Let’s identify the four basic styles and the personality behind the style. First, write down the name of someone that you have a difficult time getting along with. We’ll revisit that later.
Communication Style: The Driver – Result Driven – Confrontation No Problem
Tend to be visionaries
Black and white viewpoint & dress
Charts & graphs, few/no people pictures (applies to office, sometimes home)
Great fear: loss of control (particularly time)
Measures value by: bottom line results. Wants options & probabilities, not opinions
Key questions: “what” and “by when”
Stress style: authoritative
Communication Style: The Analyst- Result Driven – Avoids Confrontation
Systematic problem-solving approach
Black & white viewpoint, right or wrong
Charts and graphics, few/no people pictures (applies to office, sometimes home)
Greatest fear: fear of being wrong
Drives them crazy: incomplete information on a short deadline
Readers. Need comparisons & proof
Verbal clue: asks ‘how’
Stress style: avoidance
Communication Style: The Relater – People Driven – Avoids Confrontation
Greatest fear: won’t work for everyone (family, friends)
Take consensus problem-solving approach
Viewpoint: shades of grey, nothing’s black & white
People pictures in their home
Buy relationships first, products second
Ask “why” questions, readers, looking for guarantees and assurances
Works best with those who suggest/listen to them
Stress style: acquiescing
Communication Style: The Expressor – People Driven – Confrontation No Problem
Spontaneous, conceptual, creative, excitable
Makes decisions on appearance first
Colorful clothing
Lots of people pictures, including themselves
Measures value by impact on others, want testimonials and incentives
Start and stop personality
Give them benefits that answer ‘who’
Stress style: attack
In the next blog, we’ll get into how to influence buying behavior of these communication styles.
