evaluate Your Sales Style
In Emotions of Normal People, William Moulton Marston was a lawyer and physiological psychologist. Marston explained his theory that
people illustrate their emotions through behaviors using four behavior types: dominance (D), inducement/infl uence (I), submission/steadiness
(S), and compliance (C). Also, he argued that these behavioral types came from people’s senses of self and their interactions with the
environment.
Behavioral psychology plays a huge role in helping people understand how people and companies tick Dr. Russell J. Watson from Target Consultants, Inc. has found. All of the four-dimensional models attempt to describe observable behavior—how people do what they do. If you are a salesperson, how do you sell? Do you sell as a D, I, S, or C—or a combination of the four? If you are a manager, do you manage as a D, I, S, or C—or a combination? The DISC model has been of enormous benefit for determining the how of our behavioral choices or style preferences. These uses include hiring, placement, management, team building, and numerous other venues. The DISC model is not a personality test. It explores four traits within a person’s personality, but personality goes far beyond the amplification of the four behavioral traits. As a result, relatives of this four-dimensional model have been called type, style, preferences, and many other terms related to components of personality. However, most of the models avoid the use of the word personality. The DISC model is one of the most widely used non-clinical behavioral instruments in the marketplace, and it has gained wide acceptance in the US and Europe. Its success comes in large part from its ease of use and interpretation as well as its memorable and pronounceable name. We all have unique profiles that help us fit into the right jobs. Salespeople have to understand their own profiles—and the profiles of the people they are sitting in front of. If you learn DISC, you can determine your basic style and the basic style of your buyers. Currently, there are more than a dozen DISC-type models in the marketplace. Since the DISC concept is in the public domain, other iterations continue emerge. Each of us has four different dimensions. If you get feedback from a DISC instrument, you can determine where you fall within the four behaviors. Knowing my profile, I learned to sell or influence the behaviors of my prospects. I needed to sell based on their profiles—and not a belief that my domineering persona is appreciated by any D, I, S, or C. Understanding behaviors from a buying style is critical for anyone in sales. What best describes you? The DISC Instrument is available from INVOLVED SALES below.
Behavioral psychology plays a huge role in helping people understand how people and companies tick Dr. Russell J. Watson from Target Consultants, Inc. has found. All of the four-dimensional models attempt to describe observable behavior—how people do what they do. If you are a salesperson, how do you sell? Do you sell as a D, I, S, or C—or a combination of the four? If you are a manager, do you manage as a D, I, S, or C—or a combination? The DISC model has been of enormous benefit for determining the how of our behavioral choices or style preferences. These uses include hiring, placement, management, team building, and numerous other venues. The DISC model is not a personality test. It explores four traits within a person’s personality, but personality goes far beyond the amplification of the four behavioral traits. As a result, relatives of this four-dimensional model have been called type, style, preferences, and many other terms related to components of personality. However, most of the models avoid the use of the word personality. The DISC model is one of the most widely used non-clinical behavioral instruments in the marketplace, and it has gained wide acceptance in the US and Europe. Its success comes in large part from its ease of use and interpretation as well as its memorable and pronounceable name. We all have unique profiles that help us fit into the right jobs. Salespeople have to understand their own profiles—and the profiles of the people they are sitting in front of. If you learn DISC, you can determine your basic style and the basic style of your buyers. Currently, there are more than a dozen DISC-type models in the marketplace. Since the DISC concept is in the public domain, other iterations continue emerge. Each of us has four different dimensions. If you get feedback from a DISC instrument, you can determine where you fall within the four behaviors. Knowing my profile, I learned to sell or influence the behaviors of my prospects. I needed to sell based on their profiles—and not a belief that my domineering persona is appreciated by any D, I, S, or C. Understanding behaviors from a buying style is critical for anyone in sales. What best describes you? The DISC Instrument is available from INVOLVED SALES below.
Motivators
Your values initiate and drive your behavioral style. How you sell, lead, manage, and provide service to others depends upon your
behavioral style preferences. Why you sell, manage, lead others, or provide services to them is answered in large part by understanding your values, drives, and motivators. The values dimensions initiate, motivate, and drive our behavioral styles.
There are many different values, drives, or themes. In Global Values Vortex, Dr. Watson calls them values vectors that aim and direct our behaviors as we interact with our social and work environments. He amplifies seven values that seem to impact organizations—whether they are governmental, public sector, for-profit , non-profit, or religious in nature. These are not the only values in operation, but they seem to have validity across all the enterprises mentioned. These seven values are briefl y defined in the table that follows. These seven values vectors form the theme of the Global Values Vortex model.
Your Seven Values Vectors
• knowledge—your appetite for learning, even for its own sake
• return on investment—your drive for money and resources
• balance/harmony—your drive for form and aesthetics
• uniqueness—your drive to be different and independent
• helping—your drive to be of service and benefit to others
• influence—your drive for power and clout
• structure—your drive for order, routine, and protocol
For each of these values vectors, he used the term “your drive” to define each one. As you look at the list above, a few may jump off the page at you. You might say, “Yeah, I have a drive for that.” These values vectors aim and direct your values, drives, and
motivators into specific directions that impact your goals and aspirations. If you feel a good motivational fi t with your job or current
work environment, your values vectors may be closely aligned with those of your job role and responsibilities. If that largely describes your current situation, you are riding an upward values vortex, and the prognosis for you and your organization is positive, great, and successful. If you feel motivationally drained, or even unmotivated on the job, your job environment might require different motivational drives from you or may be devaluing the drives you already bring to the job. If that describes your current situation, the prognosis is not as successful unless something changes—you, the job role, or the organization.
Combining DISC with the values vortex helps managers better understand how to look for A-players and motivate B- and C-players.
D-players rarely become C-players and generally are told to move on and find a career outside of sales.