Convincing customers through personality
Winning people over to an idea means convincing them. That applies to free-lance trainers who offer seminars just as it does to human resource developers who present concepts, or speakers holding a talk.
But how do I convince someone? How do I gain his or her attention and trust?
Factors such as having a well-groomed appearance, good manners and rhetorical skills are important and should not be underestimated. Of course, quality and knowledge of the “products” you want to “sell” are also important. However success does not come with proper behavior, rhetoric and product expertise alone.
In order to convince people, there is something more that is essential: credibility and your own inner conviction. You cannot successfully sell anything until you approach someone with poise and authentic persuasive power.
As regards our own Personality Profile, this means: If you want to convince others of its benefits, you have to persuade your counterpart by actually “living“ the model in your dealings with them.
Convince others by means of a practical example: your own self
Using the persolog Personality Model, you can become expert in personality matters. Apply your knowledge of models to your persuasion process. Play with the language the model uses and the behavioral dimensions. For example, during the conversation with your counterpart, briefly assess his personality. Tell him how you have assessed him and what this leads you to conclude.
If you know your own profile and have studied your own personality and behavioral dimensions in depth, you can quickly and confidently analyze who your conversational partner is and be prepared to deal with him or her, as in the following examples based on the D-I-S-C behavioral styles:
• I know that I should not bore a ‘D’ conversational partner with long-winded details. I am dealing with a “get to the point”-type person here – one who wants the essential facts and who needs the certainty of being in control of the situation. But I am not going to let this intimidate me at all; I am going to concentrate on giving ‘D’ the information he expects from me. And I am going to do so in a calm, firm tone of voice.
• I know that an ‘I‘ person wants to be enthused. I am going to have to express my own enthusiasm in all aspects including my facial expression, gestures and voice pitch. I am certain to make a horrible impression on my ‘I’ customer if my eyes don’t sparkle, or my voice is monotonous and I only present him dry facts.
• I know that an ‘S‘ type expects sound arguments and needs time for new information to sink in – as a rule, ‘S’ does not make off-the-cuff decisions. Consequently, trying to push him to decide in the first round of negotiations will not have the desired effect. This situation demands that I pave the way with calm, patient speech.
• I am going to allow my ‘C‘ customer to ask all the detailed questions he wants. I will not become impatient or abrasive if his penetrating manner starts to get on my nerves. I will try to answer his questions as precisely as possible without appearing to lecture.
As trainers certified in the persolog Personality Model, you offer a highly qualified product on which you yourself will be judged. For your customers, your own appearance is the definitive test case of whether the Personality Model really works as an HR learning tool for management and employees. Don’t leave it up to chance. Convince others by being a living example of its effectiveness.
[Article by Persolog International, April 2011]
