Personality Prospecting - The different psychological profiles of prospects

Grow your business and improve your results by optimizing your prospecting campaign thanks to this small Prospect Personality Guide. Learn more about thoughts, characters, and buying behaviors of your customers to pass on your technique of prospecting at the top level.

The DISC method to understand the personality of your prospects

Founded by psychologist William Moulton Marston and psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, the DISC method is a must when it comes toanalyze the personality of your interlocutor in order to better understand his behavior and his way of thinking. Applied to the commercial field, this method makes it possible to better Define the personality of a prospect to establish a relationship of trust with him, and hope to make him a customer.

What is the DISC method?

This method is based on a test composed of multiple questions allowingstudy the individual's perception of the world around him, but also the way in which he positions himself in front of him - whether he is more self-centered, or oriented towards others. The answers to these questions will make it possible to determine where people fall among the 4 colors representing the 4 different types of profiles :

- The red, or the Dominant
- The yellow, or the Influential
- The green, or the stable
- The blue, or the compliant

It is important to note that, as for a MBTI personality test, There is no right or wrong answer. No judgement should be made when questions are asked. The objective of this test is simply to analyze how the interlocutor thinks, to better understand his perception of the world.

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What are the types of prospects?

The DISC method, part of the personal development tools the most popular in the commercial sphere, thus makes it possible toassociate a customer profile with a color. It is therefore a good way for salespeople to categorize the prospect in order to adapt their approach according to the personality of the latter, in the hope of Close the sale more easily. So let's discover the different types of people:

The red profile — the Dominant

Recognizable by its firm and decisive tone, the Dominant is naturally quick in decision making and does not like to waste time when it comes to making judgments and decisions. With his competitive spirit, he is not afraid of challenges and Loves to take on challenges - he has a taste for risk and is not afraid to show it. This can also be seen in his posture: he speaks quickly, with a confident voice and knows how to lead conversations where he wants. Observer, sound Analytical mind allows him to quickly take into account the data from the world around him in order to use them in his decision-making. He acts quickly, but not subconsciously - with his feet on the ground, he never loses sight of his goals. Focused on results, he is not afraid to work hard to get what he wants, and he Don't be afraid of change. Quite impatient, he doesn't like things to drag on and naturally takes a leadership position to impose his pace on his teammates.

The yellow profile — the Influent

Like the Dominant, The Influential is very dynamic in nature and stands out for his fairly theatrical attitude: he speaks quickly, loudly, with big gestures and likes to stand out in society. The yellow color characterizes it well: like the Sun, it likes to shine and be recognized for his ideas and talents. Creative in nature, he often has thousands of ideas and does not hesitate to share them with those around him. Unifying, he easily speaks in public to convince and rally around his projects.

Optimistic and cheerful, he knows how to be resilient if he does not immediately get the object of his desires, but he Tends to get tired quickly and hates routine. Multi-tasking, he has a tendency to want to complete several missions at the same time, but has difficulty finishing what he has started, which can affect his reliability. If, like the Dominant, he knows how to make decisions fairly quickly, these are more oriented towards relationships that he maintains - before deciding, he always thinks about the impact it will have on how he will be perceived by other people.

The green profile — the Stable

Like The Influent, the Stable is very oriented towards others and his greatest strength is certainly his ability to listen. Altruist and unselfish, he likes to be of service and be present for the people around you. Unlike previous profiles, his decision-making is generally more difficult because it takes a lot more time to think about it and weigh the pros and cons.

‍Calm, reserved and discreet, He is much less noticeable because he tends to speak softly and take up little space in public. Although his personality is more introverted, he can nevertheless lose patience and be virulent if his trust is broken. At work and in his personal life, he generally adopts a withdrawn posture and lets others speak before expressing his thoughts. Pragmatic and committed to his routine, he doesn't like being pressed or forced to take risks and make unwarranted changes.

The blue profile — the compliant

If the Compliant also takes time to weigh the pros and cons before deciding, it's more out of a desire toanalyze all the ins and outs of a situation only out of interest in human relationships. Meticulous and perfectionist, his analytical mind allows him toTo evaluate all the data in an environment very precisely in order to make the most rational decision possible. This perfectionism can also paralyze him in his decision-making, as he looks for detail to avoid making mistakes.

Solitaire by nature, the Compliant Prefer to work alone and doesn't usually think about how her decisions are going to impact others, which can make her look cold and detached. Discreet and withdrawn, he is a little talkative person who limits himself to formal conversations and Don't let your emotions show on his face. Procedural and committed to the rules, Conformity is the very definition of a routine individual who is attached to his framework and does not like changes very much. Demanding and critical of himself, he can be quite sensitive when one comes to contradict him, but also fussy in his judgment of the work of others.

How to use the DISC method in prospecting?

When we know more about different types of profiles and personalities, it is much easier to identify the behaviors of the people around us and to be able to better anticipate their reactions and attitudes. The DISC method is therefore one of these particularly powerful tools in prospecting because it allows you to adapt your commercial approach and to communicate better with a prospect, in order to close a deal more quickly and make them a loyal customer.

Optimize your commercial relationship with the prospect

Adapting your sales techniques To the person in front of you should be the basis of all commercial exchanges, but it is a rule that is often neglected by salespeople who do not know how to analyze the behavior and personality of their interlocutor. It is important to know what color to use to be suretake the best approach. For example, you will have to show up More energetic with a Red (Dominant) but Avoid squeezing a Green (Stable).

Improve your communication method

Keeping in mind the character differences that apply to each of these profiles, we can optimize your prospecting speech using the communication method below, according to the personality of the interlocutor :

- For the Red, it is important to be dynamic anddirect your speech towards results. He is a person who likes to rely on data to decide for or against a project. Since he gets tired quickly, the commercial speech must be clear and concise to encourage him to make a purchase.

- For the yellow one, Being warm and open to discussion is a good way to promote sales. Talkative by nature, it is a type of prospect with whom you can easily maintain a lasting commercial relationship by showing interest and listening to the customer.

- For the Green, it is important to be patient and to listen to his needs. A trusting customer relationship with such a prospect is particularly based on exchange and mutual respect. Rushing him in his thinking would lead directly to the failure of the sale.

- For the blue, The sales pitch must contain a lot of data and remain factual, because that's what's most important to this profile. By definition, this type of prospect needs a lot of detail in order to have the most complete perception possible before making a judgment on a situation.

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How to determine the personality of the prospect?

If it is obvious that you cannot give an MBTI personality test to a prospect, study the different types of profiles and learn about personal development and sociology tools can be very useful in better understanding the person. Indeed, since each prospect is different, it will be necessary adapt your prospecting approach and his communication method to naturally encourage him to buy and close the sale more easily.

Where can I find information about a persona?

Depending on the type of customers you work with, the way to obtain data on their character will be different. In fact, for a B2B customer, For example, you can use the platform LinkedIn to analyze the personalities of a company and better understand everyone's expectations during a sales cycle in order to adapt your means of communication. By watching the posts and the likes from an individual, one can obtain crucial information about his thoughts and its perception of its environment.

In a B2C framework, social networks and blogs are, in general, incredible tools for evaluating the behavior of different segments and adapting your commercial offer. Some people are attracted to a type of content that others will find uninteresting. Observing the difference in reaction between these two groups will make it possible to segment your prospects according to more specific criteria than the traditional socio-demographic categories.

Finally, collecting data on potential buyers to draw up a portrait of personas is also done during commercial exchanges. Beyond the conversation itself, it is crucial to take notes on each sensation perceived at the moment of contact with the attitude, body language and speech of the prospect - it is this information that will make it possible to Combine it more with a DISC or MBTI facet and to be able to adapt its approach.

How do you describe a persona?

The description of this persona can be done in many ways: at a level more focused on personal development, precisely using a color as in the DISC method or one of the personalities in the MBTI test, or According to a more personalized approach and specific to the company, if the company has defined its own categories of potential customers. The important thing is above all touse adjectives and concrete data on the behavior of a lead, then to gather this information in a prospect file to allow salespeople to access them at any point in the sales cycle.

Why is it important to know the personality of the prospect?

Having a good overview of the different personality types is fundamental in selling. This makes it possible to Understand your target, that is to say the customer, in order to better be able to guide in the buying process.

However, this in-depth analysis of consumers' needs and expectations in order to adapt its approach is not innate. It is also necessary to go through training to learn how to properly use this kind of techniques. Whether it is a tool like the methods mentioned above, or even SONCAS inspired by Maslow's pyramid, only salespeople who have undergone a real apprenticeship will be able to benefit from it and improve their prospecting techniques.

The importance of knowing yourself well

Finally, it is crucial to emphasize that taking a test yourself can be a very good way to get to know yourself and tame your strengths and weaknesses, both in the company and on a personal level.

On the one hand, this allows you to better understand your own functioning, especially in stressful situations. And on the other hand of delineate our comfort zone in order to learn how to get out of it successfully but also to deal with failures with more serenity. Within a team or as a manager, it is also very effective in evaluating one's position and interactions with others, and thus possibly being able to work on relationships to improve group cohesion.

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