Nobody would argue that building a little rapport with a buyer at the beginning of a meeting is a great way to get things started. However, people do have different ideas about how to best go about building rapport.

During my days as an insurance broker I learned my lessons the hard way.

Early in my career, I had an initial meeting with a buyer who happened to be the CFO of a posh mid-sized law firm who was looking for some additional Life and Disability Insurance. As I entered his office I noticed a picture of a foursome on the first tee at Pebble Beach with him right in the middle.

I immediately jumped into a conversation about handicaps, this course and that course and who is going to take this year’s Green Jacket. The buyer immediately perked up and engaged in a lively conversation. This went on for a good ten minutes, and I thought to myself, “Wow! This meeting is off to a great start.” I noticed him glance at his watch and I politely asked him how he was doing for time. Beads of sweat began to form on my upper lip as he told me he had a conference call in 20 minutes.

Does this scenario sound familiar? While discussing the finer points of a golf game is fine, we need to move from the Preliminary Pleasantries into a business conversation within a few minutes of sitting down. A great way to transition into a business conversation is using the Agenda Statement. This 45-second piece of magic lets your buyer know you are prepared, professional, and have done this before. There are four parts to the Agenda Statement:

1. State the purpose of the meeting. A brief sentence or two that describes why you are meeting with the buyer.
2. Briefly outline what you will cover.
3. Gain buyer’s input on agenda. Ask the buyer if they would like to add anything to the agenda
4. Transition to first agenda item.

Read more about the Agenda Statement by downloading the Silver Bullet Selling eBook.