How Your Personality Affects Your Sales

I love a good personality test. I’m a sucker for those internet quizzes . . . Why yes, I do want to know which character from Friends I am! (I’m Monica, all the way.) But I really get excited when a personality test tells me something that makes me stop and go, “How do they know that about me?”

The DISC Profile is my favorite. It reveals insights about why I make the decisions I make, what makes me feel valued, what makes me uncomfortable, and so much more. This personality test is so reliable and spot-on that we use it here at Ramsey Solutions as a mandatory part of our hiring process.

Each letter in “DISC” represents one four attributes: Decisive, Interactive, Stabilizing, and Cautious. The makeup of your personality traits in these four categories gives an incredibly accurate picture of how you tick. Seriously, it blows me away. Digging into my DISC Profile has surprised me, made me laugh, made me groan, and caused me to be aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I score very high in the “D” and “I” columns, and based on that, here are some truths about me:

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A self-starter. Enthusiastic, talkative, persuasive, impulsive and emotional. (Matt is saying, “Amen!”) Easily bored and always in need of a new challenge.

You may be wondering why I’m so passionate about this. It’s not just because I think we should all be more self-aware—although that’s important. What I want you to think about is how your personality style influences the way you sell, and how a potential customer’s personality style affects how they respond to you.

The key to selling effectively is communication and connection. In sales, there needs to be a two-way communication throughout the entire process, and if something isn’t jiving quite right, you’ll never close the deal. But if you understand what motivates the person you’re selling to, you can have the right conversation.  Once you learn the intricacies of how different personalities interact with each other, you can adjust to the customer that’s in front of you. Like anything, practice makes perfect, so give it a try in front of the mirror!

Let’s assume you score lower on the “D” (Decisive) spectrum and higher on “C” (Cautious). A “high C” personality type values quality, accuracy, and expertise, and is very detail-oriented. But if you’re selling to me, a “high D”—remember I get bored easily—you will lose me discussing all the little features of your product or service. What I really want to hear about is the big picture: in the end, what will your product or service do for me?

On the other hand, if I’m selling to a “high C,” they may not trust me if I just gloss over that stuff. First, I need to establish my expertise and knowledge about the problem they are facing and explain in detail why I have the solution.

Another personality trait to be aware of is how high you rank on the “I” (Interaction) scale. A “high I” is social and loves to connect with other people. If you’re a “low I,” those “high I’s” may think you’re just not much fun. They expect to chat it up over the course of the sale, so you’ll need to use a little more energy to keep up! And as you can guess, a “low I” doesn’t need to feel like your best friend in order to buy from you.

Remember that people buy from people they like. Knowing your personality style and learning clues about your customer’s style is a powerful secret to good sales. If you want to learn more about how to use this technique, I highly recommend picking up a copy Dave Ramsey’s “Selling With DISC” implementation kit. You’ll get to know yourself and your customers so much better!