How to Close High-Value Freelance Deals by Understanding Personality Styles
The target
The goal: to learn how to immediately establish a rapport with a sales prospect
Doing that is all about making them feel more comfortable, more important, more welcome, more heard, and more valued
The better you do this, the more deals you'll close
What I'm going to show you today, I consider to be a superpower
It's the kind of thing you could use to manipulate and take advantage of people, if that's the kind of person you are
Please use responsibly :)
The core idea
Most personality tests tell you about you
But what if you could almost instantly identify a personality style of someone you JUST met?
If you could, you'd be able to adjust your own communication style to "speak their language"
And then you can refine your communication style as you get to know them to further make them feel comfortable with you.
This has been HUGE for me for both closing deals and for ongoing retention
The DISC personality profile
Don't worry about the names (we'll give them better names in a moment)
Based on research by Dr. William Moulton Marston of Harvard University. Book: The Emotions of Normal People (1928)
D = Dominant = Driver
I = Influence = Expressive
S = Steadiness = Amiable
C = Compliant = Analytical
Style #1 = Driver (D)
Motivated by winning, competition, and success
Prioritizes accepting challenge, taking action and achieving immediate results.
Direct, demanding, forceful, strong willed, driven, and determined, fast-paced, and self-confident.
May be limited by lack of concern for others, impatience and open skepticism.
May fear being seen as vulnerable or being taken advantage of
Values competency, action, concrete results, personal freedom, challenges
Style #2 = Analytical (C)
Commanding, resolute, pioneering
They are the most common people you'll sell to
Deliberate, humble, resolute
Motivated by opportunities to gain knowledge, showing their expertise, and quality work
Prioritizes ensuring accuracy, maintaining stability, and challenging assumptions
Careful, cautious, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, and tactful
Sometimes limited by being overcritical, overanalyzing, and isolating themselves
May fear criticism and being wrong
Values quality and accuracy
The second most common person you'll sell to
A special note about the Driver/Analytical or Analytical/Driver personality styles
People usually have one "base" personality style plus a secondary one
The Analytical Driver (or reversed) is a SUPER common person you'll run into
This is the most difficult person to sell to
They are doers do who'll drive you hard in negotiations, not believe anything you say, then check every detail you said after you leave, then follow up to tell you what they thought you said that was wrong.
The secondary personality style will always be next to the primary one, not "across the circle"
Style #3: Expressive (I)
Victory with flare!!
Energizing, pioneering, affirming
Convincing, magnetic, enthusiastic, warm, trusting, and optimistic
Prioritizes taking action, collaboration, and expressing enthusiasm
Motivated by social recognition, group activities, and relationships
Sometimes limited by being impulsive and disorganized and having a lack of follow-through
In my experience, they are far less common than Drivers or Analyticals in management positions
When I do meet them, they're almost always Expressive Drivers
Style #4: Amiable (S)
Inclusive, humble, affirming
Prioritizes giving support, collaboration, and maintaining stability
Calm, patient, predictable, deliberate, stable, and consistent
Sometimes limited by being indecisive, overly accommodating (e.g. a "doormat")
May fear change, loss of stability, and offending others
Values loyalty, helping others, and security
I run into these people the least. When I do they're Amiable Analyticals.
"I don't like confrontation"
How to rapidly identify each type before you even talk to them
By their emails
Drivers = short, crisp emails. One sentence. Often seem terse.
Analyticals = They write novels
Driver/Analytical = a mix of the above two
Expressive = long but not detailed. Exclamation points and emojis. Usually lots of questions
Amiable = They ask rather than tell. "Is that okay?" "Will that work with your schedule?"
By their social media
Drivers = Often don't have a strong personal social media presence. Short comments. Opinions that sound self assured. Profile picture of themselves
Analyticals = Get super excited about really excellent things. Love to share their deep experience. Don't often have a huge network. Solo profile picture. Often a professional picture
Expressives = Huge networks. Lots of emotional language and emojis. Selfies everywhere. Profile picture of them with friends. etc.
Amiable = Nothing controversial. Photos of other people (kids, friends). Usually a solo photo, but not usually a professional one
Closing (and managing) each personality type
Flex your style to mirror theirs
Do this everywhere, including in email
Drivers = Stick to the facts. Short sentences. Concrete results. Specific timelines. Give your answers and stop talking.
Analyticals = Anticipate and pre-answer the questions you get the most. Give specific answers to every question. If you're not ready to answer a question, DON'T BS it. Analyticals hate that. Say "I'll get back to you." Then do.
Expressives = It's about how they feel, not the specific details. Get them talking and then let them talk. They talk to figure out what they want. Often they'll spend 90% of the time talking, realize they're out of time, then ask you if you have what you need to get started
Amiables = Bring a plan. They will feel insecure about the new relationship, so have your ducks in a row. Say "this is how we usually do things and it works well for both us and our clients." They want to know you have everything you need. Talk on the phone whenever possible rather than over email/chat
Hogwarts
Some people naturally shift between 3 styles
Slytherin =
Gryffindor =
Hufflepuff =
Ravenclaw =