There are 5 decisions most people go through for buying decisions.
- Who to buy from? (You?)
- You must sell yourself before you can sell anything else!
- For consumer items this may not be a person but rather the store.
- What Company to buy from?
- What Product to buy?
- What Price is right?
- When to buy?
Since "who to buy from" is the first and most critical decision it is important to know your personality type and how to effectively communicate with different personality types.
Have you heard of the DISC personality profile? DISC stands for:
D=Dominance
I=Influence
S=Steadiness
C=Compliance
I believe my personality type is more "D" with a strong "C" influence, especially when it comes to proposal writing. "D" people tend to want authority, want to get to the point quickly, and are task focused. "C" people tend to want a lot of details and to comply with the requirements.
Mary Jane's is more "I" with a strong "S" influence. "I" people like people, are quick to establish relationships, and often optimistic. "S" people tend to be patient, even with "Ds", and have a high willingness to help others.
As you might guess I think in bullet points and want the facts so I can make a decision and move on and Mary Jane wants to tell me the whole story, perhaps going back through several segments of the story that I could care less about.
She can come off as scatter brained to me and I can come off as uncaring to her. Neither is true. This is just how our personality types routinely communicate. So if we didn't understand these personality types we would have more difficulty communicating with each other. I actually envy some of her skills and she some of mine.
So back to selling - the process of getting people to do business with you. Remember the #1 buying decision. Do I trust the presenter? Are they like me? Do they understand me?
To become highly effective in dealing with people it is important to understand the four basic personality profiles. If you recognize someone is a "D" get to the point quickly. An "I" will want to socialize before signing up with you. An "S" is going to want to know why your product or service is good not only for them but for their family, community, and perhaps the world. A "C" is going to want a lot of details.
If you have ever seen an internet advertisement or watched a webinar when they are selling a product or service watch for this pattern. There is a science to it.
They get to the most important benefits right away for the "Ds". If they don't the "Ds" are going to turn it off. When they start telling about themselves they will include struggles and then goals they set and achieved with the product or service. At this point of the presentation is when I start thinking, okay, how much?
For the "Is" the presenter tells you a little bit about themselves and their vision. Look for colorful images and the fun they are now having in their lives., talk of having fun. They will also tell you how the product or service will bring more fun into the buyer's life. For example, they might ask, "What would an extra $500 per month or an extra hour a day do for your life?"
For the "Ss" the presentation will then move on to how the product or service benefits your family or community, and begin to add social proof in the way of testimonials. When talking about themselves they will talk about how the additional money or time in their lives allows them to do more for others.
Finally, for the "Cs" there will be example after example of how the product or service works. For instance, presentation of investments and the money they generated as well as related details such as the investment address and time frames. Additional testimonials will be presented here with facts and figures in them.
Hopefully you now understand that there are four primary personality types. If meeting with someone one-on-one, you can focus your presentation to that specific personality type to improve your success rate. For a group meeting your presentation should migrate through all four types.
Keep in mind that we can, and often do, migrate through different personality types during any given day but we have our primary traits that we come back to.
I am not suggesting we manipulate people. I am suggesting that in any human interaction the only person we control is ourselves so why not approach others in a manner that is most effective for them. After all, if you believe your product or service can truly benefit them, don't you owe it to them?
People who are really good at this will develop better relationships both personal and professional.
By the way, politicians use this same practice to appeal to as many people as they can. Watch for it in their speeches, there will be something for each DISC personality type. See if you can spot them using it.
