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DiSC Profiling to Optimise Your Sales Efforts!
DiSC is an acronym with each letter anchoring one of the 4 quadrants used to represent the core personality style:
Dominance
Influence
Steadiness
Compliance
DiSC Personality Technology is a very cool resource to optimise sales efforts.
Imagine using the same communication with Kanye West, Winston Churchill, and Pablo Picasso and expecting a sale with all 3?
They are all leaders (So - D personality types) - with very different communication styles and values in a sales exchange (D, Di, and DC styles to be exact).
So if you're selling in or with Financial Services firms, chances are your buyer is a D, Di, or a DC.
This article will focus on helping you sell to the D style.
Selling to the D style?
Famous D styles: Hilary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Donald Trump
Get right to the point!
When communicating with DiSC D-style individuals the magic word here is EFFICIENT! Give them the bottom line right from the start. Be brief. Stay focused. Avoid generalisations. Refrain from repeating yourself. And stick to solutions rather than problems. Don’t get too granular. Keep it focused on how much, how long, what results, and for goodness sake, stay on task.
These people are decisive, dominant, and demanding when it comes to getting results. They are not ones for nuts and bolts, they delegate that out to their team. They will take control, test you to see if you are really up for the challenge, and quite often, you’ll be expected to match them in a toe-to-toe scenario. Doing so wins their respect - and without their respect, your chances of getting that sale drop significantly.
Your collateral will demonstrate: how they win, and how they could experience success with a nod to the key actions, milestones, and timelines involved with engaging you, at a high level.
Show them clear results and expect cut and dry questions, no small talk, and one-word answers. They don’t have much patience, and you may think they lack empathy. (They don’t - but you’ll be hard pressed to see it in this type of interaction)
Sneak peek behind the curtains at our D types:
Fears: being seen as vulnerable, being taken advantage of
Values: competency, action, concrete results, personal freedom, and challenges
Overuses: the need to win, resulting in a win/lose situations
Influences others by: assertiveness, insistence, competition
In conflict: speaks up about problems; looks to even the score
They tend to fall into the following personality themes: Developer, Result-Oriented, Inspirational, Creative
D styles tend to have goals such as these:
strive for unique accomplishments
explore new opportunities
maintain control of the audience
achieve independence
get bottom-line results
D-style leaders are often commanding and confident, taking care and focusing on results.
They often display leadership characteristics such as these:
commanding
resolute
pioneering
D-style quotes they’re known for?
Second place is still a loser!
What's the point of playing if it's not to win?
Selling to the Di style?
Famous Di styles: Beyonce, Martin Luther King Jr. Meryl Streep
Be brief, be bold and be right on point!
Dis will be working more closely with their colleagues than a D, but not by much, and almost always, it will be to delegate and collaborate on the Di’s next idea or to swiftly solve a problem that is holding the Di back.
The Di style thrives on innovation, innovating, and pioneering innovation.
She doesn’t need a path - she’ll carve her own way through and create more profitable processes and ideas to drive better results for the business while she’s trailblazing her way forward.
There will be a blowout/breakdown if she is forced to maintain the status quo. And you will never be able to accuse a Di of resting on her laurels, instead, the Di style will be busy championing her colleagues to innovative fresh ideas and more efficient ways to work.
This personality type will likely be investing time, sweat, and energy into developing things like Self Awareness, softness, and slowing their roll - it certainly doesn’t come naturally to them. They can also be guilty of innovating for the sake of innovation and not necessarily because it's better for business or has a worthwhile outcome. If that Di is a founder/co-founder, chances are they have built a beautiful solution to a problem that just doesn’t exist yet.
The Di type wants you to be mindful of their feelings, engage in a bit of small talk with them - and if you can do all of that in a short, to-the-point story - then all the better for this particular version of D.
You’ll likely find this personality style to be very results-oriented, vocal, enthusiastic, influential, charming, and one for bold action. They’re also rebellious, (Think of Napoleon), persuasive, inquisitive, and if they are in a larger organisation, then it's this profile that by and large are typically the Intrapreneurs!
In smaller organisations they tend to be a co-founder - and if they are the CEO of that small firm, well, then they have a lot of cultural challenges on their hands, probably have lots of staff turnover, and more than their fair share of internal conflict.
Sneak peek behind the curtains at our Di types:
Goals: quick action, new opportunities
Fears: loss of power or status, invisibility
Influences others by: charm, bold action, inspirational ideas, and vision
Overuses: impatience, egotism, manipulation
In conflict: addresses issues head-on; may say things they will regret
Could improve effectiveness through: patience, humility, consideration of others’ ideas
Leadership qualities: Di-style leaders are often pioneering, seeking to stretch boundaries, find opportunities, and achieve results, their teams will struggle to not get frustrated and personality conflicts will keep that Di up at night wondering how best to make everyone happy.
Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
- very much a Di kind of quote.
Selling to the DC style?
Famous DC styles: Elon Musk, Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill
Quality + Results or there’s the door
First off, no typos, no grammatical errors - this personality type will feel unsafe with your solution if “you can’t get the basics right!” - this style is often referred to as the perfectionist!
This personality style is driven, accomplished, and assertive – they are most comfortable in a dominant position, either leading the team or being an influential voice. DC styles tend to be diligent, tough-minded, and creative, influencing others through their high standards and determination.
Sneak peek behind the curtains at our DC types:
Traits: can be driven to perfection, takes initiative, diligent, determined, creative, blunt, critical, cool, focused, tough-minded
Goals: independence, personal accomplishment
Fears: failure to achieve their own standards
Influences others through: high standards, determination
Overuses: bluntness, sarcastic or condescending attitude
In conflict: sticks up for their own rights, digs in their heels
Could increase effectiveness through: warmth, more tactful communication
Leadership qualities: DC-style leaders are often resolute, setting high expectations and speaking up about problems. They tend to be concerned with improving methods and procedures and may be perceived as obsessed with quality outputs.
Will you succeed? Yes! You will 98 and ¾ percent guaranteed. - Dr. Seuss
A typical DC quote