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You Blew the Meeting – But Do You Know Why?
Tips to deal with the four main personality types
by Anthony Parinello, Wall Street Journal
best-selling author of
Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer, and creator of:
97 Days to Sales Mastery
Sometimes, what we don’t know really can kill the sale. Take the subject of
personality styles. Salespeople typically ignore the personality styles of their
prospects. By doing so, they unintentionally offend those prospects.
Ignoring your prospect’s personality style is a fatal error. It’s one of those
unfortunate situations where not knowing what you don’t know really can sabotage
your sales efforts. Once you make even an innocent mistake in this vitally
important area, the odds are that you’ll never get invited back again – without
ever knowing the reason for your exile.
This is
definitely an area worth learning about. Here’s the scoop: There are four
distinctly different personality styles; each of us has a primary and a
secondary style. Dr. David Merrill made this initial discovery back in the early
and middle1960s; he studied salespeople to develop what has become a cornerstone
assessment in psychological studies.
According to Dr. Merrill, you and I – and every other human on planet earth
capable of communicating – can be assigned to one of the following four
categories.
Personality Style #1: The Driver
Dr. M
found a particular set of individuals that he chose to call “drivers.” These
people are all about authority and taking action. These are fast-moving people.
These people have two speeds: stop, and full speed ahead.
Drivers
are “get-it-done” kind of people. You can usually pick them out of a crowd. The
Driver motto is: “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” Know anybody like that?
Sure you do.
When
dealing with Drivers, DO say:
“What’s your opinion about X?”
“Which one of these (benefits/results/topics) is of the greatest importance to
you during (specific timeframe)?”
“Have
I understood you correctly about …?”
“We’re sure …”
“We
can …”
“It
would be an honor to …”
“May
I have your permission to …?”
Whatever you do, DON’T say this to the Driver:
“Did
you know?” (Always assume Drivers know everything.)
“Were
you aware of?” (Always assume Drivers are aware of everything.)
“Let
me tell you …” (Don’t tell a Driver what to do!)
“I
want to …” (Who cares what you want?)
“In
my opinion …” (When a Driver wants your opinion, you’ll know.)
Personality Style #2: The Expressive
These
folks are all about establishing connections between people and explaining
things. They love to be in the action, in the limelight. They love to talk.
If
there is something going on in the office, a party or a happy hour or a picnic,
these are the people who are usually putting it together. They’re focused on
social interactions. They are personable, gregarious, expressive people. You
will make headway and connect with them most easily when you realize that they
value relationships above just about everything else.
When
dealing with Expressives, DO say:
“How
would you do X?”
“Have
you ever thought about X?”
“How
do you feel about X?”
“What
can I do to help you X?”
“Just
between you and me …”
“You
seem like you have a lot of experience with …”
Whatever you do, DON’T say this to the Expressive:
“That’s not really relevant …”
“That’s only available for (larger-preferred-other) customers.”
“That’s outside of my area of responsibility.”
“We
can’t …”
“That’s not available …”
“I
can only …”
“(Someone else) will take care of that for you.”
Personality Category #3: The Amiable
The
main thing you should know about Amiables is that they do not like change. They
tend to be very cautious. They like other people to get out onto the thin ice
first. They are not risk takers, and they don’t like to upset the apple cart and
they’re not big on making any type of decision.
These
are “status quo” individuals. They are certainly not the movers and shakers that
a Driver or an Expressive tends to be. These people are all about minimizing
risk, and you are going to gain points with them when you show them how to avoid
taking chances that in their estimation would be unacceptable. Never pressure an
Amiable to make an independent decision. That’s far too risky.
When
dealing with Amiables, DO say …
“Together, we can …”
“Do
you feel it would make your boss/colleague/sponsor happy to know that …?”
“Can
I ask for your input/help?”
“Can
you help me understand what your feelings are about …?”
“What’s the safest way to …?”
“Let’s not gamble on …”
“Let’s not risk …”
“Let’s not take chances on …”
Whatever you do, DON’T say this to an Amiable:
(Any
direct question that ignores the person’s input, feelings, and thoughts.)
“Don’t worry about that …”
“Do
you want me to …?” (Giving people instructions is much too risky!)
“What
would you like me to do next?” (Ditto!)
“I’ll
leave it up to you.” (Anything … anything but that!)
Personality Style #4: The Analytic
Analytics are all about accuracy. They are focused on spotting mistakes and
addressing potential problems before they come up. In the scientific and
engineering communities, the analytics are the kings and queens of the realm.
These
people always need to see more information. They might as well come from
Missouri, the “show me” state. They want to know the right answer beyond a
shadow of a doubt.
When dealing with Analyticals, DO say:
“I’ve
personally confirmed X.” (And be able to back it up with hard data!)
“We
are certain of X.” (And be able to back it up with hard data!)
“Our
research proves X.” (And be able to back it up with hard data!)
“Let’s leave no stone unturned.”
“Let’s make sure all the T’s are crossed and all the I’s are dotted.”
Whatever you do, DON’T say this to an Analytic:
“Approximately X.”
“Roughly X.”
“I’m
not sure about X.”
“Maybe.”
“Perhaps.”
“I’ll
try to find out …”
“I
don’t know.”
Now
here’s your challenge.
Communicate most effectively with members of the four groups - and, as a
salesperson, you will run into all four – you must know your OWN personality
style. I invite you to learn this right now - before another deal goes down the
tubes because of something you didn’t know that you didn’t know!
Anthony Parinello is a Wall Street Journal
best-selling author of
Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer and
creator of 97 Days to Sales Mastery (www.hotshotselling.com).
To learn more about best-selling sales author
Anthony Parinello and his online course “97 Days to Sales Mastery,” visit
www.hotshotselling.com, or call 1-800-777-VITO.
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