Interpersonal Skills in the Note Business

Learning How to Speak to Homeowners

This idea of building rapport should be a top priority for any person in the note business. Note buyers are always on the phone with homeowners and interacting with lenders and brokers, etc. People who don’t really know how to be social in today’s world are very limited to opportunities and possibilities. This business is all about networking and socializing. However, one should not only seek to be social but rather to be socially competent. Through studies in interpersonal communication, psychology, and sales one can improve on rapport building. But, what exactly is rapport?

Rapport can be seen as building relationships in a fairly quick way, connecting with people by getting on their same page, sharing similar interests and likes, making people feel comfortable, and even just relating with others. In rapport there is a messenger and a receiver type of interaction. There are different techniques to building rapport such trying to match the other’s body language or engaging in eye contact. One can use hand gestures, vocal tone, and even kinesthetics to connect with other people and build partnerships and relationships. When it comes to sales one needs to be able to build fast relationships; and in this case, gain homeowners/borrowers by earning their trust and confidence.

The three main methods for building rapport are: mirroring, reciprocity, and commonality. Mirroring is getting in rhythm with a person on various levels. In emotional mirroring one tries to empathize with the homeowner for example and be on their side. It is important to listen and not interrupt. Look for keywords or key problems that arise when they speak and capitalize on them to get a better understanding of the situation. There is also posture mimicking which is mimicking body language. Although this is hard to do on phone calls one can mimic tones, tempo and dynamics. The second main method is reciprocity which consists of giving a gift or doing a favor, expecting nothing in return. For example, at times when note holders are on the phone with homeowners they find themselves helping out with something that has nothing to do with buying notes like directing them to a realtor for example or helping someone find a job. Lastly, commonality is deliberately trying to find similarities or things in common in order to build some comradery. Through the use of these methods and techniques one can slowly but surely build rapport and become more socially competent.