Do You Know Why Your Customers Buy?
Sales persons typically focus on our own skills and techniques when trying to sell to potential customers. We strive to uncover their needs and understand what is most important to them, qualify them, etc. We view a customer from our perspective, not from theirs. This is why you may walk away from the customer absolutely sure that you got the order, then find they went cold on you just a day later. By understanding the customer’s perspective, they can determine the “why” behind whether they will buy or not.
Most studies of temperament and personality styles tend to place people into one of four categories. You have probably heard of some of these like Myers-Briggs, Keirsey, DISC, and many others. Another model, from Insight Learning, categorizes temperaments by a color code. Competitive Excellence has embraced this method. It is extremely easy to understand and implement, and gives the sales person not only an excellent perspective on understanding customers’ needs, but also what they value the most and what their likely objections will be.
The foundation for most personality style assessments is the difference between right brain and left brain functions. In 1981, Dr. Roger W. Sperry won a Nobel Prize for his work in exploring the brain’s right and left hemispheres. The left brain is all about logic, analysis, thinking, reading, ordering, sequencing, etc. The right brain is about images, perceptions, imaginations, feelings, and emotions. Left is facts and logic, Right is feelings and creativity. As we understand a person’s dominant personality temperament, it becomes easier to address the needs, issues, and values that are most important to them. If you can identify your customer’s temperament up front, you have a much better chance of relating to them and successfully building a relationship and making a sale. This kind of understanding of a customer’s values, motivations, and communications style becomes a powerful tool for a sales person.
Many sales professionals confuse a customer’s temperament with his or her attitude. Attitude simply indicates whether the customer seems agreeable, resistant, or indifferent to what the sales person is presenting. It is wrong to assume that because a customer’s personality style is open, warm, and sociable that their attitude is one of acceptance. Temperament is not the same as attitude. A customer with a skeptical temperament needs proof, and a sales person might mistakenly think the customer is resistant to what is being presented; in fact, the customer might be in strong agreement. Understanding the subtle difference between attitude and temperament can help bring a customer closer to the sale.
Are you interested in learning how to identify temperaments and styles to win customers and sales? If so, contact us today to schedule a workshop.
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