As a Leader there are many tools to hand that will help you understand your team. One of our firm favourites is the Extended DISC tool.
The Extended DISC® assessment tool is a powerful tool for sales leaders to better understand their team members and improve their overall performance. By providing insights into individual personality traits, communication styles, and behavior patterns, this tool can help sales leaders build a balanced team, foster stronger relationships with their team, motivate and engage employees, and drive higher levels of productivity and sales results.
One of the key benefits of the Extended DISC® assessment is that it provides a comprehensive and objective view of individual team members. The assessment takes into account both natural tendencies and learned behaviour patterns (how they have had to adapt at work, which may take more energy for them to do), providing a unique and accurate picture of each team member.
It helps sales leaders identify strengths and weaknesses within their team.
For team dynamics, using Extended DISC® improves team dynamics and builds stronger relationships between team members. By understanding the communication styles, behaviour patterns, and personality traits of each team member, teams have better tolerance, acceptance, collaboration, reduce conflict, and improve overall teamwork.
Right that’s the background, let’s get to work on what you want your team to look like.
When hiring
Do you feel salespeople should be good rapport builders, enthusisatic and passionate about the product/service, outgoing and approachable – good at talking with clients (I style) plus organised, logic and considered with huge attention to detail (not a natural I- they are C style traits)
Do they need to be friendly, calm and love processes (fill in that CRM)! (S style) and great at business dev, getting to the point quickly, driven and good at making quick pivots on decisions and loves change (not a natural S style- that’s a D style).
Do they need to be rational, logical, very detailed and a specialists (C Style) and do dynamic, energetic presentations and go to networking events, (nope, not a C styles natural place, a I style)
Do they need to work independently quickly, results focused, motivated to win and grow marketing share, want to evolve processes and quick at making decisions, (D style) whilst team orientated, consider others and able to do repetitive work (not a D but a natural S style)
What are we looking out for and what can we do?
Dominance – D styles are competitive, aggressive decisive and results-oriented. To ‘non’ D styles they come across as blunt, impatient, overbearing, out for themselves and even rude.
Influence – I styles are talkative, sociable, optimistic, and friendly. They will be proactive in driving growth (great BDM’s).
They find it takes more energy to fill in CRM, creating proposals with great detail (that might take time) and don’t enjoy working independently or remotely. Can come across as disorganised, emotional and flakey. High ‘I’ often feel comfortable showing the client the flaws in a product as they believe it shows ‘trust’ (it doesn’t).
Steadiness – S styles are calm, helpful, patient, modest and laid back. They like to have everyone get on. They don’t enjoy change of any type or anything that rocks stability. They need fairness so if your pricing is all over the place and dependant on vague principles (stick your finger up to the wind) they will self combust. Good at taking incoming calls, they will do all they can for the client and it can be overseeing what the company wants. Not proactive BD person.
Compliance – C styles are precise, logical, matter of fact, analytical and careful. They will create accurate proposals. Great specialist. Can come across as pedantic, always seeing flaws and faults (they do) and can get caught up in details. Would rather not speak on the phone and take a lot of time to write new emails (because of fear of lack of accuracy). Don’t come across as enthusiastic or friendly.
Biggest sales room clashes:
I and C (I = get the sale in, move the goal posts | C = there’s rules and the deadline is missed)
D and S (D= direct, fast, adaptive and little patience | S = slower, steady, resistant to chance)
To find out more about creating a high performing team and in particularly to help your team understand their strengths and gaps and how to make it easy for them to grow and develop to be more rounded we run all manner of assessments and programs (from recruitment through customer service, sales and leadership program) so that everyone can become the best versions of themselves.
Read: Taking these styles into account, it is better to hire a specialist or a salesperson when hiring for a specialist solution? >>>
Read: Using Extended DISC as a sales person >>>
Contact us to find out about the next Leadership Extended Disc Program
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