When we were young we had a way of getting our bad report cards signed. If it was from your father it would be with fear if it was from your mother it would be with love, if it was from your brother it will be with a bribe if it was from your uncle it will be promises to do better. Even as children we knew how to deal with temper and temperaments and we played out cards accordingly. But somewhere along the way we forgot to treat different people differently and we got ourselves adapted to the luxury of standard sales templates. This topic talks about how to understand customers and how to work with based on what they need from us emotionally and professionally and not push what we have to them.
What is temperament?
It is the nature of a person which defines basic nature of aspects of personality like being an introvert or an extrovert. These are qualities that are inborn and not developed or learned. It is often confused with personality which is subject to change due to factors such as education or socialization and is made of behavior, feelings and thoughts.
What is temperament selling?
Temperament selling, is a method of using the knowledge about a customer’s temperament to our advantage. In sales it is imperative to understand the temperament of the customer and modify the sales behavior accordingly.
What are the different types of customer temperaments?
"Sanguine" or expressive
Nature: This person has a very positive attitude towards life and the people around them. They are complete extroverts and gets along with people around them. Their enthusiastic and socialistic approach makes it very easy to deal with them and it is possible to develop a non-work related relationship.
How does it help sales:
These people are open to change and are ready to give an opportunity to new services and are adventurous to try new things. They are extremely friendly and it is easy to build a rapport with and hence it possible to gain a permanent entry into their business if we know their likes and dislikes and establish a very strong relationship inside and outside work.
How do we work with them:
It is necessary understand them as people rather than understand them as customers. They are easily bored with continuous business topics and it is important to switch topics to their favorite subjects. They are kind of clients who would like to talk business over a dinner table and may be finalize one at the same occasion. These people need constant touch points and keeping in continuous touch with them for business as well as on personal matters would be very advantageous to Business
"Choleric" or aggressive:
Nature:
As the word suggests these are very aggressive customers who like to have a control over their life, work and people around them. They tend to express anger under imperfect situations and they have an extremely demanding nature which makes it very difficult to approach them. They have high decision makes skills and tend to be very quick in rewarding if their demands are fulfilled. Under pressure situations they become very explosive. When things not work as expected they arrive at quick conclusions and it is very difficult to change their mind set.
How does it help sales:
They appreciate professionalism. As long as the matter is concise, to the point and based on their needs. They are impressed and play along with efficiency. It helps sales better in the way that they will not be attracted by fringes and non-work related benefits. If the product or service has all features their looking for the contract will be awarded to the best deserved. If they set an impression once it is pretty much a lifetime worth of dealing.
How do we work with them:
They are generally quick to respond. A scripted matter or presentation attracts their focus and their attention to details encourages them to respond better to the matter. They work with the goal in mind and are impatient to see it achieved. It is important to prepare well for a meeting with these people and time is really of the essence. Unlike people with expressive temperament they do not like coffee table talks and they like precise to the point discussions. It is also necessary to be predict questions from them and be prepared for the answers as they don’t prefer people who do not know their topic too well. One of very key points to be in their good books is not to take away their authority of control from them.
"Melancholy" or Analytical-
Nature:
They are thinkers. Their world is full of facts and every statement you make needs to be based by proofs for them. They think, verify and act with thorough actions points and step by step process. There are very slow with their decision making and it is necessary to constantly remind them how your product is a value for their money. Everything around them takes a negative approach and they see more of faults than value adds in the product. They need to introspect every detail of the product, evaluate to the last point and will not hesitate to restart checking process from the beginning if they do not find it satisfactory.
How does it help sales:
They have a problem managing pressure. Companies with good staff that manages customer complaints and support customer in hurdle management will be able to win these customers very quickly. They are constantly in need to assurance that their business will be taken care of and a sturdy exception management process will win their confidence. Hence they are partial to quick after sales service and reliable sales team to bank on.
How do we work with them:
It is necessary to provide them the confidence that they are making the right decision by choosing you and show them in the light that because of their choice they have built significant advantage to the company. They have a flair for deep diving into research and are often stuck in retrieving small unnoticeable points. Hence to speed up your process and make their lives easy it would be beneficial to assist them in their research and build their confidence they have enough data to arrive at decisions. They strive to avoid mistakes and hence do not trust anyone easily, so to overcome this it would be very healthy to provide them with facts, evidence, proofs and customer feedbacks about you. It is important to remember that logic sells best with them.
"Phelgmatic” or passive
Nature:
Worry! Their key characteristic! They are extremely patient, polite and friendly but it is very difficult to get them involved in work. They are good to everyone and they want to keep everyone around them happy. They believe in second chances and will be willing to listen to everything that you may want to tell them. They will accommodate your entire request but will take their own time to react to them.
How does it help sales:
They are blessing for patient sales people and those who are willing to follow up for a longer period. Seeing you longer and more often make them believe you are interested in your business. Companies that can invest time will find a real benefit out of these customers and there will be a significant return on investment.
How do we work with them:
Give them time, your time as well as time for them to thing about their action. Assure them that you will around however long it takes and all their decisions will be backed up by your actions. They tend to be offended easily and it is important to handle their work very carefully. They constantly have the need to seek approval from other people and it is necessary to respect this and not by-pass the hierarchy. They like appreciations and it is necessary to constantly remind them that they are good at what they do
There are many fundamentals to sales success. But one of the most tested and tried success factors is relationship with your customer. Relationship develops from a correct understanding of the customer. It is not possible for us make the customer fill a form to analyze what his character, temperament or his personality would be, but it is necessary to make a mental evaluation of what one of your customer is like and treat them accordingly. It is necessary to make presentations, proposals and sales templates In line with what the customer might require, because some of them believe in multiple opportunities and some of them don’t. Hence make the right analysis and back it up with great proposals tailor made for each customer not only for their business needs but also one that pampers their ego
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