Archive for Personality Language
Hire Right The First Time
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THE CHANGE PEOPLE PATTERN™ – SAMENESS
By Marilyne Woodsmall
As I mentioned in a prior article, nowadays, given the current economic crisis, it is all the more critical to hire the right person for the right task or right job the first time. Doing so will save you time and money and will increase your bottom line. In this light, remember that basing your hiring on traditional resumes and on someone’s appearance is not the best way to know whether a given candidate is best suited for a particular task. This is where knowledge of People Patterns™ can make a huge difference in hiring the right person for the right job.
Knowing how a person thinks and how he or she behaves in a particular context in the execution of a given task is going to be much more revealing as far as competency and suitability are concerned. Also, as I mentioned at an earlier 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. Instead, it is what the person has done in the past in similar situations that matters. There are critical factors connected to past and present behavior that are revealed through People Patterns™.
Today in the context of personnel and hiring, let’s focus on the first element of the Change People Pattern™: Sameness. There are obviously certain tasks that are much better suited for individuals who are sameness in orientation. In general, any job that involves routine in any way is perfect for a sameness person. These individuals prefer to be in jobs that require them to repeat specific tasks every day. For them,
“No variety is the spice of life” is their tantrum. Sameness people thrive on repetition and will seek it out whenever and wherever they can. Continuity is the key word for jobs that are best suited for sameness people.
Jobs in assembly lines are perfect for sameness people because they require the repetition of a set of specific tasks and which often are performed during the same shifts every day as well. In fact, the sameness element, the ability to consistently repeat a task in the context of an assembly line is critical to creating quality and defect free products. It is no coincidence that the major car manufacturers are located in the mid-west which is highly sameness in orientation. Sameness workers really take pride in their work and in the products and/or services with which they are involved.
Connected to the element of repetition is the notion of job security. Sameness people need to know that their jobs are secure and that there are no changes in their work environment. It is important that their work conditions remain the same. That is why sameness people have a much harder time dealing with new management, or with new rules that break from the routine that they are used to following in one way or another. Management needs to be aware of how to incorporate policy changes or how to present and frame any modification in an aspect of the job that changes the way in which sameness people are used performing it.
Several years back, we had a modeling project with a firm that manufactures self-adhesive labels. Most of the workers in the plant were sameness (and some qualified sameness). When management wanted to impose a new structure called “High Performance Organization” (recommended by some outside consultant) on the plant workers, it was not only poorly received, it was basically rejected by the sameness workers. They couldn’t deal with a change in the way things had been done there for years. The plant was fortunate to have a really competent and intelligent manager with whom we worked who understood the importance of behavioral elements in a management context. And because of his knowledge of the Change People Pattern™, he quickly understood why the new system would not work as presented, given the mindset of the employees.
As well as repetition of task, sameness workers also work best in jobs that involve a regular time schedule. They work best at 9 to 5 jobs in which they take lunch breaks and other breaks at the same time. They also tend to spend vacations at the same time every year or as close as possible to that time frame. If the requisite sameness element is found in their job, a sameness person tends to remain in the same job from 15 years to an entire lifetime.
Another job that is a good fit for sameness people is telemarketing. In a modeling project that we had modeling top telemarketers, the best ones were sameness in orientation (unless they were supervisors, as we shall see at a later time). Repetition of task is important to them as is job security. Basic jobs in bureaucratic structures such as the Postal Service or the DMV are suited for sameness (and also qualified sameness people).
In sales, sameness people will thrive if there is an element or several elements of continuity in their job. For example, if they are selling the same product to the same customer base without change, they will prosper. As long as these salespeople are following a given routine without deviation, they are quite content to remain at the same job for years if they are really happy and in their sameness comfort zone. What I have found over the years is that sameness individuals will instinctively come up with strategies that promote and support their sameness mindset to the tee. They will unconsciously eliminate any “difference” or change factor that may show up in the workplace that disrupts their routine so that they are surrounded by continuity and sameness.
In short, if you a have a job or task that requires constant repetition, and one in which pride in workmanship and continuity are key, then you had better find a sameness person for the job. You will have someone who will be happy doing the same thing over and over again to his or her delight. And you will be happy in the long run, having hired the right employee for your business.
Finally, in hiring, it is not about a particular mindset or orientation or People Pattern™ that is good or bad in itself. It is simply a question of finding the right person with the appropriate Change People Pattern™ to fit the task at hand.
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WHY ARE TIME MANAGEMENT SEMINARS A WASTE OF TIME?
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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
DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK? PART II:
Posted by: | CommentsDO 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:
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Provide as much information or referral material that you can.
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Give as many testimonials as possible (more is better than less here)
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Stress what others think about your product.
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Have them see and or hear others’ reactions to your product or service.
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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:
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Suggest that they have their own internal check regarding the buying decision.
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Stress that it is up to them and not up to you, as to whether to buy or not.
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Avoid giving testimonials.
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Tell them that you know that they are ultimately making the buying decision.
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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.
How Decisions Are Really Made
Posted by: | CommentsThe Great Computer War Part 2 – Options and Procedures
Posted by: | CommentsThe Great Computer Wars Part 2 – Options And Procedures
Here is the second part of of our story.
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The Activity People Pattern from Personality Language ™.
The Great Computer War Part 1- Options and Procedures
Posted by: | CommentsThe Great Computer Wars Part 1 – Options And Procedures
Learn what is going on behind the seen that can impact your bottom line.
The Activity People Pattern from Personality Language ™.
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What’s In It For Me?
Posted by: | CommentsWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
Me, Me, Me
All sales, all persuasion and, in fact, most things in life, depending on one’s values, revolve around one basic question. The question that lies at the basis of all sales and influence is the following:
What’s in it for me?
Most people ask this question subconsciously to one degree or another. Interestingly, it also happens to be a question that many people disregard. (As we shall soon see, this basic question is directly connected to a behavioral pattern that is our motivational trigger which we call the Motivation People Pattern™.) In our everyday interactions with people, whether in sales, in negotiations, or in general life situations, notice how often people do things because there is some benefit to them.
There is a common reframe that people use when it comes to this question and it is that they do things out of so-called “enlightened self-interest.” One cannot really say that this has anything to do with enlightenment anyway, so for all practical purposes, the word “enlightened” with self-interest is basically an oxymoron more than anything else.
The reality is that, in general, people do things that are in their self-interest. The bottom line is that people do things because there is something in it for them. This being the case, there is an important question that arises. It is the following:
If a person doesn’t do things that aren’t in his or her own self-interest, then why should one expect other people to do things that are not in their self-interest?
Let’s take sales. It would be naïve to believe that people will buy things simply because you would like them to do so. If you want customers to buy something, then you have to provide them with something that they want. In fact, all sales and influence boils down to this very point. So, if you want your customers to buy from you then there are two things that you have to do:
1)Figure out from their perspective what it is that they want or need or what they want to avoid.
2)You have to determine what it is that you have which they want and be willing to give it up.
In other words, determine what is in it for your customers from their perspective and not from yours. Remember that you don’t get something for nothing. In order to receive, you have to give something to your customers. This is the golden rule upon which all human interaction is based.
It is amazing how many people in the world continue to believe that they can get something for nothing. They think that by flattering or pleading with people, that these individuals will simply give them things for nothing. If you happen to force someone to give you something without a reciprocal exchange, then the person will feel cheated and may lash out at you with what we call “The Three Dragons”: Remorse, Recrimination and Revenge, each to different degrees.
The essence of sales is to provide your customers with one of two things: either provide them with something that they want or else help them to avoid what they don’t want. The Motivation People Pattern™ reveals this very powerful secret of human behavior. From our previous articles, remember that the Motivation People Pattern™ identifies two different motivational mindsets: 1) move toward and 2) move away from. Either you are going to give your customers something they want (move toward people) or else you are going to help them to avoid something that they don’t want (move away from people).
As we have explained in previous articles, once you know the motivational trigger of your customers, then you will know whether they are move toward in orientation or move away from in orientation. If they are move toward, this means that you offer them carrots, or incentives and things that they want. If they are move away from, then you offer them sticks, or things that they don’t want or offer them things that they want to eliminate or to avoid.
So a knowledge of the Motivation People Pattern™ will enable you to understand and to satisfy the “What’s in it for me?” principle of human behavior of your customers and of anyone for that matter. And the Motivation People Pattern™ is just one of the People Patterns™ that make up what we call “Personality Language”™. It will enable you to cater your sales copy or sales presentation to your respective customers’ motivational triggers, and, thus, increase your sales, as well as create trust, the key to all interaction.
We recently heard a comment by former President Bill Clinton that there is a great right wing conspiracy against President Obama. As we often see, so much of politics is all about spinning things against the opponent. Seldom do you hear politicians speak about what they stand for or what they can do for the people. Instead, they spend their time attacking opponents. This is sometimes called negative campaigning. Such a strategy is not limited to one political party or another since all of them engage it this type of behavior.
The question is: Why does this happen? There is, in fact, a behavioral root cause to such behavior. This type of behavior occurs time and time again because it works. There are two parts to the equation. Either people vote for candidates they like or else, more typically, they vote for candidates they don’t like. This is a reflection of human nature and happens to correspond to a behavioral pattern which we refer to as the Motivation People Pattern™. It is one of a series of powerful inherent patterns that together form what we call Personality Language™.
The reason why we do things in life comes down to one of two reasons which correspond to the two elements of the Motivation People Pattern™:
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Either we do things to get something we want
or
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We do things to avoid something we don’t want.
People who do things because they want to get something they want are called move toward people. Those who do things because they want to avoid what they don’t want are called move away from people.
This dichotomy manifests in all areas of life and it happens to be true in politics as well. In most cases, voters don’t know what they want, yet they know what they don’t want. Politicians know this and they try to be as vague as possible in order to have a minimal chance of offending anyone.
The reality of the situation is that most people don’t know what they want.
Avoiding the things you don’t want, doesn’t give you what you want. It only gives you what you don’t want. So what to do? We suggest that the most important thing to do is to decide what you want. Once you decide what you want, the next step is to take action to make this a reality. This is critical and once you do so, you will be much happier.
© Copyright 2009, by Marilyne Woodsmall, Ph. M., and Wyatt Woodsmall, Ph.D.
Improve Your Sales With Personality Language
Posted by: | CommentsIn Personality Language ™, one of the key components is the the People Pattern ™ of Motivation.
This video introduction goes over the two major components of Personality Language ™ that could dramatically improve your sales and explain why people do nearly everything that they do. Enjoy!
Personality Language – The New Book
Posted by: | CommentsIntroducing our new book.
The Ultimate Resource When Writing, Speaking, Coaching, Or Interacting With People In Sales, In Business, And In Personal Relationships.
An Introduction
How many times have you entered an important meeting anxiously wondering how you were going to get others to agree with your point of view? How often have you found yourself ready to address a group at a conference or at your office and were still not sure how to influence those in attendance in a positive manner? How about making a good impression with someone whom you are meeting for the first time? Given the challenges of today’s economic realities, it is all the more vital to be able to communicate your message rapidly, clearly, effectively and in a way that is contextually meaningful to the person or people with whom you are doing business.
Whether you are in sales or management or in any aspect of business, it is all the more essential to have a practical and powerful new set of tools to increase your business profits as well as keep your present customers and clients no matter what the economic climate.
Wouldn’t it be really helpful and useful to have a quick and immediate way of enhancing your communication with others in the business world and at the same time be able to persuade and influence them to take action in a particular situation? How about in personal relationships? Now you are about to learn the keys to positive influence. These keys are called People Patterns TM. Many of you have heard about so-called body language. With People PatternsTM we are dealing with an even deeper level of communication which we refer to as Personality Language TM.
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