In my work as a business coach I have become a raving fan about the use of DISC as a means to improve both individual and organisation communication. It is also a phenomenal tool to help you improve your sales. How? well if you really understand how to communicate better with your prospects you have a much higher likelihood of building rapport and being able to identify solutions that then need.

Let me explain…..

DISC is a report that outlines the behavioural style of individuals.

The D stands for Dominance (it is essentially how you approach problem solving. Do you like new challenges and tackle them head on (High D) , or do you take time to consider/research how to deal with problems Low D)

I is for Influence. Do you seek to influence people through your verbal skills (High I) or do you seek to influence others with facts and details (Low I)

S is for steadiness ( how you respond to your environment for example do you like slow paced environment ( High S) or a fast moving environment (Low S).

C is for compliance. Do you like rules and regulations (High C) or do you simply just hate rules and regulations (Low C).

OK let’s forget the mechanics and talk basics.
Do you believe that if you could communicate better you could sell more? Yes. Well your right!
Do you think that if you could understand your customers better in how they approach decision making, you would also sell more? Your right again.

So let’s look at how DISC can help you achieve both goals.

D – Those high in D are known also as Directors. People how are very action oriented. Results oriented. They are typically extroverts. They are very task oriented and approach problem solving in a non emotional way.
They are essentially “TELL” people. They like to talk about themselves, what they have achieved, and tell you how things are done around here.
In other words if you are selling to a High D you focus on results, you focus on them, you focus on big picture, you focus on delivering the ultimate benefits.
“We can save you 20% of your IT bills”
“We can boost your productivity by 15%”
“We can help you increase your sales by 10%”
Stick to business. Stick to facts. Stick to results, and you’ll get the desired outcome you want.
Don’t bog these people down with detail, reports and unnecessary conversation. They are busy action oriented people, they don’t want to hear about your family, your football team, your issues. They want you to be direct, to the point and to address their needs quickly.

I – Those high in I are known as Influencers. People who are very people oriented. They are also extroverts. They deliver their goals through people. They rely heavily on their verbal skills. They get enthusiastic about almost everything. They make decisions in an emotional way. They are generally quite demonstrative, so watch the body language. They will rarely use facts and figures to influence you. They are more visual, and paint a picture verbally with you. Typically they are again TELL people and like to talk about themselves, their business their achievements.

S – Those high in S are known as relaters. They are typically risk averse. They are real team players and when making decisions, will be driven by their desire to gain the approval of their peers. They want consensus. For example if you were selling them a car, they would want the family to have an input before they would make a decision. They tend to be high on trust and relationship, but this will take time to develop. Move too quickly and they’ll back off.
They don’t like fast moving environments and hence don’t change quickly.

C – Those high in C are known as the analysers. As you would expect from this descriptor they are detail oriented people. They won’t make decisions quickly or based on surface analysis. They are
non emotional when it comes to making decisions. They will stick to the facts and a logical argument. Typically very cautious, careful, neat. They are also task oriented and like to see a task through to completion.

All great information Ronan, I hear you say but how will this help me sell more..

Here is the core of this, so please write this down. You need to “mirror and match” your prospects using the DISC as your guide.
Mirror and Match is just what it says. You should always be observant of the tone, the body language, the pace of conversation, the use of emotion, the lack of emotion, the level of impatience exhibited, the desire to talk in detail, and mirror and match these styles.

Let me give you a real life example for me. My wife and I are currently planning to paint our house. Yours truly has volunteered to do the job, as I actually enjoy painting. It’s strangely therapeutic. I know we all have our issues!
Anyway we are completely opposite in terms of our DISC characteristics. Siobhan is a core S which means of course that she is a team player. It also means she is risk averse. Likes to make an inclusive decision. Likes to plan the job in advance. Anticipates all of the problems that may arise in advance and plans to a high level.
I’m a high I, which means I don’t want any detail. I don’t want to plan too much. I’m a “give me the paint and a brush, and I’ll start now” person.
Now this as you can appreciate will infuriate both of us as we are at odds in our approach.
The solution is to ultimately meet half way. We need a win win, that addresses Siobhan’s need to get a quality job done, and my desire to get it done and over with.

This is exactly what you need to achieve with your prospects. If you don’t appreciate that others behave and make decisions differently than you, and adapt to that difference, you will ultimately be leaving business on the table. You must learn the skill of mirroring and matching.

So what to do Ronan? OK here’s a quick guide to approaching the sales presentation, using DISC as a tool.

Ask yourself is the prospect a TELL person or an ASK person. If they are TELL then they are likely to be a D (Director) or an I (Influencer) . If the are an ASK person then they will be an S (Relater) or a C (Analyser).

Next ask yourself are they typically non emotional in their language and their demeanour? If they are non emotional you can infer that they are typically a D (Director) or a C (Analyser). If they are emotional then they will be an I or an S.

So if you meet someone who is an ASK person and is non emotional in the way they interact with you, you can make a mental guess that they are a C.

If they are ASK and emotional then they are likely to be an S. If they are a TELL person and non emotional (stick to the facts) they are probably a D. And finally if they are a TELL person and emotional (demonstrative etc.) then they are likely to be an I.

Please email me on rkilroy@focalpointcoaching.com and I’ll send you through a visual aid which will help you make better sense of this.

The key in all of this is to recognise that your style may not be compatible with your prospects, if you don’t adjust (mirror and match).
If you are trying to sell to a High C who needs lots of detail to make a decision and you go in to the meeting and deal only in generalities and big picture verbal sales pitches, you won’t succeed.

Similarly if you are trying to sell to a D who is results oriented and action oriented, trying to plod through a 25 page powerpoint presentation with lots of reports will kill the sale for you.

If you are trying to sell to an I and don’t match their enthusiasm and optimism, and again bog them down in detail or just go too slowly for them, you’ll lose them.

With a high S, if you just get straight to business without building rapport, without listening then you will not build the relationship that they thrive on when making decisions.

Action points
Learn the DISC styles of behaviour and the tell tale signs. Practice mirroring and matching your prospects styles.
Listen, listen and listen more to the language of your prospects. Observe their body language and tone of voice also. All will give you clues as to how to adjust your style to theirs.
I strongly recommend that you also prepare for every sales presentation by having options available in your bag to handle all styles. Have the short sharp version but also have the detail in terms of reports, testimonials and facts to hand to give people who need this extra supporting evidence.

Best of luck.
Ronan
Ronan Kilroy Certified FocalPoint Business Coach
Profitability, Productivity, Possibility.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 at 9:41 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.