By Marilyne Woodsmall

One of the biggest challenges for a salesperson is to know how much detail to give about a product or service. We have found that most salespeople have a tendency to keep talking until they get or lose the sale. Such an approach means that these salespeople are losing out on half of their potential customers. What they fail to realize is that some buyers want a lot of information and some require very little information.

The amount of information that a person wants or needs in a communication exchange is determined by what we refer to as the Global/Specific or Chunk Size Information People Pattern™. This powerful pattern reveals the quantity of information presented or how much information a person desires in a given communication.

The Chunk Size Information People Pattern™ (which is another element of one’s Personality Language™) is comprised of two types of people, and in the case of sales, of two distinctive types of buyers. Those who want a lot of information are called specific buyers and those who do not require a lot of information are called global buyers. Let us take a look at each.

Specific prospects want to know everything that there is to know about a product. They require a lot of information and a lot of detail in the information in order to make a buying decision. In fact, they will keep asking the salesperson for more and more detail. If the salesperson is not able to provide this, then the specific prospect will think that he or she is either not knowledgeable about the product that he or she is selling or that the salesperson has something to hide. Either way, it means bad news for the salesperson.

Global prospects, on the other hand, need very little information in order to make a buying decision. Too much information will turn them off, confuse them or make them suspicious. They will usually not ask detailed questions. If the salesperson keeps providing information they will not listen and will be completely turned off.

How does a salesperson know whether they are dealing with a global or specific buyer? Listen carefully to the way that the prospect describes his or her needs. Does the prospect provide a lot of specific details or does the prospect just give you vague, general information? Also, determine if the prospect asks a lot of questions or if he or she doesn’t ask questions at all.

The general rule of thumb is this. Provide the prospect with as much information as he or she needs to make a buying decision and no more. Often salespeople keep providing information in order to delay closing. This is a mistake. Close early and close often. If you close and the prospect needs more information, then they will ask for it. Once the prospect is sold, then shut up and close. Once you close, wait for a yes or a no. Adding more information at this point merely takes the prospect off the hook.

So the bottom line is to apply the Global/Specific Information People Pattern™ in all of your sales presentations to make a solid impact on the buyer or buyers with whom you are communicating. If you apply this pattern in sales, you will enhance your sales and you will connect with your customers more readily. If you don’t do this, you’ll be missing out on half of your customers and prospects and you will end up losing sales.

Here is the second part of of our story.

The Activity People Pattern from Personality Language ™.

Learn what is going on behind the seen that can impact your bottom line.

The Activity People Pattern from Personality Language ™.

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.

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY: THAT IS THE QUESTION

The holiday season is upon us and it is time when gift giving takes center stage. With the economy in a downturn, the retail industry is holding its breath to see whether traditionally higher holiday sales will be the exception or the rule this year. Whether the buying activity occurs at crowding malls with droves of people searching for super bargains or whether it occurs on the web where consumers are surfing away precious hours trying to grab the best deal for a given product, buying behavior can be predicted based on particular patterns known as People Patterns™.

These patterns are ingrained perceptual filters, which, in the context of sales, determine and explain specific aspects of buying behavior and have major implications for anyone who sells products anywhere, whether online, one on one, or in retail stores.

Today I’ll mention one of these mental patterns which has to do with so-called buyer’s remorse. It is called the Organization People Pattern™. It deals with the way a person organizes time and space, which, in turn, affects the way in which people make decisions. Interestingly, it is this People Pattern™ which reveals one’s proclivity towards so called buyer’s remorse. TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY: THAT IS THE QUESTION!

From a sales perspective it is critically important to know why some people make quick buying decision while others hesitate. Also, why do some buyers keep purchases while others often tend to change their mind about the purchase of a given product or service? The answer lies in the Organization People Pattern™. The tendency towards buyer’s remorse is based on a large part on the two elements of the Organization People Pattern™: whether a person is what we call a Structurist or a Free Spirit.

A Structurist is a person who likes to live life according to a specific plan. These people lead organized lives and don’t like surprises. They like to have things planned out ahead of time and like agendas, day planners, lists, and the like. From a buying perspective, Structurists are the ones who stick to their decisions. Once they buy something, they will tend to keep the items unless they learn some information or acquire some valid data about the product or service that puts it in a negative light.

For the most part, Structurists don’t change their mind unless a situation warrants it. Furthermore, Structurists keep commitments and expect others to do the same. The business world runs on a Structurist rule book and those who are Free Spirit in orientation have a hard time fitting the Structurist mold, which they perceive to be rigid and inflexible.

Free Spirits, on the other hand, like to live their lives spontaneously. What they perceive to be the rigidity of the Structurists gets in the way of their spontaneity and fun. They detest organization and prefer to live in the moment. Free Spirits tend to take things as they arise and they don’t have any desire to plan things in advance. Future consequence of action, such as in buying a particular item, does not enter into their mode of thinking because they are so focused on the present moment.

When it comes to buying, the decisiveness of the Structurist is diametrically opposed to the indecisiveness of the Free Spirit person. The Free Spirit person will rarely have a decisive answer. They do not like closure. Even when they buy a given product, there is always a much higher risk of buyer’s remorse that totally drives Structurists crazy.

So knowing which type of person your customer may be will help you to tailor your sales presentation to fit the Personality Language™ of your customer. For example, in selling to a Structurist, be sure to present your product or service in an organized and systematic manner. Be sure to focus on both present and future consequences of purchasing your product.

If you are selling to a Free Spirit, it is important to be as flexible as contextually possible. Don’t expect the person to adhere to a deadline or to a time frame. And appear to be spontaneous.

If you understand these two elements of the Organization People Pattern™, you will be better equipped to deal with all of your customers and you will be able to satisfy them so that they won’t return your product.

Happy Holidays!

© Copyright 2009 by Marilyne Woodsmall, Ph.M., All Rights Reserved

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™:

1. Either we do things to get something we want

or

1. 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.

www.personalitylanguage.com

How is it possible to be an idiot?  Seriously!  Do you know any people whom you think are idiots? Why are they idiots? Frankly, it takes real talent to be an idiot.  Is it because they are crazy, dangerous or stupid? Or is it because they are mean, spiteful or vindictive?  Is it because they are sick, deranged or broken?  Or is it because they just exist to make your life miserable?  All of us have met people like this at some point.

So what is the real reason that we think that people are idiots?  People are idiots because they think differently than we do. People are idiots because they feel differently than we do.  People are idiots because they have different ideas as to what is important than we do.  And amazingly enough, from their perspective we are the ones who are idiots? 

So what are we to do about all of these idiots?  We can curse them or curse our bad luck to have met them and often we do.  But there is another approach.  It would seem that everyone is an idiot to someone else. So we are all idiots.  We are just different kinds of idiots. In fact, the only real idiots are the ones who don’t realize that everyone, including ourselves, is an idiot. Knowing this, just what are we to do?

  What we need to do is to become knowledgeable about idiocy from a serious perspective. We can acquire this knowledge by learning about what we refer to as “The Science of Idiots™ of which Personality Language™ is a part. We need to know what kind of idiot that we are and what kind of idiot with whom we are dealing.  If we want to influence people in a positive way and have them do things that we want, then we need to understand what kind of idiot that they are. We need to be able to state what we want them to do in a way that makes sense to them.

This is how Personality Language™ will help us present our message in a way that others will understand from their perspective. When we can do this, we will be successful in any context of our life, both personal and business.

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Personality Language ™

Personality Language ™  Insight July, 2009

Real World Communication:

The Power of People PatternsTM and Personality LanguageTM

You are about to enter into a new way of seeing the world and of understanding the nature of true communication.

All of human interaction comes down to one simple question:

How is it possible to be an idiot?

Seriously, answer the question to the best of your ability. There is no one correct answer. We think that people are idiots because they are stupid, crazy, dangerous, mean and vindictive and or they are angry. There is also the possibility that they are here to make our lives miserable and often do.

Think about it. It is a typical human response to think of others who don’t act like us to be idiots. The real reason that we think that people are idiots is because they think differently than we do, they behave differently than we do and they react to situations and to people differently than we do. Furthermore, they value different things than we do.

The truth of the matter lies elsewhere. The real truth is that everyone is, in fact, an idiot. There are actually many kinds of idiots in the world. The real idiots are the ones that don’t realize that they are idiots.

So the key is to find out what kind of idiot you are and then to determine what kind of idiots are around you, whether at the office, at home, or wherever you may be on any given day or in any given situation.

Now, given the fact that we are surrounded by idiots all around the globe in the most unlikely of places, there are several points which you need to understand from the start.

1 Know your outcome: You need to know how you want a person to respond to your communication.
2 Next you need to pay attention to the person to find out if the response that you are getting is the one you want.
3 If it is not the one you want, you have to tailor your communication to the particular People PatternsTM of the person with whom you are communicating.

Remember that it doesn’t have to make sense to you. It just has to make sense to the person or to the people in your given communication exchange. To understand what makes sense to them, you have to understand their combination of People Patterns(tm) which are the basis of what we refer to as Personality LanguageTM.

Once you can present your message in terms of their values and their model of the world, it becomes undeniable.

The bottom line is that you just have to understand how the different types of idiots in the world think and behave. This is what People PatternsTM and Personality LanguageTM will do for you. This knowledge imparts a great deal of power, much more than you realize at this point in time. It is the power to influence and to persuade others in a positive way that leads to the outcome that you desire.

And, if you don’t do this, you won’t get your outcomes. You won’t get people to respond the way you would like them to respond. You will waste a great deal of time, resources and effort in a futile attempt to badger, cajole or force people to do what you want them to do. All this to no avail.

Let’s give you a specific example of how to apply a specific People PatternTM to the sales process. Given today’s tight economy you need an edge that will help to increase your sales and connect to your prospects as well as to your existing customers on whom you should focus more than ever.

Imagine you are selling a car or anything for that matter, and you excited about the features and benefits of your product. You are totally focused on the merits of your incredible car or product and as such, you talk about the amazing features and benefits that you have to offer. Whatever you are selling, you are enamored with the features and benefits of your product instead of focusing on the real triggers in the mind of your prospects that spur them to buying your product.

Loving the benefits of your product is great and certainly comes through in your communication. The problem with this is that you are missing out on half of a given customer base. When you speak about the benefits of your product, you are conveying a message that computes in the minds of approximately 50% of your customers. How can that be?

How is it possible for such idiocy to occur? Well, we are talking about a particular type of idiocy that reflects a person’s motivation to buy or not to buy. In fact, it is the form of idiocy that reveals why people are motivated to do anything if life.

It all comes down to the Motivation People PatternTM. People buy for one of two reasons. People buy either because:

1 they want to have, to get or to obtain something

2 they want to avoid something that they don’t want.

People who buy because they want to have or to get something are called Move Toward people. So in selling them your product, you will want to focus on the benefits and features of the product that provide them with what they want. You will want to tell Move Toward customers how your product will help them. In addition, show your customer or prospect how your product will meet their specific needs.

People who buy things because they want to avoid something that they don’t want are called Move Away From people. In selling to someone with this motivational trigger, you simply don’t talk about the features and benefits of your product. That will go in one ear and out the other. Your message will not make sense to them given this particular People PatternTM. Instead, you have to reassure them that your product or service will help them to avoid or to eliminate what it is that they don’t want. Stress how your product or service will help to minimize hassles.

For example, in selling a car, you would tell them that buying your particular car will help them to avoid breakdowns and potential problems on the road. You would focus on the reliability of your product since it will enable them to avoid lemons and issues that would otherwise come up with other cars.

In general, in selling anything to a Move Away From person, mention that your product doesn’t have the drawbacks that other products have, particularly if they have used them and not happy with them.

The bottom line, then, is to know whether or not your prospect or customer is a Move Toward or Move Away From person. No matter what you are selling, it is critical that you address both types in order to communicate effectively with everyone. If you don’t use the Motivation People PatternTM in your communication, regardless of the form it takes, you will be losing half the customers from the get-go. You will lose them because you will not be speaking to them using their Personality LanguageTM. So you might as well be conversing in a foreign language to them!

In future Newsletters, we will be addressing each of the People PatternsTM in the context of sales and show you how to apply them to increasing your sales and to connecting with your prospects and existing customers. We will also be sharing specific insights about sales which we have acquired in having professionally modeled superior salespeople.

Have fun discovering your own People PatternsTM as well as those of your customers! Learn to speak their respective Personality LanguageTM and watch your sales increase!

BREAKING NEWS: In a few weeks look out for the release of our latest book, Personality LanguageTM, Speak the Right Moves: How to Persuade and Influence Virtually Anyone When it Really Matters. If you want to be ahead in the game and have a seductive Primer on influence and persuasion using Personality LanguageTM, you will want to have this in your library.

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