Chapter 3. Identifying Personality Types Over the Phone

IF YOU’VE EVER ATTENDED a rock concert where you were able to sit close to the stage, you might have seen a member of the band’s crew off to the side tuning guitars. Energetic strokes by the lead guitarist can stretch strings slightly out of proper tension. In order to keep the quality of the sound perfect and allow it to blend with the other guitars and singers, the lead player regularly swaps guitars with the assistant who then hands the guitarist a freshly tuned instrument.

Setting up a guitar properly requires a tuning fork or an electronic tone device. When the sound coming from the guitar string vibrates at the proper level and matches the device, the guitar is said to be in tune. An out-of-tune instrument would sound “off” and would make the guitarist appear to be inept.

As a salesperson, however, being in tune with your customers is often the determining factor of a sale. You will be able to hit it off with nearly every customer when you use strategies that place you in harmony with your customers’ personalities. Harmony equals sales. Learning to get on the same frequency as each of your customers will dramatically increase your close rate. Recognizing a customer’s personality type may be more difficult over the telephone than in person, but there are definitely clues you can learn to identify.

Of course, it helps to understand what your own personality type is, as well. This knowledge lets you capitalize on your strengths with some customers, and manage your natural incompatibilities with others. For this reason, you will find a quick assessment in Appendix A that will help you to determine your type.

The personality types described in this chapter are generalities. However, once you practice some observations, you’ll be able to recognize patterns in your customers, generally within one conversation and without being face-to-face.

To be the peak sales performer you can be, you will need to learn the following four categories into which your customers are likely to fall:

Precise

Energized

Assured

Kind

Remember, you can close each of these types with the right strategies. You may need to adjust specific things about your individual presentation style many times a day, as you talk with different types. This takes planning and attention, but the payoff means more dollars for you.