The lifeblood of any business is sales. The love of the job is the different personalities you come across; the challenge of the job is the different type of personalities you come across.
The irony of it all.
Clients will have various personalities, values, and communication preferences. Salespeople need a variety of tools and techniques to connect with customers and close business.
The Extended DISC model is one such tool. Let’s look at how salespeople can use this model to increase their relationship with clients and boost their sales performance and therefore results.
The Extended DISC Model: What Is It?
The Extended DISC model is a behavioural assessment tool that aids people in comprehending their communication preferences and behavioural preferences. The DISC model, created by William Moulton Marston in the 1920s, serves as the model’s foundation. Understanding personality and behaviour styles
Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness are the four main behavioural styles used by the DISC model to classify people.
The Extended DISC model adds 160 more behavioural styles to the original DISC model, giving more specific information about a person’s behaviour and communication preferences. The Extended DISC model also comes with a personal analysis report that details a person’s advantages, weaknesses, and potential growth areas.
Extended DISC Use in Sales
Through an understanding of their own behavioural style as well as the behavioural styles of their clients, salespeople can use the Extended DISC model to increase sales performance. Salespeople can improve the effectiveness of their sales pitch by adjusting their communication style to match the communication style of their customers by understanding their own behavioural style.
For instance, a salesperson with a dominant behavioural style may communicate more directly and forcefully than a salesperson with an influence behavioural style, who may be more gregarious and upbeat.
Salespeople use the Extended DISC model to better understand customers and therefore understand how they make decisions. For instance, a client with a conscientious behavioural style might prefer to deliberate before making a choice, whereas a client with a dominant behavioural style might prefer to act quickly.
The likelihood of closing a sale rises when the salesperson is aware of the customer’s decision-making process and can adjust their communication accordingly.
Studies on the Extended DISC’s Performance in Sales
Numerous studies have been done to determine how well the Extended DISC model works in sales. According to a study done by Extended DISC North America, salespeople who underwent Extended DISC training saw a 41% increase in sales compared to those who did not. According to the study, salespeople who received Extended DISC training had a 15% higher rate of customer satisfaction than those who did not.
Another study by the University of Oulu in Finland discovered that salespeople were more successful at adjusting their communication style to match the communication style of the customer when they used the Extended DISC model. The study also discovered that customers were happier with the sales experience when they heard sales pitches from salespeople who employed the Extended DISC model.
A case study done by the business DISC Insights found that a sales team that used the Extended DISC model was able to increase their sales by 25% in just three months, in addition to these studies. The sales team also reported higher customer satisfaction and better customer relationships.
How to Use the Extended DISC Model in Sales
To use the Extended DISC model in sales, salespeople first complete a personal analysis report to understand their own behavioural style and communication preferences. Once they have this information, salespeople can use the following tips to adapt their communication style to match the customer’s communication style:
- Recognise your own default style. The strengths, overuse (yes, there’s a downside to strengths) challenges and gaps with it.
- Identify the Customer’s Behavioural Style. Sales is all about observing and adapting, and this is crucial – become a master at observing the customer’s behaviour, watching, and listening to their communication style (verbal and written).
- Adapt Your Communication Style. Obvious, but rarely done (because it’s effort). Make it easy for that customer to partner (do business) with you by adapting.
What are we looking out for and what can we do?
Dominance – DÂ styles are competitive, aggressive decisive and results-oriented, but can also be impatient, overbearing and even rude.
Influence – I styles are talkative, sociable, optimistic, and friendly, great at proactive BD but can also be inattentive to detail, overly talkative and emotional.
Steadiness – S styles are calm, helpful, patient, modest and laid back, but also need stability and security and, therefore, help with change.
Compliance – C styles are precise, logical, matter-of-fact, analytical and careful, great with attention to detail (proposal writing) but can also focus too much on details and lose the big picture.
And what to do:
The salesperson comes across Darren D
Give away quick reads of Darren’s style: D
He is an extrovert, a fast talker, and cuts to the chase. He likes new things, change and evolution of systems and processes. He needs to see results, keep on point and be direct.
He will not tolerate tardiness, laziness, slow pace, or incompetence. He may come across (to non D styles) as rude, abrupt, and uncaring.
What a Salesperson can do when engaging with an Iris I
Giveaways, Iris is expressive, enthusiastic and likes to chat. May come across as flighty and disorganised. Ask Iris how her week was, how they got into business. If your solution is around people, then emphasise how people will win through this. Fast-paced. Be positive. She will not like getting to the point quickly, she needs the rapport time she will want to be involved.
The salesperson comes across Sam S
Give away quick reads of Sam, reserved and cares about the people. She is steady, has a team spirit and likes routine.
Ask Sam about her job, and keep things controlled and orderly. Sam will enjoy a plan, things being predictable and keeping the peace with everyone. Watch negotiation as she needs fairness (and discounting creates uncertainty which she will not enjoy). She will not take well to things that seem risky, not logical and need her to change. She will not tell you that you are not in the running anymore she will say ‘I’ll get back to you’.
The salesperson comes across Cameron C
Give away, introverted Cameron is a specialist, detailed, calm, considered and rational. He would prefer to do this all this communication malarky by email and not have to see you (or anyone).
Show reason and facts. Lives instructions and things orderly. Don’t ask Cam a question in front of other people as he will be off guard. Give him time to take in what is going on. Don’t even consider ‘persuading’ Cam, he can’t and won’t be pushed into a decision. Never embellish a figure, (or drop foolhardy statements) or show you move quickly or rush him. (And keep away from the ‘if you make a decision today it’s less money’ type of angle – all rushing will be related to reckless decision-making. And don’t call him Cam without checking…
Read: Having trouble connecting with and understanding quieter team members? >>>
Read: Sales Leaders get the upper hand by using Extended DISC >>>
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