There’s a characteristic that very few people track about their prospects, that really every salesperson should be tracking. If you’re not tracking it, you aren’t alone. But if you start, it can make a huge difference in understanding past interactions, making the most of future interactions, and ultimately your sales.
And that’s your prospects’ DISC styles. DISC is an acronym that indicates someone’s communication style.
D stands for Dominance, and relates to how someone handles problems and challenges. A high D is likely to be assertive.
I stands for Influencer, and relates to how someone likes to influence others. A high I is likely to talk a lot, and be comfortable in social situations.
S stands for Steadiness, and relates to how someone handles change and the pace of things. A high S is likely to make slow decisions, but be extremely loyal.
C stands for Compliance, and relates to how someone handles rules and procedures. A high C is likely to be a “by the book” individual, and wants to make sure they share all the details.
Most people have one or two dominant DISC styles. I highly encourage you to track those. A lot of the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) programs out there have that as a function in it, or the ability to add it in there.
And if you do track their DISC styles, then make sure you have someplace to put in why you believe that. If you don’t, it’s easy to be wrong, and it’s easy to later misinterpret things. And of course, if you put garbage in, it’s easy to get garbage out.
But if you do a good job on tracking it, it’s good for reflecting on what past conversations really meant. But it’s phenomenal for you to prepare for future conversations.
For example, if someone has a lot of I in their style, you should probably start out a meeting by asking a couple questions about their weekend. Or if they have a lot of D there, then they may not have the patience to talk about their weekend.
If you’re not already tracking your prospects’ DISC styles and the why, I would encourage you to start. But don’t get frustrated if you miss it early on. It takes a lot of practice.
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