Improve Sales - Determining a Buyer’s Personality

Determining a Buyer’s Personality

While it’s beyond the scope of this blog to develop your ability to instantly determine another person’s personality, we can give you some ideas on what to watch for and how to do to adjust your style to match your customer’s style.

A UK psychologist has determined that, with the information you have here, you’ll have a 75 percent chance of correctly determining another person’s personality. The ability to do this doesn’t come instantly and the more you practise, the better you’ll become. It can take years to really become proficient at quickly determining someone’s personality.

You can get a good idea of the personality type of the person you are dealing with by observing just two factors — how direct or assertive, and how open or responsive, the individual is.

Here are some of the things to watch for in other people. The farther away the person is from the centre of the open/closed and direct/indirect indicators, the more obvious or more pronounced will be the indicators. People who are close to the centre will be harder to “read.”

Observable Openness Behaviours

Top (Open=Relaxed) to Bottom (Closed=Formal)

• Animated facial expressions

• Much hand and body movement

• Flexible time perspective

• Tells stories and anecdotes

• Little emphasis on facts & details

• Shares personal feelings

• Contact oriented

• Immediate nonverbal feedback

• Somewhat expressionless

• Controlled/limited hand and body movement

• Time disciplined

• Conversation focuses on issues and tasks at hand

• Pushes for facts and details

• Little sharing of personal feelings

• Non contact oriented

• Slow in giving nonverbal feedback, if given at all

Observable Directness Behaviours

Top (Quiet=Indirect/Cautious) to Bottom (Quick=Direct/Assertive)

• Soft handshake

• Intermittent eye contact

• Low quantity of verbal communication

• Questions tend to be for clarification, support, information

• Makes tentative statements

• Limited gestures to support conversation

• Low voice volume

• Slow voice speed

• Little variation in vocal intonation

• Communicates hesitantly

• Slow moving

• Firm handshake

• Steady eye contact

• High quantity of verbal communication

• Questions tend to be rhetorical, to emphasize points, challenge information

• Makes emphatic statements

• Gestures to emphasize points

• High voice volume

• Fast voice speed

• Emphasizes points through challenging voice intonation

• Communicates readily

• Fast moving

Make yourself aware of your prospect’s/client's personality – and make the necessary adjustments to put them at ease, and create rapport.

See: www.salesimprovement.ca

Improve Sales - Recognize Selling and Buying Styles

Selling & Buying Styles

Selling is a People Business

Have you ever met someone whom you liked instantly? You hit it off with the person the moment you met? That’s great when it happens, especially when the other person is a prospect.

How about those times when you didn’t hit it off with the other person? You just couldn’t seem to get it together. Not so good, especially when the other person is a prospect or customer.

We’ve all met salespeople whom we wouldn’t buy from if they were the last salesperson on earth. Ever wonder why this happens?

The Golden Rule

We all know the Golden Rule:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The Golden Rule doesn’t always work when you’re selling. In fact, if you exercise the Golden Rule, you stand a good chance of annoying a large number of your prospects! Why? Because it’s the Platinum Rule, not the Golden Rule, that applies in the real world of personal interactions.

The Platinum Rule

The little known rule for improved interpersonal relationships is:

Do unto others as they want done unto them.

Or, put into terms of professional selling:

Sell unto others as they want to be sold unto.

Importance of Selling Styles

It’s no secret that people buy from people. In fact, people buy from people they know, people they like, and people they trust. That’s why it’s important for you to have an understanding of the personality of the person you’re selling to and why you need to be able to flex your own personality style when necessary and appropriate.

Selling requires the sales professional to sell to many different individuals. In addition to their own agendas, these people bring their particular personality styles to the transaction. An understanding of how their personalities, and yours, can impact the sale is important.

The first step in being able to flex your personality is to understand your own personality and selling style a bit better.

People buy from
people they know,
people they like, and
people they trust.

Once you know your own selling style and the style’s inherent strengths and weaknesses, you will be in a better position to capitalize on the strengths and minimize or work around the possible weaknesses.

Have you ever wondered why you might get along so well with some people and not so well with others? Some of that has to do with each person’s personality.

If you come across someone whom you instantly take a liking too, chances are they’re the same, or complimentary, personality as you. We’ve all heard of people who have had a “personality clash” with someone. This occurs when two people have opposite personalities.

Next time: Helping your sales force recognize styles and personalities