Welcome to part three of Leveraging the Power of Personality in Business. If you’re not familiar with the DISC assessment, or need a recap, check out the first part of my series to refresh your memory. Part 3 of this series will be especially helpful to sales professionals, but will still create a huge advantage for anyone who chooses to implement these tips and tricks.
In today’s world, a lot of business is done over the phone. By paying attention to tone, pace and greetings, you will be better able to identify a person’s dominant style(s). It’s always best to maintain a neutral tone until you can identify which way to sway on the personality spectrum. Most importantly…always be yourself; simply use these guidelines to adjust your tone and content. No one likes a phony!
Let’s begin with the dominance (D) personality. Individuals dominant in this style will talk confidently, fast-paced and loudly – bothered by anyone who is speaking slowly and muffled. They ultimately don’t care much about the explanation of your services, or the intro you’ve prepared. Just get to the point! Keep in mind, some people are a mix of two personality styles: dominance (D) and influencer (I). This person is energetic and bubbly, and may engage in some casual chit chat, but will still talk very quickly and appreciates you getting to the point swiftly.
If you are on the phone with someone and you feel like you can’t get a word in edgewise, you are perhaps speaking with someone who is an influencer. The best way to keep an “I” engaged is to match their energy, chat a little (not too long) and then get down to business. They will also speak at a faster pace with a generally a louder tone. It is important to build rapport in this type of situation.
If the person you call is soft spoken and in no rush, you are probably talking to a person dominant in steadiness (S). They are patient and willing to talk as long as they need to; they have no sense of a New York minute. Try to make the call personal and play into their small talk. The call may drag on longer than necessary, but try your best to go with the flow.
If you are interrupted frequently with a question, you are most likely talking to a person dominant in conscientiousness (C). Make sure you give them all the information they need… and I mean every detail needed to make a decision. Without all pertinent details, they will have a hard time coming to a decision. They tend to talk more slowly and be quite analytical.
Make sure to stay tuned for part 4 where I will discuss how to use the DISC assessment to help increase effectiveness in influencing decision makers.
