3: Personality Selling
The author confesses having a great deal of skepticism about "personality selling," and targeting a pitch to a specific prospect based on their psychological profile (Myers-Briggs, DISC, Brainstyles, and the like) seemed like so much "mumbo-jumbo." But in truth, salesmen alter their approach to different people depending on how they respond - some tactics work better on some people than they do on others. In that way, a salesman who selects a specific approach to a specific customer is using the very same principles in a vague and non-systematic manner. And it works.
Every person has a largely unique personality style, and to close the deal, the salesman must accommodate the style of their client or prospect in order to be effective in motivating them to buy. If you approach everyone the same way, some will respond and others won't. If you change your approach based on your understanding of their personality, you will increase the number of sales you close.
Aside of its effectiveness in closing a single sale, catering to a client's personality builds genuine rapport. Most salesmen know how to suck up to a client, and most clients recognize when they are being played in this way - and as a result, the clumsy tactics most salesmen use are not only effective, but counterproductive to building a genuine relationship with a customer.
Personality Basics
The author specifically credits William Marston's work as the basis of his notion of personality styles. (EN: Marston is likely not the most authoritative source on the subject of personality, but his theories were generally accepted and, while others have since studied personality in greater breadth and depth, Marston's approach is still generally respected.)
The author provides a list of five "behavior statements" that underlie his approach to personality selling:
- No-one is immune to persuasion. A good salesman can figure out what makes a prospect tick, and what will tick them off.
- People do things for their own reasons. Not everyone response to the same things in the same way, and not every sales tactic will work on anyone.
- Speaking to individuals' unique motivations enables a salesman to communicate more effectively and get better, faster responses.
- Understanding a prospect's motivations enables a salesman to overcome resistance and close deals.
- You can overdo it. A common mistake among salesmen is to talk a client into buying, then keep talking until they change their mind and decide not to buy.
The Four Personality Styles
The author refers to four basic personality types: directors (authoritative), socializer (gregarious), relaters (empathetic), and thinkers (analytical).
(EN: On that note, I skipped the rest of the chapter. This is not the invention of the author, nor does it go back to Marsden or any other legitimate psychologist. The director/socializer/relater/thinker division was devised by a motivational speaker called "Dr. Tony" - whose degree is a PhD in marketing, not psychology. It's a bit ironic that the author, who seemed to be dismissive of "mumbo-jumbo," places credit in this particular source. It's not that this system is entirely invalid, just painfully facile, lumping people into one of four groups based on two factors - whether they are introverted or extraverted, focused on task or focused on people. Nothing built on such a shaky foundation will stand.)
(EN: However, I don't disagree with the notion of personality selling - attempting to identify the values and interests of the customer are necessary to finding an effective way to approach each customer based on their individual "profile" is much more effective than using a single approach for all. It's a great idea, just an egregious choice of authorities to base it on.)