Is Your Sales Team Leading With Personality?

As human beings, we often feel the desire to identify, organize, and define the immaterial nature of personalities. Between personality models such as Myers–Briggs Type Indicator to the ancient study of astrology, we strive to understand the inner workings of our minds and how we relate to others.

The most talented salespeople we know are not only adept at understanding the nature and complexities of their own personality types but can also quickly recognize the personality types of their buyers. For many, this is a critical tool in determining the best path forward to close a sale.

Can your team assess the type of personality that they're dealing with? In this post, we hope to help answer that question by exploring how to best approach the four types of personalities found in the DiSC model.

What Is the DiSC Model?

In brief, the DiSC model is a popular framework for identifying common individual traits and behaviors. Primarily, the DiSC model is predicated on four contrasting combinations of boldness/cautiousness and acceptance/skepticism. Through these combinations, the DiSC model proposes four common personality types found within organizations:

The (d)ominance type: Bold and skeptical. This personality type describes those who are self-assured, crave new challenges, and are drawn to positions of leadership.

The (i)nfluence type: Bold and accepting. This personality type describes those who are highly collaborative, motivated by the drive to make others happy, and work to energize their team members.

The (s)teadiness type: Cautious and accepting. This personality type describes those who are primarily motivated by maintaining stability, mitigating risk, and providing support to others.

The (c)onscientiousness type: Cautious and skeptical. The most pragmatic and objective of the four personality types. Those with this personality type prioritize logic and detail and are driven by a need to maintain order.

A more thorough explanation of the DiSC model can be found here, but we are sure that even these brief descriptions have conjured up mental images of specific colleagues and buyers. That said, identifying these personality types is much more straightforward than engaging with them in the context of a potential sale.

How Different Personality Types Can Inform a Sales Process

Consider, as needed, breaking down these personality types for your sales team as a way to establish a new framework for considering possible strategies.

As an example—and at the risk of painting buyers with a broad brush—here are a few considerations we keep in mind when approaching those who fall within the DiSC personality types.

Dominance types can be the hardest to work with because they require a high level of mutual trust and do not tend to put much stock into how others perceive them. Those who share this personality also tend to make decisions very quickly, so a salesperson must be able to keep pace.

Influence types lead with their emotions and may express an eagerness for approval. A salesperson may succeed by following their lead and adjusting their sales pitch to convey a greater sense of optimism and mutual understanding.

Similarly, steadiness types are motivated by emotion, but primarily in service of their greater community. Those with this personality type tend to respond positively to appeals for compassion, equity, and broad solutions focused on achieving what is best for the greatest amount of people.

In complete contrast, conscientiousness types often avoid expressing any personal feelings within a professional exchange. People with this personality type are primarily objective and logical above all else. Similar to those with the dominance personality type, these people often do not care about the personal opinions of others. But unlike those with the dominance personality type, these people tend to sweat the small stuff and therefore make decisions very slowly and deliberately.

Employing Personality Models for Internal Strategies and Assessment

Keep in mind that the DiSC model is not a perfect predictor of human behavior. In reality, we are all at times, inconsistent in our behavior. But what the DiSC model (as well as other personality tests such as the Enneagram Test and Big Five Assessment) does is provide sales teams with avenues for exploring new strategies for buyers with different priorities.

What different approaches can your sales team take to sell to different personalities? And is your sales team properly equipped to quickly identify different types of personalities and priorities?

Re-Orienting Your Sales Process Around Personality

The usefulness of personality models does not need to be limited to potential buyers. Consider a personality model as a framework for understanding the dynamics of your sales team.

Personality models can help you understand whether or not everyone within your team is in positions that play to their strengths. Perhaps a member of your team is struggling with sales but they demonstrate behaviors that would allow them to transition to a new position easily.

At Sebastian Lane Consulting, our fractional sales management services can help coach your sales team to better understand the needs and priorities of your potential buyers and tailor your sales process to better suit your company's personality. Get in touch with our office today to learn more.

If you are interested in outsourced sales management services for your firm, we here at Sebastian Lane can help point you in the right direction. Feel free to reach out for further information, resources, and recommendations. Call Sebastian Lane Consulting at 443-534-6783 or email us at jesse@sebastianlaneconsulting.com.

Operations, Sales ManagementJesse Mahle