If you’ve been in sales for any length of time, you may have had an experience with that one client or customer where you just didn’t “click” right away. You may have made the assumption that they just didn’t like you, or that they were just “difficult” to deal with. Most probably, this person had a social style, or communication mode that was quite different from your own and with a little training and insight, this difference in your styles could have become overcome.
Do you ever hear yourself saying, “Well, it’s just how I am. I love people and am very enthusiastic, outgoing and I can’t help myself. It’s just me!”
This shotgun approach to selling everybody with the same approach can be a costly mistake in today’s competitive market where we need better relationship skills than ever before. Whether we use electronic communication, or face to face selling, understanding how to relate more effectively to other people’s social styles can drastically improve the relationship and the eventual outcome of your efforts.
People buy when they feel comfortable. What makes them comfortable may vary from style to style, but the common ground is always that they feel understood by their salesperson. This transcends the 70’s and 80’s strategies of the confrontational, “looking out for number one”, to a win-win philosophy of empowering the consumer to make the right decisions in a supportive environment.
There are several reasons to be empowered with learning how to adapt to a customer’s style. With the emphasis on “Clients for Life” and the enormous monetary outcome of maintaining a client for more than one transaction, learning a few basics on selling with style can make a huge difference in your production and income.
The sales profession has been inundated with numerous programs to help us “read” people and learn about our particular communication styles. Since Hippocrates developed the four basic human temperaments we have learned that there are 4 basic tendencies. At U.S. Learning we define them as: the Driver, Expressive, Analytical, Amiable models. These basic four styles are not a judgment, but convey general characteristics of their personality that can help us help them.
One of your most valuable skills is your ability to assess the communication or behavioral style of your customer or client in an effort to work with them in a successful manner. As there is no best style, when we understand our own style, we can then begin to understand and appreciate other behavioral styles and serve them in a way that works. It is incumbent upon us to respect the dignity, comfort zone and uniqueness of each person we deal with. It is also up to us to close any communications gaps that might exist. It is naïve to think our customers are going to devote much energy to that task.
The four basic styles describe the dominant tendencies of individuals and offer us valuable and reliable clues as to how we should interact with them. In our attempt to adapt to the different styles, it would important for us to keep in mind that with Drivers we should be efficient, with Expressives stimulating, Analyticals accurate, and Amiables agreeable. Responding to people’s individual styles in this manner promotes faster and shorter sales cycles and improves the probability of a good long-term, win-win relationship.
