If you are a small business owner or manager, you will likely play the role of salesperson quite frequently. The better you are in sales, the more successful your business will be.
If you are taking a “one size fits all” approach when dealing with leads, chances are you are limiting your sales potential. You need to recognize different personality types and modify your presentation accordingly.
I divide the prospects into 4 personality types and to make it easy to remember I use the animals and their behavior to help remember them.
The animals are: owl, love bird, cow and rhinoceros.
Owls are wise. They do this by asking questions. They want to know all the details.
So if it’s an owl, you better know your product. The good news is, if you answer all of their questions, they are usually ready to buy.
Many salespeople get along very well with their customers. They talk about sports, remember their children’s names, and invite them to lunch whenever they can. These clients are Love Birds. It’s called relational selling and it works. As you discover common interests with your potential client, make a connection. When two people discover that they have things in common, they tend to trust each other and we all know that trust is a very important factor in closing a sale.
The cow’s personality type is a bit tricky to deal with. Cows have a herd mentality. They take their direction from what others around them do. They like recommendations and they are probably the easiest to sell. But there is a problem with the cows. After a sale, if they talk to friends or even your competition, they might have 2 thoughts: you know, the buyer’s regret and they want to cancel or modify their order. So it’s best to make sure they understand the features, terms, and conditions.
The Rhino is our fourth personality type and can be the most difficult to handle. You are usually busy and want to get to the “bottom line” or price as soon as possible. You don’t have the patience to listen to your sales presentation and will want to take control of the conversation. So how do you handle a Rhino? Being a rhino. Show him that your time is valuable too. Get to the point quickly and convince him that it is worth taking the time to review the benefits of your product or service.
To be successful in sales, you must be able to recognize and manage all 4 personality types. Ask yourself this question. What type of personality am I? Chances are, most of your customers look a lot like you. To be a top salesperson, you must be able to sell all types of prospects. To do that, you need to recognize and adapt to all four personality types.
Once you have mastered this concept, you are on your way to becoming a world-class producer.