Chapter 9

Gearing Your Approach to Different Decision-Making Styles

In This Chapter

Determining someone’s decision-making style

Adapting your arguments to match your listener

Focusing on your delivery

Working out your words

Working with a mixed group of decision-making styles

Simply put: people are different, particularly in the ways in which they make decisions.

Some people have strong aversions to risk, while others can’t get enough. You meet individuals who are suspicious of any data that doesn’t match their pictures of the world, whereas others just rely on their instincts. Some base their decisions on what worked in the past, whereas others focus on facts and analysis, afraid to make independent decisions.

If you apply a one-size-fits-all approach as you attempt to influence others, you’re in for a rough ride and, most likely, failure. Instead, you can craft an approach tailored to how the person you want to persuade makes his decisions.

In this chapter I describe the subtle differences between five familiar decision-making styles. I show you how to identify and persuade each type, including specific buzzwords you can use to appeal to each style, as well as the best types of information and presentation formats that win over your listeners.

Knowing Who’s Who and What’s What

Knowing how to interpret and respond to the words, actions and attitudes of people who make decisions that impact on your life leads to secure and effective relationships. Whether you’re influencing your boss, a colleague or members of your family, knowing how to convert your suggestions into compelling cases can turn your proposals into winning propositions.

For their 2004 book, The 5 Paths to Persuasion, which explores how leaders make decisions, executive consultants Gary Williams and Robert Miller interviewed nearly 1,700 executives across a wide range of industries. They identified five predictable types of decision-making processes: charismatics, sceptics, thinkers, followers or controllers. Persuasion works best when adapted to fit one of the five. Their findings show that to be a successful persuader you need to:

Customise your proposals. Organise your information in the way that appeals to your listener. You must direct your arguments to your decision-makers’ preferred styles, otherwise you don’t stand a chance of persuading them to accept your proposals.

Become adept at interpreting behaviour. People only make major decisions after collecting and processing information in their preferred style. As a persuader, you must carefully observe the person you want to persuade in order to know which style you’re dealing with.

Assemble a full toolkit to draw from. In order to influence the different types of decision-makers, you need to know what tools to use, as well as when and in what order.

Williams and Miller stress that their research is based on how people make decisions and is not influenced by personality types. Furthermore, while most people’s decision-making styles change according to circumstances, when making difficult choices involving complicated issues and significant consequences, people revert to type. In other words, when the pressure’s on, you use what worked in the past.

Williams and Miller also note that while some of the names for decision-making types may sound negative, they’re simply descriptive terms to explain the main way each group of people makes decisions. No style is better than another. All can produce both good and bad decisions.

Also, like human beings themselves, the five different types can sometimes be tricky to decipher because every person contains elements of all five styles. That being said, Williams and Miller offer a starting point for considering different styles and strengthening your persuasive skills.

As you read through the following sections, consider which style you may belong to. Look for characteristics that resonate and sit naturally with you. While this approach isn’t an exact science, it can give you insights into how you go about making decisions.

Convincing the Charismatics

Charismatic decision-makers are identified as charismatic because they encompass certain charismatic qualities – such as passion for bold, innovative thinking, out-of-the-box approaches and a deep-seated desire for knowledge. Big picture thinkers, risk-seeking and responsible, a charismatic decision-maker needs to see what you’re talking about as well as hear what you say. At work, canned Power point slide shows bore them to distraction so come to a meeting with a few prepared charts that can be modified in your head and redrawn on a whiteboard. Away from the office, be prepared to sketch out your ideas on a piece of paper. Although they’re initially enthusiastic about a new idea or proposal, they require a balanced set of information before making their final decision.

Charismatics often have short attention spans and thrive on interaction. Start with the most critical information first. Be prepared for them to get up and walk around while you’re talking. When they do, stay seated. Charismatics rely on you to refrain from joining in their excitement and count on you to stay grounded. They like to think out loud and get things moving. In addition, they like to bat ideas around and scribble down their thoughts, leaving it up to others to fill in the details later.

You know when you’re interacting with a charismatic decision-maker because the person’s face lights up with exuberance and enthusiasm when you present your big idea. You feel like you can comfortably introduce bold, even revolutionary thinking. The person may actually jiggle on the edge of his chair with excitement.

While charismatics typically embrace your idea when you first propose it, getting a final decision can be tough. Charismatics have likely experienced past mistakes in which their impulsiveness led to sorrow. Without having enough facts to support their emotions in the early stages of the process, they made previous decisions too quickly, often leading to unfortunate outcomes.

As a result, just when you believe you’ve persuaded them to commit to your plan, follow your lead or do as you suggest, and you’re ready to crack open the champagne, they up and vanish. They may not take your phone calls or respond to your emails. They may delay making the decision to proceed in spite of their initial enthusiasm. To prevent this from happening, begin your persuasion process by giving charismatics the most critical information up front and make sure that you provide enough facts to support whatever information you give. Make sure that you back up your proposals with supporting data and a balanced set of information (see the following section ‘Offering balanced information’).

If you want to persuade a charismatic, be patient. While they loathe wasting time gaining consensus and can’t be bothered with introspection, they avoid acting rashly and can take a long time making their decisions, frequently turning to trusted advisors to help them come to conclusions. While they may appear independent, and believe that they are, they’re usually not. Charismatics rely on strong number two people to help them see the forest for the trees. These devil’s advocates help keep the charismatics grounded and weigh in with their opinions, helping to think through the details the charismatics undoubtedly overlook or simply can’t be bothered with. A charismatic can draw from a stable of trusted advisors – from business partners to life partners. The point is, charismatics seek advice from people they trust. When you’re putting your arguments together, consider who they turn to for advice and support. Factor these important advisors into your overall approach.

David is always on the lookout for new and exciting investment ventures. When Stewart approached him with the chance to invest in his film distributorship, David leapt at the opportunity. He had always been fascinated by the film world and, although he was already a multi-millionaire, he saw this as another opportunity to make more money and have fun in the process. Stewart advised David that to gain an equity stake in the company he would have to invest £500,000 with an initial investment of £100,000. David agreed without hesitation and promised the funds would be transferred into the company account by the end of the week. When David got home that night and told his wife, Tina, what he had decided to do, she came in with probing questions including challenging him about his knowledge of the film industry, the people he was dealing with, anticipated returns on investment and other details David, in his excitement for the opportunity, had failed to ask. By triggering doubts in David’s mind, Tina got him to think more carefully about his plan and put an end to the deal.

The following sections explore the key strategies for effectively influencing charismatic individuals.

Offering balanced information

Charismatic decision-makers must have supporting data in order to make their decisions. They do want facts to support their emotions and lose their initial enthusiasm quickly if you don’t have the details at hand. However, if you hit a charismatic decision-maker with tons of exhaustive facts and number-crunching exercises in the early stages of your persuasion process, you can say goodbye to your proposal.

In spite of seeming exuberant and enthusiastic at first, charismatics are methodical when making decisions and only take educated risks, relying on research and market studies to support their instincts. Having made mistakes in the past, they try to control their initial burst of excitement and douse themselves in reality. With this in mind:

Don’t bog down charismatics with minutiae, particularly in the early stages of the process. You quickly temper a charismatic’s keenness if you muddy his thinking with too much data and detail.

Always know your back-up plans and strategies. Although charismatics may seem uninterested in the finer details, they want to know that you’ve a well-developed plan in the background, ready to support any and every recommendation you’re making. Because they’ve been burned in the past, they wait to act until they feel secure that you’ve crossed every t and dotted each i.

Plan for supporting visuals. While charismatics can easily absorb a lot of information and can move from the big picture to the details without batting an eye, have visuals on hand to back up your proposal. A lot of verbal or written information often overwhelms and causes this type of decision-maker to lose enthusiasm. See the later section ‘Providing visual aids to strengthen your position’ in this chapter.

Acknowledging and discussing risks

Risk averse? Not the charismatics. ‘Bring it on!’ can be their slogan. However, don’t take that to mean that you can be rash and reckless when persuading a charismatic. They fight their urge to make on-the-spot decisions and usually have a wing-man close by to hold them back from plunging head first into unknown waters.

Give your charismatic listener supportive data to sustain their interest or they’re likely to lose enthusiasm quickly. Be upfront when persuading charismatic decision-makers, telling them the bottom line, including the risks. Keep your arguments simple and straightforward – and explain upfront how you plan to minimise any risks and what measures you’re prepared to take. By being truthful and direct, you’re more likely to gain their acceptance than if you make the mistake of joining in with their initial excitement.

When you’re persuading charismatics, slightly undersell the parts of your proposal that are likely to arouse their curiosity. For example, if a client has a dilemma he believes you can solve, avoid getting caught up in his enthusiasm by pointing out potential obstacles and gathering as much information as you can before committing to a deal. Frequently, and without necessarily being aware of what they’re doing, charismatics try to pass a problem onto someone else in order to get rid of it. Simply acknowledge the points they’re interested in. You don’t need to hype something they’re basically on-board with. Then lay out the inherent risks. This reality check makes you come across as honest and as someone who can be trusted.

Don’t attempt to conceal any latent threats or dangers. A charismatic is going to discover them later – when you’re not around to address any concerns that pop up. Despite their initial enthusiasm for an idea, charismatics are thorough and rely on others – especially those who understand the full implications of a proposal – before making a decision. While charismatics appear to be independent thinkers, they defer to experts – such as a chief financial officer, head of IT or a lawyer – who understand the implications of their choices before making their final decisions. Follow through rigorously, making sure that you do all the work that’s requested and turn it over to the charismatics’ key lieutenants, or else you may sabotage yourself. When the charismatics’ trusted advisors are satisfied and you’ve followed through on your end of the bargain, all will be plain sailing. If you fail to follow through, you can expect to be seen as untrustworthy, ill-prepared and a questionable character.

Providing visual aids to strengthen your position

When you’re making your persuasive pitch to a charismatic, make sure that you’ve got plenty of pictures, images, diagrams and charts at hand. Because charismatics tend to see the world in visual terms, drawings and objects help clarify their thinking. For more information about learning styles and sense preferences, have a look at Neuro-linguistic Programming For Dummies by Romilla Ready and Kate Burton (Wiley) and Business NLP For Dummies by Lynne Cooper (Wiley), which deal with this topic in detail.

In addition to visual aids, fill your speech with visual metaphors. Compare abstract ideas and concepts to concrete objects. Use words such as ‘What I see here is . . . ’, ‘Focussing on this point . . . ’, ‘Imagine that . . . ’ and ‘The big picture we’re looking at is like . . . ’ in your speech and writing.

Kiera scheduled a meeting with her boss, Nicky, to discuss ideas for a restructuring programme that Kiera believed would save her department more than £50,000 annually. Kiera prepared several visual aids for the meeting – for her own reference as well as for Nicky, who was visually orientated. Before the meeting, Kiera reviewed her visuals and thought about how she could modify and redraw them on the spot if necessary, based on Nicky’s reaction to the information. Kiera began the actual presentation by drawing a diagram showing the current financial state of her department. She then presented another chart, outlining her proposal for the new structure and how it addressed current problems. When she saw that Nicky was captured by what she was seeing, the two of them stood at the flip chart, coloured pens in hand, drawing further charts and diagrams together.

Visually orientated charismatics pay careful attention to how they look and are usually smartly turned out. They expect others to dress in a similar fashion. If you want to impress a charismatic, make sure that you’re well groomed, and that you add an elegant accessory – a good-quality watch, beautiful piece of jewellery, stylish tie or a smart handbag or briefcase. You don’t need to compliment the charismatic on his notably attractive clothing items or office decor as charismatics habitually present themselves well.

Tying arguments to bottom-line results

When you’re persuading a charismatic, always link your arguments to the bottom line, be it a financial result, an emotional connection or a desired relationship. Charismatics are results-driven and keen competitors, whether they’re working in business, at home or building a relationship with a potential partner.

Even if they don’t ask straight away, charismatics want results-orientated information. If you fail to provide it, they become frustrated and annoyed, particularly when they want to explore your proposal in more detail after the initial discussion. Don’t waste their time with extraneous niceties or chitchat that may be interesting to some but hold no fascination for charismatics.

When you’re persuading charismatic decision-makers, include any (or all) of the following written and spoken words in your proposal in order to capture their interest:

Nouns: results, actions

Verbs: show, watch, look, focus

Adjectives: proven, bright, easy, clear

Swaying the Sceptics

With their strong personalities and what some consider to be antisocial behaviour, sceptics tend to have a highly suspicious nature and look for reasons to distrust people and their recommendations. When they do act, their decisions are based on their belief in your credibility. In order to establish your credibility, you can gain endorsement from someone the sceptic trusts, but ultimately you have to earn it through your own behaviour.

Others often describe sceptics as demanding, disruptive and disagreeable; they can also be rebellious. They can be tough – but not impossible – to persuade. They like to take charge and have a combative style. They look for reasons not to agree to your proposals; reasons not to do business or make agreements with you. Above all, with their suspicious nature, they question everything and accept nothing at face value.

While sceptics are straightforward, make decisions quickly and hop on board with ground-breaking ideas (as long as they trust you), they can also be unruly in meetings by taking phone calls or engaging in side conversations. They may just get up and leave if your argument seems full of holes or unsubstantiated.

Sceptics leave you in no doubt about where you stand. When you first meet sceptics, they always find rationales to be suspicious of you. They look for reasons to distrust you and only if they fail to find them do they begin to perceive you as credible. They don’t ever give the benefit of the doubt to someone who’s unproven but once you’ve stood up to their scrutiny and have gained their trust, you’re on a winner. They’re quick to tell you what’s on their minds and don’t hesitate to lock horns any chance they get. When they attack with volleys of questions, you’re likely to feel as though they’re attacking you personally (although that’s not really the case). See the following section ‘Allowing them their clout’, for more about sceptics’ questioning.

When you go to persuade a sceptic, be prepared – be very prepared. They can demand a lot of your time and energy, questioning every bit of data you place in front of them, especially those facts that challenge the way they view their world. Ultimately, most sceptics are willing to alter their positions – if you’re patient with them, answer all their questions, back up your responses with credible sources and then allow them to draw their own conclusions. Although they can seem challenging, the key is to keep calm and carry on. The following sections cover the best ways of persuading sceptics.

Establishing credibility through similarities

Credibility scores high on a sceptic’s list of important attributes, so fill your arsenal with as much credibility as you can.

Sceptics trust people who are similar to them. If you didn’t go to the same university, work for the same companies or belong to the same clubs, you need to find another way of proving that you’re similar if you’re to have any success in persuading them to accept your point of view. For more about the power of establishing similarity, turn to Chapter 10.

While a colleague can vouch for you, ultimately a sceptic only trusts you after you prove that you’re credible. If the sceptic has no prior experience of you, prepare yourself for lengthy and aggressive questioning to establish that you’re reliable and trustworthy. Earning credibility with a sceptic takes time and for a sceptic to believe in you, you have to stand your ground without getting defensive. If you’re able to do that, the sceptic will give you his stamp of approval.

Gaining endorsement from trusted sources

If you haven’t already proven your credibility with a sceptic, solicit the endorsement of someone he trusts. Sceptics are more prepared to listen to you if someone they believe in has bought into your proposal. In fact, you may want to ask the trusted person to co-present your proposal with you, transferring their credibility onto you.

However, while this endorsement approach may work for a while, ultimately you have to prove yourself to a sceptic if you’re to gain their trust and confidence.

Whether prior to your meeting or during it, gaining the support of someone the sceptic knows and counts on for honest assessments allows you the freedom of having an open discussion of the issues on their level, while the sceptic continues to maintain his superior position. You can get buy in from someone the sceptic already trusts by floating your thoughts by this person before having the discussion with the sceptic. You can also suggest that this person presents any information that may be controversial, as he’s already established his credibility with the sceptic. That way your ideas are heard without you being in the firing line.

Allowing them their clout

Persuading sceptics is a risky business. They’re like attack dogs and have no compunction about challenging your integrity or your data. Put on your kid gloves, your steel-plated vest and handle sceptics with care.

When you’re persuading them to see your point of view and they go on the attack, don’t fight fire with fire, no matter how tempted you may be. Aggressive counterattacks only lead to more aggression.

Don’t try to examine a sceptic’s reasons for behaving the way he does. That’s just the way things are. Rather than withering under a sceptic’s challenge or putting him on the defensive, accept that sceptics rarely trust anything that doesn’t fit into their worldview. They may want to move forward with a good idea – they just need to be certain that the person offering the idea is credible and can be trusted.

Avoid going on the defensive. While sceptics’ accusations and criticisms may sting, you’re not the only one to feel the pain of their assaults. They’re critical and suspicious of everything and everyone. Stay cool, calm and collected as a sceptic flexes his muscles. Stand firm in your ideas and keep your emotions in check as you respond rationally and patiently to the sceptic’s concerns. In addition, make sure that when you present data to back up your proposal, it comes from a reliable source and not hearsay.

To persuade sceptics, you must establish trust by allowing them to safeguard their reputation and protect their ego. Whatever you do, don’t confront them as you may cause offense, which may just heighten their negative feelings toward you. Whatever criticisms or accusations they fling your way, depersonalise them. Their attacks have nothing to do with you personally – they’re suspicious of everyone and everything until they’re given clear reasons not to be. Even when they’re coming at you with a full frontal attack, remain cool as a cucumber, biting your tongue, breathing deeply from your core or counting inwardly to ten if necessary. (See Chapter 14 for breathing exercises to calm you down.)

Tread lightly around a sceptic’s ego by acknowledging the sceptic or someone they respect. For example, when you present supporting information, preface your remarks with a comment like ‘You’re probably already aware that . . . ’or ‘As you know, Apple succeeded by taking a similar approach to . . . ’. Be sure that any example you share shows how the company’s reputation was enhanced or tainted as a result of the decision made. Away from the office, this approach works equally well. For example, comments like ‘Undoubtedly you know how valuable your contribution was when . . . ‘ or ‘When your son shared his experiences of . . . ’ provide supporting evidence to your observations.

Sceptics want to be seen as knowing everything. They don’t like being helped, and they really don’t like being contradicted. That said, they’re not infallible, and you may need to correct inaccurate information that they hold to be true. While you risk offending them if you correct their thinking, they won’t respect you if you acquiesce or back down. A tricky situation, indeed, so proceed with caution. Never accuse them of being wrong or not knowing what they’re talking about and do everything you can to avoid judgemental language. Instead, present your case in a neutral, dispassionate way, allowing sceptics to draw their own conclusions and maintain face while you prove your credibility.

When Paul accused his wife, Anne, of grossly overspending on decorating and refurbishing their house and being personally accountable for spiralling costs, Anne remained calm. She asked if Paul was testing her, because she thought that when they had discussed the project several months earlier, Paul had told Anne to spend what she needed to make the house more to their liking. Anne then asked Paul if the situation had changed. Paul re-established the trust he had originally placed in Anne because Anne allowed him to save face.

Sceptics have a little bit of rebelliousness under their stern exteriors. They like to buck the trend and always like taking credit for new or innovative ideas. Whatever you propose, always tie it back into points they’ve made in the past or accomplishments you know that they’re proud of.

Grounding concrete facts in the real world

Sceptics are uncomfortable with abstracts. Like meat and potato people, they like hard facts and concrete reasoning. If something can go wrong, they want to know about it from the start and they insist upon verification of all your information sources.

The more reputable sources you can provide, the better. Be prepared to refer them to the successes of people they admire and put them in touch with other experts.

Craig was in charge of a major restructuring programme that required relocating 500 employees. As he presented his case to Don, his managing director, he included specifics, consisting of how he planned to close the premises in Loughborough and how the company may benefit. Craig suggested subleasing the space, including parking and recreational areas. He also made suggestions for how the building could be used, seeing it as an ideal site to turn into serviced office space, which was much in demand in that area. He provided data of how other companies had taken a similar approach, adding in examples of companies that had failed as well as those that had succeeded. Because Craig approached the situation with concrete examples of what was possible and had data to back up his proposal, he was able to persuade Don to act on his suggestion.

Appeal to the sceptics by including the following words when you speak with or write to them:

Nouns: power, action, trust

Verbs: feel, grasp, look, focus, demand, disrupt

Adjectives: suspect, agreeable

Appealing to the Thinkers

Logical and intellectually astute, thinkers can be difficult to understand and tough to persuade. They tend to make decisions primarily from their heads, not their hearts. They explore every nook and cranny of your proposal before making a decision. Picky is a word you can use to describe thinkers because they take apart problems and work their way back through a course of logic-based solutions.

When you’re persuading a thinker, pretend you’re speaking to an academic. (You may very well be doing just that.) Appeal to their brain power. Present them with intellectual arguments and clever lines of reasoning.

‘Bring on the data!’ may as well be their cry to arms. Thinkers are ravenous readers and choosy with their words, and don’t talk a great deal. If you really want to please and impress them, come armed with a plethora of measurable arguments.

Thinkers are turned on by anticipating change and winning the chase. They get a real buzz from out-thinking and out-manoeuvring the competition. If they think that a bargain’s to be had – a relatively risk-free prospect of saving time or money – they side-step their usual decision-making process in the interests of time and money. (Thinkers share this bargain-mindedness with followers; see the following section.)

Thinkers like being in control and don’t care about being innovative. They keep their emotions under wraps and play their cards close to the chest, giving nothing away as they meticulously process arguments and ideas. Most of all, thinkers don’t like risk.

Thinkers like to be included in the decision-making process, so after presenting your recommendation, ask for their help in filling in any possible blanks. Provide them with all the relevant information, as much as you can muster, and then sit back and wait while the thinker processes your proposal. This waiting period can be a matter of minutes, hours or days. Be patient. Thinkers need time to thoroughly analyse a problem as they explore all the potential pros and cons of every possible solution. Encourage them to solicit the help of others, as thinkers like to work through things with trusted advisors to make sure that they’ve not missed anything.

Telling your story sequentially

When you’re persuading a thinker, present your proposal by starting at the very beginning – a very good place to start – and finishing up at the end. Do everything you can to maintain a logical, sequential order.

Think of the process like feeding them a meal; begin with the appetiser and finish up with dessert. Jumping into the main course – for example, presenting your solution before introducing your proposition – is no way to persuade a thinker.

To persuade a thinker, allow them to confirm that every step in the process is free of error. As my lawyer brother says, ‘Never assume facts that haven’t been placed in evidence.’ Thinkers like to be in control, so don’t try to hide any information that would jeopardise that need.

If you know of a hole in your proposition, a flaw in your thinking, an aspect that’s open to interpretation or a point of contention, address the problem on the spot and encourage the thinker to get involved in analysing the situation before moving onto your next item.

If you’ve made any assumptions based on inklings and intuition, admit it upfront. Thinkers are quick to spot your sixth sense at work.

If a thinker doubts your judgement or reasoning on a point you’re making and you’re not able to defend it satisfactorily, stop and explain yourself. Your entire proposal can become suspect when thinkers disagree with you on an important bit of information.

If you’ve any concerns about the viability of what you’re proposing, tell the thinker at the beginning of your conversation. Being risk-averse, thinkers need to know the possible downsides upfront. They need to explore and understand all the perils inherent in your proposition and may come at you with a battery of questions. Unlike the sceptics, these questions aren’t personal and are only intended to challenge your process or data.

Explain your processes and data sources from the very beginning to gain a thinker’s attention. If you have to limit the amount of information you offer the thinker to one piece, make that your methodology. They want to know most of all how you got from point A to point Z. You do this by defining the problem, highlighting the pros and cons of different options and explaining how they can minimise risk by choosing what you believe is the optimum solution.

Begin your presentation by presenting a slideshow of the project’s history to provide thinkers with a framework for your proposal. Away from the office, begin your conversation by giving the thinker background information about the subject you want to discuss and offer them a few options of how to address the situation. Then discuss the pros and cons of each option including the risks involved. Be prepared for thinkers to ask a barrage of questions. They need to understand a situation from all angles before committing to a solution. You can even play devil’s advocate to help the thinkers look at every perspective.

Like elephants, thinkers never forget. Bad experiences remain at the forefront of a thinker’s mind, so whatever recommendation you make, be sure – beyond a doubt – that your option is the best option. (Of course, always be certain of your recommendations whenever you’re persuading someone – but make a special effort when you’re dealing with thinkers.)

Providing abundant data

Thinkers hunger for comparative data and aren’t satisfied until they consume as much as is available. Burn the midnight oil and do your homework. Fill your proposal with mountains of information, including market research, customer surveys, case studies, cost–benefit analyses and any other substantiating evidence you can muster. The more the merrier. Thinkers thrive on data and do their upmost to understand all perspectives on the subject at hand.

Rather than flood a thinker with options, shape your argument. Highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each option you offer. Supply thinkers with pertinent examples, drawing your data from different situations. Balance the data you provide with examples of wins and losses to avoid seeming prejudiced and deliberately trying to steer the final decision. See the following section ‘Letting them draw their own conclusions’ for more on the importance of putting a thinker in the driver’s seat of the decision-making process.

Because of their need for as many facts and figures as you can provide, you may need to take more time persuading thinkers than you do other types. My advice? Be patient. Let them gorge themselves on facts and figures. Then give them time to digest the information and consider all the ramifications, no matter how long the process takes. The good news is, because thinkers are generally people of their word, when they tell you they’ll have an answer by next Thursday morning, they do. Agree to a time frame and let them get on with it. You don’t need to micro-manage as long as the thinkers feel engaged with the process. You can bring them on board by openly discussing your worries and concerns about the weaknesses in your proposal and your approach. Thinkers like honesty and being up front with them increases your credibility.

No matter how much information you provide, the chances are a thinker’s going to ask for more. You’d be hard-pressed to over-anticipate a thinker’s desire for data, but don’t let this desire for information worry you. When presenting your proposal, you don’t have to have all your arguments firmly in place. Thinkers like to be part of the process and want to help tweak and tune your thinking. That said, once they give you their input, they expect you to come up with the goods.

Present your data in big chunks over two meetings – or more, if needed. This way, the thinker can absorb and make sense of the information. After your first meeting, take on board the thinker’s input and incorporate it into your to do list for gathering more data or backing up your arguments in preparation for your follow-up meeting. Let the thinker add his input in order to make him feel he has ownership of the methodology.

Thinkers abhor surprises. After adjusting your proposal based on the thinker’s amendments and modifications, point out anything new and different from your first presentation, such as revised data.

Letting them draw their own conclusions

Thinkers like to, well, think, and because they don’t like being helped, you have to grant them the right to draw their own conclusions. Steering their responses jeopardises your credibility in their eyes, so keep your thoughts to yourself and give them plenty of time and space to reflect on what they hear and to figure out things for themselves.

Because thinkers like to play their cards close to the chest and often appear inconsistent in their views, you may struggle to detect how they feel about any of your suggestions. Thinkers are a tough lot, concealing their intentions until they’re ready to render their decision. Simply remain silent as they digest your information and draw their own conclusions.

Always focus on open communication and involve the thinker as much as possible when you’re seeking solutions. Besides engaging them, this approach makes them feel that they own the process, which ultimately helps you by getting their buy-in. Always be candid with thinkers and gain their input about your method. Thinkers like being part of the process and want to know that their input has been acted on. After you first present the process you’re using to come up with a solution, schedule another discussion, perhaps a week later, to show the thinker how you’re getting on. Holding regular meetings and keeping them in the loop helps the thinker become familiar and comfortable with your approach.

If you’re working with a thinker on a major decision, keep him informed of the process you’re using to arrive at your solution. Before a meeting, send him a report so he has a chance to review it and, during the meeting, talk him through the details. The bigger the decision, the more you must keep the thinker involved along the way.

Words and phrases that appeal to thinkers include:

Nouns: quality, numbers, data, plan, competition, proof

Verbs: think, makes sense, plan

Adjectives: academic, intelligent, expert

Urging the Followers

Followers are highly conscientious decision-makers. They tend to make decisions in the same ways they did in the past, based on how other, respected people came to their conclusions.

In some ways, followers seem contradictory:

They fear making mistakes (so don’t expect them to be early adopters of a proposal). They’re turned on by known brands and bargains appeal to them because both represent less of a gamble.

They’re good at grasping others’ points of view, and despite their cautious nature, they can be surprisingly spontaneous.

Identifying followers can be difficult because they share characteristics with charismatics, thinkers and sceptics (see the preceding sections for more on each of these decision-making types) – and they don’t see themselves as followers. If you get into a discussion with them about their cautious nature, they’ll flatly deny it. Followers are likely to prefer describing themselves as creative thinkers, innovative pioneers, rebels and mavericks – about as far away from their actual decision-making type as possible. The reason for that is simple. Followers don’t want to be thought of as followers because of the negative connotation to the word ‘follow’. They associate following with weakness and would rather be perceived as leaders, which connotes strength. What some followers tend to forget is that too many cooks spoil the stew and that followers are frequently dynamic and highly effective.

If you struggle to identify the type of person you’re dealing with, look at their past decisions rather than what they say about themselves. Actions speak louder than words.

Still can’t identify a person’s decision-making type? You can safely assume that the person is a follower unless you find evidence to the contrary. Regardless of a person’s preferred decision-making style, you can’t go wrong by taking the persuasive approach of supplying lots of proof that your solution has a proven track record because everyone likes knowing that.

While you may not think of people in leadership roles as followers, you can find them, particularly within large, traditional corporations. In fact, research shows that 36 per cent of executives are followers and that only 6 per cent of sales presentations are targeted to their decision-making style. See the sidebar ‘A follower in the front office’ for an example from my own consulting experience.

Helping them understand through successes – their own and others’

Because followers are adept at seeing things from other people’s perspective, they like examples of success, especially case studies. By offering them examples of where others succeeded – and purposely leaving out the failures unless they ask for them – followers can often see themselves succeeding in similar ways.

Unless you’ve got a solid track record of success, don’t take the path of persuading a follower based on your own recommendation. Instead:

Refer to past decisions they themselves made that support your position. Remind a follower of how a similar approach that he took in the past worked. You can say something along the lines of, ‘This is the way you’ve always approached this kind of problem. The only difference now is . . . ’, ‘This reminds me of when you . . . ” or ‘Remember when you were faced with a similar situation and you . . . ’. Followers need to feel comfortable knowing that what you’re suggesting has succeeded in the past.

Share winning stories of other successful leaders. Prove that people they trust and respect did well by pursuing a certain strategy, and most followers go down the same route.

Draw from examples outside of the follower’s profession. Followers are likely to become even more excited about the prospect of following these types of winning strategies because they get to rely on proven ideas while seeing themselves as being the first to pioneer the ‘new’ strategy within their own industry.

Unlike sceptics, whom I describe earlier in this chapter, followers are not intrinsically suspicious. When they’re struggling to understand a point, they gladly turn to you for help. You can comfortably challenge a follower and chances are they’ll yield as long as you’ve got back-up data they respect.

Minimising risk

Followers are keen to hold onto their hats and keep their jobs. While they want to be associated with solutions that are ground-breaking, original and even revolutionary, they desire answers that are reliable, proven and safe.

Don’t expect a follower to adopt blue-sky thinking or out-of-the-box ideas. Unless you present a follower with information they can’t ignore, they’re most comfortable maintaining the status quo.

If you want a follower to accept a bold, new strategy, show how someone else has succeeded by following the same plan.

When you present your ideas, give the follower options to choose from – three’s a good number; neither too many nor too few – and link each option to fully fleshed-out case studies. As you undoubtedly have one option that you think is best, link most frequently to your strongest case study. Even if your listener cottons onto one of your other suggestions (perhaps because he sees a chance for a bargain), you can be prepared to point out that your comprehensive analysis of the data shows that, on a risk-adjusted basis, your preferred option is the most cost-efficient. Presenting your proposal as part of your comprehensive analysis is sure to persuade a follower that you’ve worked through all permutations of possibilities and identified a winning strategy.

Keeping it simple

Although followers like to be seen by clients, colleagues and anyone else who’s looking as innovative – even though they’re not – they really don’t like being taken out of their comfort zone. Hit them with too much novelty, and you can kiss goodbye to your chances of persuading them.

Persuading followers is an easy prospect, as long as you give them what they need and nothing more. While followers like you to present them with profuse amounts of evidence that something is proven, avoid the temptation of thinking you need to include further amounts of information unless this information is relevant and explains how your proposed solution has worked in the past. Don’t waste your time giving them too much information. They’re likely to feel overwhelmed by too much information that they didn’t really ask for.

Bottom line: keep your proposal simple, substantiated and straightforward.

Reframe your ideas with new references that affect your specific followers. Relate your proposal to something that’s worked in the past that they’re familiar with. Use phrases such as, ‘Remember when you . . . ’ or ‘When we took this approach with . . . ’ or ‘You may recall from past experiences that . . . ’. Each of these phrases puts your new suggestions into context for them.

John’s an old-fashioned kind of guy who owns a successful property business, but he struggles to understand why the marketing and advertising campaigns that have worked well in the past aren’t working so well now. Several years ago, his marketing director Louise suggested that they take a new approach to working with their customers. Rather than sending out costly four-colour printed brochures, Louise suggested undertaking more Internet activity. John baulked at the proposal, leading to a bit of tension in the office. Words and phrases such as innovative, new, better and leading edge threatened his perceptions, and he resisted her proposal. Louise was only able to persuade John to take a new approach by showing him how similar her suggestion was to what he was already doing, adding that making use of the Internet simply meant that what they were doing could be done with more ease and less cost.

Incorporate the following words and phrases into your speech and writing in order to persuade followers:

Nouns: expertise, experience, good deal, cost saving

Verbs: innovate, expedite

Adjectives: swift, bright, just like before, similar, previous, proven, what works, as in the past

Winning Over the Controllers

Love them or loathe them, controllers provoke strong reactions: on the one hand, they’re demanding and frustrating to work with; on the other hand, they elicit fierce loyalty because of their candid way of communicating and their unswerving commitment to standards. When business is in turmoil, however, controllers are the ones you want at the helm because no one’s better at getting the job done on time and within budget.

Logical, emotionally contained and detail-orientated, controllers are objective observers. They tend to have strong personalities and can come across as domineering. Whatever they do – whether sales, marketing, strategising or surfing the net – they’re the best. At least, that’s what they tell you.

Controllers see things only from their own perspective, unlike followers (see the preceding section) who can easily see things from another person’s point of view. Snap judgements come easily to controllers and they’re known for their cutting and scathing remarks. Loners by choice and tending to be rather egotistical, controllers make unilateral decisions with the possibility of leaving you standing there feeling rather redundant. Oh, sure, they may talk to you about a decision, but they seldom genuinely care about what you say.

Keep two main points in mind when persuading controllers:

Fear drives their decisions. Controllers are always on the lookout for whatever can go wrong. They’re never going to sit back on their laurels with smiles of contentment on their faces.

They need a lot – and I mean copious amounts – of time to make up their minds. Persuading controllers is not so much persuading them, as letting them persuade themselves.

The following sections cover the essentials of influencing controllers.

Overcoming internal fears

In spite of their bravado, controllers are inundated with fears and anxieties that they keep safely tucked away. They live in a state of constant tension between their private terrors and timidities, which they deny (even to themselves), and the persona they present to the world.

Because of their fears, they struggle to let go of even the smallest points. They question you about price, fearing that if they don’t, you’ll perceive them as weak negotiators. They demand that you come in ahead of schedule, dreading that their staff may see them as too soft. As well as doubting themselves, controllers doubt other people and can even appear somewhat paranoid when interpreting other people’s motives.

Like wounded animals, controllers may attack with aggressive comments and questions, and you may want to take their fury personally and react defensively. Don’t. Instead:

Remain calm, composed and comforting. I’m not saying this approach is the easiest way of dealing with a controller, I’m just saying it’s the best way. In Chapter 7 you can pick up tips for letting go of your own feelings in order to remain present with the other person.

Patiently reassure them that you’ve worked through all possible permutations of the problem at hand. Minimise any fears or anxieties they may have about your proposals by providing them with all the information they need; then back off and wait for them to respond.

In order to persuade controllers, you need to help them overcome their fears – without pointing them out. If you were to say something along the lines of, ‘What are you so worried about?’ most controllers would eat you for breakfast. Instead, patiently respond to their demands – they’re bound to have many – while remaining calm and reassuring. Meeting their aggression with your own simply fans the flames and heightens their fears.

Flooding with pure facts and analytics

You can spot controllers by the excessive amount of attention they pay to convoluted processes and procedures. They’re likely to thrive on having you chase down further facts and figures as the mood strikes them. When you go to persuade a controller, make sure that you’ve got your data in place and that you absolutely, unconditionally and without a doubt know what you’re talking about. Controllers only credit experts (Chapter 6 covers how to demonstrate your expertise).

Controllers are frequently afraid of making decisions, especially when situations involve lots of unknowns. Prepare for these individuals to become more aggressive and demanding, insisting that you provide them with more and more detailed information. Avoid becoming frustrated as that only adds fuel to their fire. Even when they’ve got you huffing, puffing and sweating buckets as you source obscure materials that they probably won’t even look at, keep dancing to their tune.

Knowing what they want and when they want it, controllers leave nothing to chance and focus on the tiniest details in all proposals.

Making your arguments structured, linear and credible

Controllers look for accuracy and facts presented in a structured and linear way. No jumping in at the middle or presenting your conclusions at the beginning if you want to persuade them. Controllers are persuaded by proposals that are strict and strong. They like discipline, authority and a command-and-conquer approach supported by highly analysed data. Present controllers with information that’s ambiguous and open to interpretation, and watch their faces flush in fury. Give them unadulterated facts and clear analytics, and they’re smiling. Submit proposals that seem preordained and destined to win, and they sign them off willingly.

You can’t really persuade controllers to do anything because they always need to be in control. They draw their own conclusions, reach their own decisions and make up their own minds in their own sweet time. All you can do is give them all the information they need and keep your fingers crossed that they convince themselves to go with your proposal.

Controllers like to own the proposal, regardless of who suggested it. Let them think that your idea is theirs by tying your suggestion back to something they said or did in the past.

Because controllers need to be involved in all aspects of the decision-making process, they can slow things down. They can go beyond their remit or change the rules after negotiations begin. When they pull these punches, stand your ground. Be patient with them – as well as firm. ‘That’s not what we agreed but if you want to add extras we’re prepared to do that at an additional cost’ shows that you’re both willing to work with the controller as well as resolute in your position.

Thomas is the CEO of a telecoms company that I’ve had a positive and productive working relationship with for many years. He recently hired a new HR director, Nicola, who is a classic controller. During our yearly contract renewal meeting, Thomas agreed our terms without hesitation, at which point Nicola slammed on the breaks. She questioned company policy on every minor point from accounting procedures to timings and content of delivery. Because Thomas had already approved the proposal, I was thrown off base and had to quickly regain control. I reminded myself about controllers operating out of fear and their need to hold onto even the smallest of points. All Nicola really needed to do was choose one of the three options we had agreed with Thomas. It was pretty much a no-brainer, but Nicola needed to have her voice heard. She suggested that we combine options, which would have made the contract more complicated and expensive than necessary. Patiently, I agreed that we could do as she suggested, but that doing so would add to the costs and that going with one of the three options on the table would be both time and cost effective. By giving her a choice, Nicola had the opportunity to have her say while sticking to Thomas’s agreement.

Avoid aggressively pushing any decision when working with controllers. If you force their hands before they’re ready to make up their mind, they see you as the problem and happily put the blame on you for anything that may go wrong. To avoid this from happening, you have to be absolutely clear from the beginning about what is – and isn’t – negotiable and hold to your bottom line. Get everything in writing, and if you can, work through the controller’s trusted advisors. Like all other decision-making types described in this chapter, controllers have their lieutenants who are invaluable resources of useful information and helpful suggestions.

Working through others

Working directly with controllers can be tricky. They may try to avoid dealing with you, waiting to make up their minds and avoid taking responsibility in case something goes wrong.

If you’re able to work with someone a controller trusts rather than the controller himself, go for it. Sometimes you can get lucky and the controller tells you not to deal with him directly, but instead to work with his colleagues – second-in-commands, trusted advisors, lieutenants, call them what you will – who reports back to him. If that doesn’t happen, suggest it yourself. You can also recommend that you work with the controller in pairs, thus avoiding one-on-one meetings where the controller may feel sanctioned power to do and say whatever he wants, including having an abusive go at you. Having another person present keeps the controller in check. Whatever you do, be diplomatic when dealing with a controller to prevent him from feeling cornered or that he’s being kept in the dark.

Meetings with controllers can be fraught. Because of their need to be right and their demand for perfection, they can be ruthless in casting blame, especially if something doesn’t fit their vision.

Seek allies when working with controllers. Because of the controller’s need to be in charge, he may unwittingly sabotage your every effort. When you can, work with a partner. Two people together can often keep the lid on a controller’s tendency to bully and act abusively.

If you do choose to work with a partner, make sure that you frame the meeting as a discussion and put the controller in charge. You don’t want to look as though you’re setting up a situation of two against one. You can perhaps say that you and your colleague were batting around ideas and wanted the controller’s input. That way the controller feels valued and knows that nothing is going on behind his back.

Several years ago Maggie invited me to speak at a conference her boss was organising. I had worked with Maggie a lot and trusted her unconditionally. She warned me that her boss, David, was a tough cookie who needed to be in charge at all times. At the conference, David was a nightmare. Every time I began to speak, he interrupted, taking over the points I was making. Not only that, he twisted my remarks to suit his agenda, which didn’t match what I was presenting. I found his behaviour both incredibly frustrating and quite ironic because he’d paid a lot of money to set up the conference and was sabotaging its success. During the first break, I spoke with Maggie. She told me not to worry and went off to have a word with him, suggesting that he let me present my material and then during the break-out sessions he would coach people. While this solution wasn’t ideal, it was better than what had been happening. I also noticed that, during the workshops, Maggie and her team put the people who weren’t really interested in hearing what I had to say in one group, suggesting that David may want to coach them, which he later did. Throughout the day, I noticed how Maggie and her team seemed to know just how to handle David by guiding him in his behaviour without his being aware.

My notebook is heaving with information about persuading and working with controllers. (Perhaps Controlling Controllers For Dummies should be my next book?) In the meantime, keep the following strategies in mind:

Controllers need a lot of time to make up their minds. Be prepared for long silences as they draw their conclusions.

Encourage controllers to make up their minds by giving them deadlines that are imposed by external factors – something out of their control – like new government regulations or a competitor’s upcoming launch date.

In meetings, controllers tend to be self-absorbed, focusing on their own thoughts. Because of that I suggest you schedule as few meetings as possible with controllers, working instead through their lieutenants who can do your persuading for you. If that’s not possible, make sure that your meetings are highly structured and that you present your information in a linear way with the implication that your proposal is both unbeatable and unstoppable, thus matching the controllers’ tendency to be clear, precise and straightforward.

Incorporate the following words into your speech and writing in order to persuade controllers:

Nouns: power, details, facts

Verbs: handle, grab, just do it, make them pay

Adjectives: reasonable, logical, physically

For an outstanding example of how to persuade a group of people, watch the classic film 12 Angry Men , in which juror number 8 – through incessant and logical probing, and by questioning the credibility of some of the witnesses – convinces his fellow jurors, all of whom have different decision-making styles, to change their votes.