Understanding Behavioral Profiles

A couple of weeks back, I posted a blog outlining some tactics for tapping into the customer’s perspective in order to increase sales in your business.  In that blog post, I promised I would write more in a future blog about behavioral profiles and today I am following through with that promise.

Understanding behavioral profiles is essentially about understanding the four different styles of behavior when looking at individuals.  It  is an excellent way to gain knowledge about how to craft your sales and reporting program to the style of communication most comfortable to the client as well as how to best connect with your fellow networkers.  All customers and all networkers like to be communicated with in a manner that is most familiar to them, and knowing their personality profiles/behavioral styles helps you customize a sales or networking approach for each unique individual.

In the book Room Full of Referrals which I co-wrote with Dr. Tony Alessandra and Dawn Lyons, we offer insight into the four different behavioral styles and I have listed the character traits for each style below (I’ve also included information on how to best communicate with each style) in order to help you identify someone, adapt to their style, help them feel comfortable, and make them feel good so you can better connect with your customers as well as those you network with.

Go-Getters

Characteristics: Driven, Bold, Opinionated, Decisive, Direct, Strong Desire to Win, Strong Desire to Lead, Like to be in Charge, Love Control, Goal-Oriented, Have a “Get It Done Now” Attitude

How to Communicate With Them: Be Direct, Ask Only for a Short Amount of Time to Start–Say 30 Minutes Or So, Say You Will Come to Them–Makes It More Convenient for Them, Remind Them of What You Think You MIGHT Be Able to Do For Them But Don’t Commit to It Without Knowing More about Them (Networking), You May Be Able to Agree on a Date on the Spot–Do So, State That You Will Confirm Everything Via E-mail or Text (Whichever They Prefer) and Send Them a Reminder E-mail One Day Before–Do Not Call Them, Make Sure to Do What You Say

Promoters

Characteristics: Energetic, Outgoing, Fun-Loving, Positive, Talkative, Love Recognition, Dislike Details, Love to be the Center of Attention, Enjoy Simple Uncomplicated Things, Tend to Have a Large Social Network

How to Communicate With Them: Keep Your Energy Up and Smile, Let Them Know You Are Having a Great Time With Them (Networking), Describe a Bit About How You Think You Can Connect Them to Other People Who Could Be Very Interesting to Them (Networking), Say Something About a New Hot Spot That Just Opened or a Cool Place to Meet and See If They Can Fit You into Their Busy Schedule (Networking)–Makes Them Feel Important, If They Have Their Calendar Available Select a Date to Meet for About an Hour–You Will Need It As You May Not Get Down to Business Quickly, Let Them Know You Will Call Them to Reconfirm Everything, End by Saying Something About the Possibilities that Might Result From the Two of You Working Together–Describe the Vision and Have Them Buy into It

Nurturers

Characteristics: Patient, Helpful, Understanding, Sentimental, Reserved, Careful, Pleasing, Have a Difficult Time Saying “No,” Have Deep Relationships, Are Focused on Helping Others

How to Communicate With Them: Make Sure to Really Have Them Talk and You Listen, Share With Them How You Think the Two of You Would Be Really Compatible and How You Need to Understand More About Who They Are and How They Work With Their Clients (Networking), Tell Them You Would Love to Spend More Time With Them and See What Could Develop Over the Long-Term (Networking), Do an Option Close (an option close is when you give someone two options that you are okay with, so whichever one they choose you are already fine with and can move forward) on the Appointment and Ask, “Would it be possible to look at our schedule and see if we might have some time to spend together in the next week or so OR would you like me to call you next week and go from there?”–They Tend to Make a Quicker Decision When You Do an Option Close, Whichever Selection They Make Be Sure to Follow Up, Ask If It Would Be Okay If the Location Was a Bit Quiet So You Could Really Be Present With Each Other (Networking), Book out 1.5 Hours Just to Be Safe (Networking), Make It Clear That You Really Want to Get to Know Who They Are in Business Because You Truly Think You Can Help Them (Networking), Ask If It Is Okay to Call Them to Confirm the Appointment, Call to Confirm and Spend Several Minutes on the Phone with Them at That Time

Examiners

Characteristics: Effective, Efficient, Thorough, Research-Oriented, Avoid Risks, Loyal, Knowledge-Seeking, Analyze Everything, May Take a Long Time to Develop Trust, Make Calculated Decisions, Enjoy Strategies and Processes

How to Communicate With Them: Remember That You Will Need to Ask Them Lots of Questions as They May Not Give Information Out Freely, Ask Them If They Are Looking for Ways to Be More Effective in Their Networking (Networking), Talk To Them About Why the Two of You Could Be Effective Together (Networking), Ask If It Would Make Sense for the Two of You to Spend More Time Together to Figure Out the Details of How You Could Work Together (Networking), Ask If a Meeting at Their Office Would Be Appropriate–Makes It More Convenient for Them and They Don’t Waste Time Traveling Somewhere, Do an Option Close on the Appointment and Ask, “Would it make sense to book an appointment now or would you like me to e-mail you?”–Again They Usually Make a Quick Decision When You Do an Option Close, Based on the Answer Complete That Task, See If an E-mail or Text Is the Preferable Way for You to Confirm the Appointment, Show Up Early to the Appointment and Be Fully Prepared With an Agenda and Lots of Questions for Them

If you pay careful attention to the behavioral characteristics your customers and fellow networkers exhibit, you’ll get better and better at pinpointing which of the four behavioral style categories they fall into and you will be much more capable of communicating with them effectively by speaking their language and adapting to their style.  When you’re able to communicate at the highest level of effectiveness with your customers and those with whom you network, your sales will increase and your business will grow.

After reading through the lists of behavior characteristics above, start by pinpointing which style you are and if you have any additional ideas about how to effectively communicate and connect with others that share your same behavioral style, please share your suggestions in the comment forum below–I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!