Resumes Don’t Matter!

In these challenging economic times, focusing on sales is not the only way to get ahead. One of the areas that some business people forget to consider has to do with the realm of hiring and personnel selection. In light of the fact that so many companies are downsizing and laying workers off at the present time, it is all the more critical that when you do hire someone, that you hire right the first time. The best predictor of future behavior is past history. It is important to realize that it is not what a person says that he or she will do that matters. Rather, it is what the person has done in the past in similar situations (as the job for which he or she is applying) that matters.

Non-behaviorally based interviews do little to predict future job performance. I can’t stress this enough. Conducting behaviorally based interviews is the key to successful hiring. People Patterns™ are highly effective in the process of personnel selection and hiring because they enable an employer to filter out and to match the right person or people to the right job. The hiring is based on solid criteria behavioral rather than on fluff or irrelevant information when it comes to hiring right.

This means hiring the right person for the appropriate job that fits his or her particular skills and People Patterns™. If you ask most employers how they hire people, they will say that their hiring is based on resumes and on interviews. So from the get go, the most effective filtering process is not even considered. There are several reasons why traditional hiring practices don’t work.

First, resumes do not reveal a clear picture of the job candidate since resumes simply summarize job history, tasks performed and perceived skills. Most individuals are not aware of their true competencies to execute a given task.

Second, many individuals out there have become quite skilled at interviewing well. On the surface, they may appear to be charming and articulate. These traits do not reflect behavioral patterns connected to the success or failure of executing a particular task. The latter is a critical piece of the puzzle.

Third, an interviewee’s “espoused theories of action” have nothing to do with what he or she actually does. Besides, what people think or say about their skills or why they want to work is not necessarily credible. When interviewed for a job, a person will often tell the interviewer what he or she thinks that the interviewer wants to hear.

The bottom line is that People Patterns™ will help you to hire right the first time. People Patterns™ will help you, thus, to avoid having to let go of someone and to have to go through the hiring process once again because you didn’t hire right the first time. Furthermore, your hiring right the first time will make a huge difference in your bottom line and in your overall productivity. Over time, I will delve into how each of the People Patterns™ that make up Personality Language™ will help you to refine and to improve upon your hiring process, and in turn, your bottom line.

IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTEXT

In the prior post, I briefly discussed the interesting twist to the structurist/free spirit dichotomy of the Organization People Pattern™ when it comes to time management. The concept of time management (and time management seminars) was created by structurists who don’t need it and was developed for free spirits who don’t want it. There is another aspect to this pattern to consider as well, now that you understand the distinction between the two types.

It is that the Organization People Pattern™ and all People Patterns™, for that matter, are highly contextual. Over the years, we have met all types of different people in a variety of situations and contexts in work and at home. Most individuals are either decidedly, proud structurists or else are at the other end of the spectrum as blatant, in your face free spirits. There are some cases, however where individuals exhibit one proclivity in one context of their lives, and the opposite pattern in another context of their lives.

For example, a given business person may be more of a structurist at work out of necessity because traditional business runs according to structurist rules. And yet in the context of his or her personal life, the individual chooses to be free spirit in orientation, with no advanced planning whatsoever, and at all times completely ensconced in the present moment, in the now. Neither perspective is about right or wrong choices. Again it is a question of preference and/or what works in a particular context. After all, it’s all about context.

Balance is actually a healthy place out of which to operate. For example, even if you are a structurist, why would you choose to be thinking about tomorrow’s meeting in the middle of a special dinner with a loved one? In such a case, enjoying the present moment from a free spirit perspective would be much more desirable. On the other hand, there are times when being a structurist is more helpful, such as when meeting deadlines or when scheduling appointments or important meetings. Again, context is everything. It is all about context. And you will know whether it is more appropriate or beneficial to achieving your goal to be planning ahead as a good structurist versus being totally in the present moment and relishing every second of it, as a good free spirit.

If you are a person who is distinctly either structurist or free spirit, it is highly likely that you will find it to be excruciatingly painful to find yourself in the presence of someone who is the polar opposite of you. Free spirits consider structurists to be rigid robots who don’t know how to have fun being spontaneous. Structurists, on the other hand, view free spirits to be unreliable flakes who can’t make decisions. Each thinks that the world would be a far better place without the other in it. Now you can decide for yourself.

No matter where you are, remember that the bottom line is context!

Did you know that time management seminars and classes are a waste of time for part of the population? From our behavioral perspective, the eternal question that we ask: “How is this possible?”

The reason that time management workshops or seminars are a waste of time for some is that structurists don’t need them and free spirits don’t want them. Where you are coming from is based on the Organization People Pattern™. As you may recall from past articles, this People Pattern™ determines how an individual deals with structure. This critical pattern reveals how we organize time and space in our lives and becomes really important because the place out of which we operate happens to affect how we make decisions.

As a quick review, remember that there are two distinctions or types to know as part of the Organization People Pattern™: 1) structurists and 2) free spirits. Structurists are people who lead very organized lives. They like to plan things in advance because they need some type of structure to guide them in their lives. They have a sense of past, present and future. Structurists also like to organize their space and they tend to be neat and orderly. Free spirits, on the other hand, prefer to live their lives spontaneously, as the wind blows, so to speak. They focus on the present moment. They detest structure and avoid planning ahead because it interferes with their unstructured nature. They don’t mind piles and untidy spaces around them. Some free spirits even say that they are more motivated by a mess rather than by a neatly organized space.

So when it comes to time management, which of these two types would need to learn time management skills? It is the free spirits of the world, of course; and yet, they are the ones who frown upon structuring their time and space in any shape or form. Time management courses end up teaching the structurists who take these classes how to be even more organized. Often time management seminars will teach you how to use some kind of planner. Franklin Planners were designed to be used by free spirits who actually need them and it is they who don’t want them. Ironically, it is the structurist who is already organized who ends up buying planners and agenda books and it is they who don’t need them.

The structurists of the world created time management courses to proselytize their fellow free spirit counterparts. Of course, this is to no avail because structurists mistakenly assume that free spirits aren’t organized because they don’t know how to be organized. Furthermore, structurists erroneously believe that free spirits simply need their own system by which to organize their time in order to become good structurists. This is definitely not the case. The truth of the matter is that free spirits choose not be structured. For them it is simply a matter of personal preference and not a matter of ignorance. (In our own workshops, we have ways to enable people to experience both types of time/space orientations, that of structurist and that of a free spirit. There is a distinctive difference the way in which each one internalizes these preferences.)

If you happen to be a good structurist, remember that giving your free spirit friends or colleague a planner is a waste of time. You may think that you are doing a good deed when, in fact, the free spirit person couldn’t care less. The planner may be the structurist’s bible, yet it is meaningless to the free spirit person.

As you begin to understand the distinction between a structurist and free spirit orientation, you will come to realize why time management seminars and classes are a complete waste of time for so many. They are created by structurists who don’t need them and for free spirits who need them yet don’t want them. There will be more about this all important Organization People Pattern™ at another time

WHEN IS “ENOUGH” ENOUGH OR NOT ENOUGH IN SALES?

THE CHUNK SIZE PEOPLE PATTERN™ – PART III

Now that you know what the Chunk Size People Pattern™ is all about, it will be helpful to know what types of questions to ask in order to identify whether a person is global or specific. First, let’s have a quick review. Remember that in communication, people will either show a preference for scope or for depth. We refer to those who prefer scope as global people and we refer to those who prefer depth as specific people.

Global people decidedly prefer to communicate the overview or the big picture. They chunk up which means that they go into less and less detail or inversely, consider greater scope and less depth. They don’t like details. Specific people, on the other hand, prefer to communicate all the small details no matter how minute. Furthermore, specific people often like to have the particulars or details presented to them in some kind of hierarchal order.

There are several questions that you can ask to determine whether a person is global or specific in his or her orientation. Here are just a few of the questions that you could ask someone to find out where they are coming from. It is helpful to frame the questions around a particular context. For example, you could frame the questions around a product you are selling or around a work project with which you would require assistance.

1. “If you were going to work with me on this project, what would you like me to tell you?

2. “What would you like to know about my product (service, program, etc.)?”

3. “Would you like more information about ….?”

4. “Would you like an overview of my product’s benefits or do you prefer specific information?”

The most important thing is to listen to how the person responds to you. LISTEN TO THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL OR LACK THEREOF THAT THE PERSON GIVES YOU in response to your question. There are some tell tale clues here. Specific people will often chunk down several levels in their response to you, giving more and more detail as they go along. They will answer with multiple layers of detail. Global people will be the total opposite in their response. They tell you what they want to know in a general way without asking for details. In fact, they will be quite uncomfortable with lots of detailed information about the product or project.

Also, when it is you who are speaking, be aware of whether the person seems bored by the amount of detail that you are providing, or whether the person asks you for more details. Obviously, the latter is a specific person and the former is a global person.

There are a few specifics I’d like to share with you about the linguistic approach used by each one. It is that specific people tend to use lots of proper nouns with extra modifiers because doing so hones in more specifically on the topic of discussion. This proclivity also manifests in their sentence structure which is more complex in nature than that of a global person. Global people will prefer to use simple sentences without the need for prepositional phrases. They also have a tendency to not use extra modifiers in their communication.

We are merely scratching the surface when it comes to the different facets of the Chunk Size People Pattern™. There is so much more that we can say about it and we could literally chunk down to another level. For now, however, remember once again, that the important thing to know is when enough is enough or not enough as the case may be; and tailor your communication accordingly.

THE CHUNK SIZE PEOPLE PATTERN™ – PART II

In the last article, I briefly introduced the concept of how much is enough when it comes to the scope and depth of your communication as it relates to sales. As I explained, one of the biggest challenges in communication is to know when enough is enough in terms of the level of details which you are giving or not. The question of when enough is enough can be understood and explained by the Chunk Size™ People Pattern of the Information People Pattern™.

The two components that correspond to Chunk Size People Pattern™ are 1) global and 2) specific. They correspond to the two ways in which we take in information and communicate it back. Global people look for the broad overview and specific people look for details. These two opposing viewpoints represent both sides of a continuum that have inherent challenges in communicating with the opposite orientation.

This becomes obvious in sales and is one of the reasons that a knowledge and application of this pattern can certainly influence your sales in a positive way. So to best utilize the Chunk Size People Pattern™ in sales, it is important to be aware of how much information you are giving and to what type of individual you are giving the information. (And, of course, most important is knowing when to stop talking once you’ve made the sale.) The general rule is to match specific to specific and global to global. If you are dealing with someone one on one, it is easy to tailor your communication based on whether the person is global or specific in orientation. If you are involved in on line sales, then it would be best to have both aspects covered.

So how do you customize your communication to fit each type?

If you are selling to a global buyer, what you have to do is to present an overview of your product or service and forget the details. With global customers or prospects, you want to avoid sequences. Also, be sure to use generalities. As soon as you delve into details, you are going to lose the customer and you won’t make the sale. Be prepared to handle general objections and to deal with them broadly. And for the close, it is important that you keep it general. Keep your language simple throughout your interaction when dealing with global customers or prospects.

With specific customers, the opposite is true. With this type of person, you must be prepared to present lots of details about your product or service. Be sure to avoid using simple sentences. Furthermore, be certain to make your presentation sequential. If you resort to using fluff, you will instantly turn off the specific buyer. When it comes to handling objections, be ready to handle specific objections and avoid generalizations. And for the close, it is important that it be explicit. Make sure that the specific customer or prospect understands that you are asking him or her to now buy your product.

As for complaints, global buyers tend to dislike a product overall and not just an aspect of the product. Specific buyers tend to have specific complaints about some feature of the product with which they are not satisfied or with which they are not happy. With an understanding of the Chunk Size People Pattern™, you will be better equipped to deal with complaints should they arise.

Remember that specific people never have enough information. They want more and more details so with them you chunk down and provide the trees for the forest. Global people are interested in the big picture. They are satisfied with less and can be told too much if you are not aware. So with them you chunk up and provide the forest for the trees.

Thus, the key in applying the Chunk Size People Pattern™ in a sales context or to any communication for that matter is to know what level of information will satisfy the other person. This means knowing at what level to chunk the information. This means knowing when enough is enough or not enough.

WHEN IS “ENOUGH” ENOUGH IN SALES? – PART I

Wouldn’t it be helpful to know how much detail to provide your customer or prospect regarding your product or service? One of the biggest challenges in our sales communication and in communicating with others in general is to know when enough is enough. This has to do with the amount of detail one interjects in a given communication and more specifically how much detail with which to begin and to end a conversation or a sales presentation, whether in person or online.

The amount of detail we use in communication is based on the Chunk Size People Pattern™ which is one element of the Information People Pattern™. A good knowledge of the Chunk Size People Pattern™ is critical in sales. Chunk size has to do with the scope and depth of information that we give in a communication exchange. There are two types of people that comprise the Chunk Size People Pattern™: 1) global and 2) specific.

Global people have a preference for scope. They are interested in the big picture and see the forest for the trees. They are most comfortable with large chunks of information. Specific people, however, prefer to communicate details and specifics. They are interested in the trees rather than the forest. They are most at home with small bits of data and information.

What we have found in working with salespeople in different firms over the years is that salespeople either tend to give too many or too few details. There are particular scenarios that often crop up. It is that some salespeople have a great deal of product knowledge and are so excited about telling their prospect or customer so much about their product or service. This thrills the specific people and totally annoys and/or turns off the global people. Global customers view salespeople who give too many details as boring and at times irrelevant. They literally tune out of the specific sales presentation.

On the other side of the coin, if a salesperson doesn’t have a lot of product knowledge, then he or she will not be able to please the customer or prospect who has a specific orientation. Each side perceives the other side as an “idiot.” The specific customer will consider the global sales presentation to be fluff and will tend to think that the salesperson is clueless. The global salesperson will come across to the specific customer as someone who doesn’t know what he or she is talking about.

In short, when it comes to selling anything, specific product knowledge is really important, and the key is for the salesperson to know:

1. To which type of customer or prospect to give the information

2. How much information to give the customer or prospect

AND MOST IMPORTANT

1. When to shut up.

This is where a knowledge of the Chunk Size People Pattern™ is so critical in sales. In sales, you must be able to recognize whether your customer is global or specific, and then be able to customize your communication accordingly. Remember that people who are specific always want more, and global people often think that they are given too much.

So the question is: When is enough, enough? Now you know.

Next time, we’ll discuss how to present your information to each of these two types of customers: global and specific.

George M. Steinbrenner…The “Power” behind the Man

Who was the “Boss”?

With the passing of George Steinbrenner an era has ended. Mr. Steinbrenner was more than the owner of the New York Yankees. He transformed the sport of baseball into a billion dollar business for other owners. The “Boss” as he was known, singlehandedly raised the competitive drive to levels not seen before and didn’t care what people said about his actions. Furthermore, he became a cultural icon. And perhaps most important, George Steinbrenner was a behind the scenes angel whose generous philanthropy helped many in times of need, often unknown to those very individuals whose lives he touched so profoundly.

All of these qualities exemplify certain behavioral patterns which I refer to as People Patterns™ (which comprise what I call one’s Personality Language™). In the case of Mr. Steinbrenner, the unique configuration of People Patterns™ and other typological traits, together, created a powerful, brilliant, successful, passionate and driven business man on one side, and a caring, compassionate, giving and generous humanitarian on the other side.

As a life-long Yankee fan and original New Yorker, I thought that it would be a fitting tribute to talk briefly about George Steinbrenner from a typological perspective of People Patterns™ among other things.

First, Mr. Steinbrenner personified to the core of his being what we call the ultimate power person. He exemplified what we call the Power Motive People Pattern™. A motive is what drives us to do what we do in our lives. (It corresponds to the particular stick or carrot that we use to motivate ourselves and others.) His title of the “Boss” was so fitting of his typological profile. A power person is driven to do one thing: to WIN. Winning and/or not losing is what takes center stage in the mind of a power person.

This was Mr. Steinbrenner to a tee. His never-ending drive and innate passion to win is what set him apart from other owners and not just in baseball, in all sports. And it was this same drive to win and his burning desire to have the best team in baseball is what helped catapult the New York Yankees back to dominance and to win seven World Series Championships under his tutelage.

Power people such as Mr. Steinbrenner like to be the bosses of the world. They tend to give orders and they expect obedience. They like to be in control…control of their environment, whether it be people, things or situations. I heard the “Boss” once say in an interview that he liked to do things “my way,” as in Sinatra’s song. Mr. Steinbrenner always made his presence known when it came down to motivating the players, coaches, the management, etc. to be in the right mindset to win. He had his share of clashes with managers and other people in his efforts to create the best and most powerful teams to win. Power people happen to view life as contests of will and Mr. Steinbrenner always made sure that he would come up on top whenever possible in his business dealings.

Meanwhile, the press seemed to relish their role in spotlighting his “power plays” and skirmishes. Mr. Steinbrenner didn’t seem to mind too much in the context of sports. In fact, he was a master in handling the press; and he certainly knew how to goad them and to push the right buttons to “win” his interaction with them. In stark contrast, however, in his role as philanthropist, he often preferred to remain anonymous in his charitable gift giving.

George Steinbrenner also personified what we refer to as Internal Referential People Pattern™. This means that he would base his decisions on what he knew inside to be right. He didn’t need feedback from other people about how well he was doing his job, as do External People. At the same time, he had what we call an External check in that he would listen to people who were experts on a given subject or had savvy concerning an issue or situation. However, as an Internal person, the “Boss” would evaluate people, things and situations based on his own internal criteria when making a decision. He certainly didn’t need to ask for the opinion of others.

Mr. Steinbrenner also had what we call a Difference People Pattern™. He was a successful entrepreneur and visionary who did not like the status quo. He liked to do things differently especially if doing so would help him be in control and win. He welcomed change as a way to become even stronger and to make the Yankees even more successful. After all, just think about how many times he changed managers for the team! His difference orientation is one of the reasons behind his success.

George Steinbrenner also had what we call a “Specific (Small Chunk) Information People Pattern™. This pattern deals with the amount of information as well as the specificity of information presented in a communication exchange. Mr. Steinbrenner was a Specific person in that he focused on depth of information. He was extremely detail oriented in all that he did and his love of details is what enabled him to fine tune and to refine things to increase the chance of success in a given endeavor.

There is so much more I could say about Mr. Steinbrenner’s typological profile and People Patterns™, as I am merely scratching the surface. I will simply discuss one more aspect at this time. It has to do with what many people see as an unusual combination of attributes that made him so loved and disliked at the same time by different people. I am referring to him being what we call a Venge. This type of person is totally power oriented and wants always to be in a superior position in relation to others. They view interactions with others as a battle of weak versus strong. At the same, they are quite protective of those they care about. That is why Mr. Steinbrenner “took care” of his players so well.

Because of his Venge personality, he would respect those who were daring enough to stand up to him. That is one of the reasons that Billy Martin and he had the relationship that they did, at times quite contentious as we all know. And yet the “Boss” cared a great deal for Mr. Martin.

In addition, a Venge is one who will usually make his or her opinion known no matter what others may think particularly in the face of what they perceive to be injustices in all contexts of life, whether in society, on the field, in the boardroom, etc. And beware if a Venge thinks that someone or a situation is unfair to him/her or to someone in their circle of loyal friends (or within his team, i.e. the Yankee players). That is why Mr. Steinbrenner gave Darryl Strawberry a second chance after his bout with substance abuse.

Fairness is a big issue for Venge. This is the reason why they also champion the underdog and those who are less privileged or downtrodden. His Venge typology is why George Steinbrenner was such an amazing and dedicated philanthropist who genuinely wanted to help those who were less fortunate, or those who were of ill health or those who found themselves in dire situations of some sort.

Last but not least, George Steinbrenner changed the way in which people perceived winning. He made winning an art in itself. His contributions to the sport of baseball and his countless contributions to improve the lives of those less fortunate will remain as his amazing legacy to all of us. Our world is certainly a better place thanks to the visionary who will always be known as the “Boss.”

Marilyne Woodsmall

MASS MEDIOCRITY AND THE MOTIVATION PEOPLE PATTERN™

“Human nature is such that if we are relatively content, then we are not going to be motivated to do anything to change our comfort zone, whether it be now or later.” Marilyne Woodsmall

Why is this so? It is because when people have already gotten all the carrots and sticks they think they need to lead what they believe to be an acceptable lifestyle, then they no longer have that fire burning within to move any farther. Life is okay as is, nothing more nothing less, no bells and whistles; yet this is satisfactory to them so they don’t care to budge one bit. These are the very people who end up staying in jobs for years and are quite content to do so.

Most people are mired in mediocrity. All too sad yet true. These are the so-called masses. And these are precisely the people who don’t want to change even if they have the opportunity to do so as I’ll explain shortly.

This has major implications regarding motivation in the workplace. There are basically four reasons why people aren’t motivated:

1. People who are move toward in orientation and have nothing towards which to move.

2. People who are move away from and have nothing from which to move away.

3. People who are move toward and who have reached their set goals and have nothing else to get them out of their satisfaction zone.

4. People who are move away from and who have somehow managed to move away from all the things which they would like to avoid.

The last two types are the most challenging elements in any workforce because they don’t want to move in any direction. These people are a nightmare to any team, to any manager, to any organization, to anyone who wants to get ahead because they are indifferent to change. These people are the masses, the people who are content to live their lives in mediocrity.

Once again, the Motivation People Pattern is the basis of everything that we do in life, or don’t do for that matter. Imagine the possibilities if we could move people from relatively content to ecstatic and beyond! Tune in for more next time.

ARE ALL TYPES THE SAME?

PEOPLE PATTERNS™ VS MEYERS-BRIGGS – PART II

In the first part of this discussion, we discussed the two points: 1) the concept of typologies from a perspective of formal logic and 2) the different forms of typologies. As mentioned, Meyers-Briggs presents immutable boxes or preferences, whereas we know that types can be changed, given our work in behavioral change technologies. Second, we discussed how Meyers-Briggs and People Patterns™ are what we refer to as horizontal typologies.

Now we are going to present the third concept that relates to typologies, that of contextuality. It is critically important to realize that all behavior is context dependent. This is one of the fundamental principles of NLP. In fact, all behaviors change depending on the context in which they occur. What this means is that you may behave or act in a particular way, for example, in a work context, while at home, you behave totally differently because it is a different context. So in one context, you’ll behave one way, and when you shift contexts, your behavior shifts as well. With People Patterns™, we constantly emphasize that they are context dependent. Myers-Briggs does not take this into account.

The notion of context and contextuality in our typologies (in this case, People Patterns™) is critically important. It is a concept that is a vital component to all behaviors, and thus, to typologies. Context, for our People Patterns™ takes into account several elements:

1. Where you are (for example in work, at home, at school, driving, etc.)

2. What are the circumstances in which you are behaving a certain way

3. When are you behaving a particular way

Now let us consider the fourth concept regarding typologies, that of deep structure and refinement. What we call People Patterns™ that make up one’s Personality Language™ goes beyond what the four Meyers-Briggs categories cover in their scope. People Patterns™ take the types to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what is involved:

Sensor/Intuitor: our Tangible/Intangible People Pattern™ is more refined.

Introvert/Extrovert: our Internal/External People Pattern™ is more refined.

Judger/Perceiver: our Structurist/Free Spirit (through time/in time dichotomy) People Pattern™ is more refined.

Thinker/Feeler: Our Decision People Pattern™ (looks right, sounds right, feels right and makes sense) is more refined. Also, the Chunk Size People Pattern™ clarifies this Meyers-Briggs preference.

Now, our People Pattern™ Profile is different from others that are out there in that we are not looking for content based responses. Our work is based on decoding what I refer to as the deep structure (as in linguistics), and here, the deep structure of the psyche. In this case, it is the deep structure of your thinking and of your behavior, rather than the specific content.

At another time, we will discuss the deep structure differences between the two typologies a bit more.

DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK? PART II:

By Marilyne Woodsmall

WHEN TO USE THEM AND WHEN NOT…

In our prior discussion, I talked about the Evaluation People Pattern™. This critical Evaluation People Pattern™ determines how an individual makes a judgment. In the context of sales, this pattern reveals how an individual makes a judgment to buy a product or service.

If you remember, there are two types of people when it comes to the Evaluation People Pattern™: Internal People and External People. Individuals who have what we call an Internal Referential Filter don’t want to hear about what other people are saying about a product or a service that they are thinking about purchasing. On the other side of the coin, there are those who have an External Referential Filter. They need to know what other people think before they purchase something. Remember, too, that there are some Internal People who will rely on what another person is saying if that person happens to be a proven expert on the product or service and has accurate information.

It makes a huge difference whether you are selling to someone with an internal pattern or an external pattern. Most Internal People think that the public at large is totally lacking in awareness and taste when it comes to making evaluations or judgments. In fact, our term, the Science of Idiots™ is quite apropos here, since Internal People view External People to be idiots for the most part. The former ask in referring to the latter: How is it possible to be such an idiot as to need another person’s opinion before buying something?

On the other hand, External People can’t imagine how a person can buy anything in life without getting feedback from others. They think that Internal People are idiots for not wanting the opinion of other people.

So what can you do to tailor your sales communication, whether one-on-one or on your site to reach these types of people? First, let us consider External People. If you are dealing with External People there are two viable strategies. One, you can position yourself as their external point of reference. The second strategy is to have people they respect or admire talk about your product.

The first strategy means that you have to be knowledgeable about your product or service as well as be trustworthy. Even sleazy car salesmen types don’t fare well here. Customers are much savvier than you may think and they certainly don’t want or need the traditional hype that has worked in the past in certain niches. The best rule of all is to always come from a place of integrity. In our work professionally modeling top salespeople over the years, my husband and I have always found that the best of the best have integrity and also create trust among their customers. I’ll delve more into this topic in a future article.

The second strategy involves telling your customers what people they respect have to say about what you are selling or providing. This means finding out who those people are for your particular customers.

In brief, with External People:

1. Provide as much information or referral material that you can.

2. Give as many testimonials as possible (more is better than less here)

3. Stress what others think about your product.

4. Have them see and or hear others’ reactions to your product or service.

5. Know that they are easily influenced by others.

Now, with Internal People, the strategy is totally different. With them you want to go out of your way to avoid telling them what other people are saying about your product or service. In fact, an Internal People will think less of you if try to sell your product based on testimonials or based on others’ opinions. They simply will view you as another idiot who has no clue about things.

In brief, with Internal People:

1. Suggest that they have their own internal check regarding the buying decision.

2. Stress that it is up to them and not up to you, as to whether to buy or not.

3. Avoid giving testimonials.

4. Tell them that you know that they are ultimately making the buying decision.

5. Know that telling them what others think is useless and may cost you the sale.

Also, remember that if you are an expert and or have someone else’s expertise to present regarding your product, it may be helpful to the Internal Person and only if the information is from an expert and is relevant.

In summary, it is critical in sales to know what criteria your customers are using when buying anything. This is why it is so important to appeal to both the Internal and External People in your presentation. In this way, you cover all possibilities; and you increase your sales as well as avoid missing half your customers and thus, avoid losing sales.