Are all questions that consumers regularly turn to the Internet to find answers. 
• Photo's & Video's - You don't have to be a skilled photographer or videographer to add excitement to your web pages. Snap a few photo's of your products, or make a brief 2-3 minute video talking about the product/service to share the excitement of your product and/or service offerings. Using a youtube channel can also help you with embedding video and reaching a larger customer audience. 
• Incorporate shipping information - Using the primary shipping providers you have opportunities to embed information about shipping cost estimates, and potential delivery dates to help your customers complete their purchase. 

Providing as much information as possible will increase sales as customers can make an informed buying decision. It takes a little time with great returns. 

We are often asked, what does it take to be successful as a small business owner, just the basics.

One word answer is "consistency". As a small business owner you need to be consistent in all of your business services, practices, and most importantly, good customer service. You want your customer to have a consistent experience every time they visit you. They want to know that when they have a positive experience it will be the same every time they do business with you. 

Their experience needs to be consistently great!!!! Remember, consistency will help you grow your business through word of mouth advertising and gaining repeat business.