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Salescraft Training
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Who is your avatar?
You know what you're selling, but what is your customer buying? Hint... it may not be what you think!
I'll share tips and insights from my years of selling to B2B and B2C clients. So welcome to the Podcast!
And, find out more about my online courses at: https://www.salescraft.training
Salescraft Training
How to have the right conversation (every time)
Having the right conversation is vital if you are to be successful in sales. But, did you know that understanding WHO you are speaking to and their personality type, can make or break a deal?
We all like to be with people who are like us and who 'get' us. This is as true in sales as it is in every other aspect of our lives. Personality profiling tools, such as Myers Briggs, provide a way of measuring how likely this is to happen. The closer people are to our own profile, the more likely we will get on. And, when we get on with a client, they are much more likely to buy.
The downside is that some systems have as many as 16 different personality types. And, to be successful, we need to be able to identify the most likely personality type the person we are speaking to has, so that we can change our approach to suit them.
The good news is that the DISC system only has four types. These are Dominant (very outcome focussed), Influencer (very charismatic), Stabiliser (likes things to stay the same) and Compliant (the tech specialist). We are all a combination of these four personality aspects, but one or two will be to the fore. These in turn drive how we treat people, how we behave under stress and many other personality traits.
I take you through a brief introduction to these traits and how they can enhance our communication skills in this podcast. There is a lot more information in my "Consultative Selling" course.
If you have a sales problem you'd like to hear covered in a podcast, please contact me directly. Or, my sales training programme might help!
If you'd like help to improve your sales confidence, please jump onto my free (1 hour) on-demand webinar. I'll teach you three things you can apply immediately, including handling objections and closing a sale.
Graham Elliott
You can contact me at graham@salescraft.training
My website is www.salescraft.training
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Hello again. The subject of this podcast is communicating with people, and it's about getting an understanding of who it is you're actually talking to. And once you do understand who you're talking to, the difference that that makes is that you can have the right conversation with them. Now I'm only going to touch on this in this podcast and I've certainly touched on this subject in other podcasts, usually from a different direction and what I will say? That this subject forms a whole, a complete module in my online sales training program Consultative Selling. So if you haven't had a look at that, please take a look at the website. There is a link in the website to a free webinar and in that I'll take you through at least three things that you can apply straight away to improve your selling, and we're looking at. Closing is one of them. Dealing with objections is another one. So there are things in there that you can apply straight away. All of them are expanded on in the course. But if you don't want to take my course, don't want to pay for the course or invest, that's all good. You'll at least be able to walk away with something useful. So I want to talk about personality types.
Speaker 1:Now this is something that can get very complicated very quickly if you're not very careful can get very complicated very quickly if you're not very careful. The chances are that you've already had some sort of personality assessment along the way somewhere, and if you haven't, you may well have heard of things like. Myers-briggs is a very popular one, and there are others about. I use a similar kind of personality profiling system. It's called DISC. The reason that I like it, though, is that a lot of these systems, in order to become more precise and have more precision, they start getting complicated, so you might have 16 different personality types. That's what Myers Briggs uses, and for me, that's fine, and I always find it very interesting to learn more about myself and perhaps get some insights into why I do certain things, and you may well have had that experience where it's like you're not in the driver's seat anymore. It's like, suddenly, you're saying or doing things and you don't really want to, but you're off and there doesn't seem to be any stopping it. So those personality profiles can give you insights into why those sorts of situations happen, but what I'm really looking for, and the reason that I've chosen DISC, is that you can break it down quite simply into four basic types of people.
Speaker 1:Now, we're all a combination of those four, so basically each of those four aspects of a person. If you want to think of it that way, every one of us has those four elements within us. However, some of those elements will be stronger than others. They'll play a more significant role in how we behave and how we respond or react to situations, and others will be less obvious. So they're kind of less important, if you like, to us as individuals.
Speaker 1:The reason that this is important is that once you understand what you are and this is always the place to start with these things, in my opinion, it's to understand where you're coming from and then you can learn and recognize those same traits in others and also recognize when people are different. And the most important thing about this from a sales perspective is being able to change your approach to match the person that you're talking to and talk to them and deal with them in a way that they want to be dealt with. Now, this isn't conscious, this is subconscious, but this is definitely where these situations arise and I've definitely spoken about this before where you've had a great meeting with someone, you feel like it's gone really well, everything's clicking and you walk away and then you never hear from them again. So in another podcast I've spoken about some of the reasons that may happen from a kind of tactical perspective things we might be doing wrong in a meeting. Here I want to talk about it more from the emotional side, because one of the fundamental things to understand is that we are a certain way and the very first thing we do is we expect everybody else to be the same as we are and then we treat them accordingly and we're not going to talk. That's pretty much where we go wrong, because we're not all the same. So I'm going to just briefly describe some aspects of DISC to you.
Speaker 1:Whether you take my course or not, I do recommend that you do get some insights into a personality profiling system that you can apply straight away, and I use DISC because I believe it's very easy to apply system that you can apply straight away and I use this because I believe it's very easy to apply Even as you're walking up to someone, you can get just in the first, really less than a minute have a clue or get, you can pick up clues about the kind of person they are, and I talk about this as mind reading your client, and it really is, because we all give off clues about which parts of the different personality types we can be that we are. We kind of give off, we show signs. So if you know what the signs are, you can very, very quickly and literally in a matter of seconds, have a pretty good idea of the main characteristic that that person has. So of the four different aspects of personality, which one is the most significant in that person? And once you know that, you can change the way you speak to them. You know how to open the conversation, you know what kind of conversation you need to have with them. You'll know what kind of buying pattern they're likely to have. Are they going to make a quick decision or do you have to have multiple visits? Do you have to reassure them or are they willing to take a risk? So hopefully, even as I'm saying this, you're recognizing that this is absolute gold when you go and meet somebody, because with this knowledge and knowing what you are actually like, you can change your approach to match that person.
Speaker 1:And I learned about DISC from a guy in Melbourne and one of the things that stayed with me is he said and I think it's very true that when we meet somebody for the first time, we are subconsciously looking for the answers to two questions, and those questions are are they like me and do they get me? Do they understand me? And obviously, if we're the same personality type in terms of the significant aspect of personality as that other person, then we're naturally going to be like them. These are the people we just click with. It's almost like meeting yourself and, equally, these are the people that we get because we think of things in the same way, we approach the world in the same way, we have the same kind of conversations, we get to the point or we like a long story, all these kinds of things.
Speaker 1:There are many facets to this and certainly far, far more than I can do justice to in a short podcast, but I do hope there's enough in this to pique your interest and motivate you to find out a little bit more. Now, you don't need to become a therapist to appreciate this. And again, coming back to the online course that I do, I just focus on what are the things that you need to understand to be able to pick what kind of person you're talking to. I'll also point you in the direction of where you can get yourself assessed, where you're coming from. And then I also talk about, for each of these different four personalities, what's their buying style and what do you need to think about when you are selling to them. So it gives you those insights and that gives you a massive head start when you start thinking about the competition, the people that you're selling against. If they're not doing this and you are you can get ahead of them really, really fast and you can even have your client wanting to buy from you, and that's a really good place to be. So I'm going to give you a very, very brief introduction to these four different personality types and hopefully it's enough that you may be able to recognize certain traits in yourself, and that's, as I say, just as important.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I want you to think about four people. They are waiting for a lift, an elevator, and they're all slightly different. They look slightly different, and the first person I'm going to talk about. This person has what we call the dominant personality, and that's the D in DISC. So DISC is D-I-S-C, so we're just going to work through each of the letters. So the dominant personality type when you look at them, they tend to be reasonably slim. They tend to be very conservatively dressed but very smartly dressed, and typically blacks or grays, that kind of color, and they are pounding that lift call button or the elevator call button because they want to get going.
Speaker 1:So the high D person, the high dominant person, is very focused. They're high energy. Everything is fast, they speak quickly, they move quickly and this is partly why their body shape is at the risk of offending people. I'm going to talk about body shapes, so this is to help you. So D's tend to be slimmer when you look at them, and they're slimmer because they're burning energy all the time. So they are the highest energy of the four types of people.
Speaker 1:Now, they just want to get the job done. They're not very interested in people. People are a means to an end but they're not very interested in people for themselves. So it's highly likely that if you know any people who are high D, they're not into chit chat. They probably won't ask you much about yourself. They get very goal focused. They're very big picture people. They get very focused on achieving goals. Incidentally, salespeople a lot of salespeople, particularly the hunter type salespeople, so the people who are out looking for new deals all the time they will tend to be very high in their D personality, the D aspect of their personality, their D personality, the D aspect of their personality.
Speaker 1:So the next person is the I, and that stands for influencer. Now this person is also quite high energy slightly less than the D person and they tend to also be relatively slim in their body. Not always these are just guides, these are rough guides, so it's not 100% certain that this is what they'll look like, but they'll tend to be that. What does tend to give them away is that they tend to be more brightly colored. They are quite charismatic people, in fact they're the kind of people that you can't help but like. But equally, when you spend a lot of time with them, you start to feel quite drained and that's because they sort of recharge as a person by being with other people. So they're likely to be the life and soul of the party, that sort of person Standing by the lift, the elevator.
Speaker 1:They'll just start a conversation. They might say to somebody hey, I love your shoes, they're great, where did you get those? They really suit you well. And get into all this kind of chit-chat. And the thing about the high I person is they like variety, they like to try new things out, but they can also be the least loyal of customers. So there are reasons for that that I won't go into here, but definitely in the course I do, I run through all of that. So that's the high I Now. They're chatting to everybody, but they also one of the ways to spot them is that although they tend to talk a lot, a lot of it will be about themselves and not about other people. So it's just one of these things to note about themselves, not about other people. So it's just one of these things to note.
Speaker 1:The next person, the S person, is stabilizer or stability. Different descriptions tend to vary the name very slightly, but essentially they're stable, as in not that they're necessarily totally stable personalities, but they're stable because they like things to just stay as they are. They're not people who like innovation, they don't like change. They're quite frightened by change. So in their body they're a lower energy again. So here you might find them looking a bit rounder in their body, rounder than the previous two energies I've spoken about.
Speaker 1:They'll probably be quite well-dressed, appropriately addressed, I should say, for what they're doing. But they like systems, they like to have a process. They like to have step-by-step instructions. So the kind of roles that you'll often find them in are things like bank tellers or accountants or doing a role which tends to be fairly detailed and repetitive, but there are clear steps because they like things to be the same. They don't like sudden changes. If there's a big change where they work, for example, that will really put them on edge. They won't be comfortable with that at all. So they need a lot of reassurance.
Speaker 1:So, from the perspective of leadership, which I have a different series of podcasts for these are the subscription podcasts you have to handle them in a different way. To say, a high influence person or a high dominant person. Now, one of the characteristics of the stabilizer is that they're very family focused. If they ask about you and they're likely to do that they genuinely want to know. They're very caring. So you'll also find them in the caring profession, such as being a nurse, that sort of occupation.
Speaker 1:So, going back to the elevator, let's say that the elevator has arrived and the doors have opened. So the D person the first person we spoke about has rushed in, is now pounding their floor button because they want to get going, and the S person has walked in but as the doors are beginning to close, they see somebody else running for the lift and they put their hand in to stop the doors from closing so that this other person can get into the elevator. So that's the kind of person they are. The final person I'm going to talk about is the C person, and this person C stands for compliant, and again you might see variations of this title, but essentially these are people who love detail, again, much like the S. Essentially these are people who love detail, again, much like the S, but these people tend to know their subjects in a huge amount of depth.
Speaker 1:So you'll typically find them as scientists, people like that, maybe people who write programming languages, and that also gives you some clues about how they are with other people. They are not particularly happy with people. They like things to be to some extent predictable and safe. So with a computer program, for example, if you're right, if you've ever tried programming maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but you know that if you write down a list of certain commands, then you get a certain outcome. Every time it's there 100%, whereas if you talk to a person you can get a totally unexpected outcome, and they don't like that at all.
Speaker 1:So they are the sort of person that when they step into the elevator, when they step inside, and most elevators, most lifts, have a little plaque in there that tells you how many people it can hold, or it might be some variation on that, but let's that tells you how many people it can hold, or it might be some variation on that, but let's say it's how many people it can hold, and your C person, your compliant person, will be in there and just counting to make sure it's correct and correct is another word for them, as in doing the, you know things working correctly in doing things working correctly. So the way that you approach each of these people is very different, and how you would interact with them is is also really important, because if you are high, d tends to be high energy, not very interested in people. As I've said, they're a means to an end, someone like a stabilizer. They can find them very intimidating and very overwhelming. And what that person will do if they are confronted with a high D person, yes, will tend to come inside themselves, and there are certain things that we do when we're under pressure. Again, this is all in the module, in the course. But what the stabilizer will do as an example will become a people pleaser. They'll start saying yes to everything. And the reason is that they are very conflict diverse and they can imagine a conflict happening and it doesn't have to have actually happened, but they can just imagine it happening and they just want to get away as soon as they can. So they will say what they feel they need to say to keep the D person happy and then, as soon as that person's gone, they will do what they can to get away from them.
Speaker 1:And the reason that I use that as an example is that most salespeople tend to be a combination of D and I in their personality profile. So the D is very results focused and, if you think about it, you're trying to hit a target. You've got a certain number of whatever it is you sell. You've got to sell a certain number of those every month to hit target. So you're very goal focused and that's a high D kind of an energy high D aspect of personality.
Speaker 1:Often and this is particularly true of the hunter personality, the person who's taking on new clients all the time they also tend to be very high in their eye energy because the eye, as I've said, is very charismatic and can get along with anybody, so they know how to switch it on. And there are other characteristics to the eye, as I've said, is very charismatic and can get along with anybody, so they know how to switch it on. And there are other characteristics to the eye as well that are really important. But that is how that type of salesperson tends to be. The other type of salesperson the farmer is the kind of salesperson who tends to deal with a limited number of accounts, but they're over the long term. So it's really important that they have a nice, solid relationship where the client feels that the salesperson is very reliable and they can rely on them.
Speaker 1:If they say they're going to do something, they know that that's going to happen, it's going to be done. And that person will tend to be a combination of the D and the S energy. So remember, obviously, the D. You still have to make target and make sales and do the numbers. But the S energy is much more focused on people. It has a much stronger people focus. It's genuinely interested in people. There will be clues in their environment. There might be pictures of family, that kind of thing. So, as I say, when you go into their environment, you get clues about the kind of person that you're working with, that you're talking to, and that kind of combination of personality aspects is absolutely ideal for longer term relationships, because those people they don't make friends easily, but when they do, they're friends for life and that energy, if I call it that, is something that's really important for doing that kind of selling. So I hope you found that interesting. Maybe you haven't heard of DISC before. If you haven't, I do recommend that you find out a bit more. There are some really good cartoons online and YouTube that go through each of the personality types and if you are in a leadership and management role, they also talk about how you manage the different types of people.
Speaker 1:But as a first stage, as I said right at the start, it's most important, I think, that you learn what you are because you now know how to adapt yourself. So I'm a high D and I did have somebody working for me at one stage who was high S and I hadn't learned this stuff at that point, and we would have the meeting every week my little team. We'd have a meeting, we'd talk through what was happening and I'm very much. Well, okay, we get this, this and this done, let's go. And she would always be coming back with additional questions and after a while it would just irritate me, because to me it's just about well, get on with it, do what you have to do to make it happen. And I would say to her look, just get it done. And when we did performance reviews and that was a two-way review the thing she said to me was she just hated it when I told her to get it done and what was going on there?
Speaker 1:The high D is not particularly interested in rules. In fact, we'll tend to break them quite often, but he's very good at thinking on the spot and just coming up with ideas on the spot and executing them, getting things to happen. The S, as I've said, wants clear steps, and the reason that this lady was getting frustrated with me was because she really wanted to help me to succeed. She wants to be there to watch my back and to get everything done, but I wasn't being clear enough with her about the steps that needed to take place in order to achieve what I was trying to do. So I don't know if that's rung any bells for you. If it has, there you go, but, as I've said, there's a lot more information in the course, so please have a look at that, please have a look at the free webinar and I will speak to you.