KNOW YOUR CLIENT

So, we’ve established the basis of Relationship Marketing and the value of empathy when working with people. But, we left you with the question: how should you adjust your approach based on your client?

Let’s take a fast and furious dive into personality types and considerations to keep in mind.

We’re going to use the DiSC assessment test as a basis for our evaluation. The DiSC assessment is used in a variety of ways, but most importantly for us, it’s used for employment screening and placement. (https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/)

The four categories in DiSC are:

DOMINANCE
This is your bottom line, get down to business type. Remember KISS (keep it simple stupid) when working with people like this.

Signs: straightforward, blunt, no-frills, task focused, extroverted

INFLUENCE
The open and excited individual, they’re looking to work with you and hear your ideas. Influencers need to be heard, and can sometimes be time-consuming. They also like to engage in personal small-talk. Taking your time with these individuals and keeping things on track is key for them to feel validated.

Signs: verbal, personal, people focused, extroverted

STEADINESS
The level-headed folks who want to really understand. The value of the relationship is going to be appreciated by these individuals.

Signs: passive, lots of questions, process-oriented, people focused, introverted

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
The detail-oriented types who need to know your expertise to feel secure before they are in the buying stage. Come prepared before sitting down, they’re ears are going to be keen on deciphering if you really know what you’re presenting.

Signs: thrive on details, task focused, introverted

(Disc Assessment Behavior Styles)

Now, you might be asking, but is it that simple? No, unfortunately not. Everyone is a blend of these four types, but they will eventually show some dominant characteristic. Your ability to intuit their primary mode of operation is going to come with time and practice, and if you’re lucky they’ll just tell you. The above “Signs” should give you some early level tools to help draw a bead on who you’re working with.

One of my favorite calls was a prospect who explained that he was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. If we sent him a bunch of fluff he wasn’t interested. He wanted the bottom line. That was a refreshing change of pace.

So we have the four primary indicators to watch out for and a little bit of strategy on how to approach each one. While the variables are infinite, it is important to keep a few more things in mind.

What is their position in the company?
What industry are they working in?
What is the current climate of the business?

If someone is rushed or frazzled, it’s more than likely they need the short and sweet approach. If they’ve got time on their hands, you get to use your skills of perception and ask good questions in order to learn what they need to feel acknowledged and understood. Everyone wants to be heard, it’s just a matter of how you package and deliver what you’ve heard back to them that can maximize impact.

Take some time and dig into personality typing. Test it on your friends and family, business partners, employees. Everything you do can benefit from better understand those around you. At the very least, take the time to get to know yourself. Find out how you respond to different situations, opposition, other personality types. Once you have a better understanding of yourself you can maximize your strengths and shore up your weaknesses. If you are prone to frustration when dealing with a detail-oriented person who needs to know all the details even if they seem obvious to you, you’re gonna hurt your approach.

If you’re feeling really bold, you could always ask those closest to you. They’re going to have special insight into your strengths and weaknesses. But, be warned, it can be unpleasant to hear how much we fall short in certain areas.

Next time we’re digging into what to do when everything goes wrong!

See you soon!

If you missed Relationship Marketing Part Three you can read it here.