Selling with your H.E.A.D

We have often heard the mantra in sales, “like attracts like,” but few of us take the time to understand how this translates to our career in sales. In order for a customer to buy from you, they must first be able to relate to you. Chameleons thrive in sales because they have the ability to become likeable with their clients. The way they become likeable is by mirroring their customer’s personalities. This doesn’t mean you have to lose your flair or be someone you are not; it only means you need to minimize the traits that could potentially be a turnoff to your customers and accentuate the personalities that they can relate to, giving you an advantage in closing more sales. When become “one of them,” your customers will be able to relate; when they relate, they buy. Instead of using a “one size fits all” approach to sales, try using your H.E.A.D.

Hard-driver: This person has a dominate personality; they have more of a steam-roller, bottom-line straight- to-the point kind of personality. Hint: Get to the point with this kind of person; the fluff he can do without.

Expressive: There is no doubt what this person is feeling; they are expressive, use a lot of gesturing, and can be loud at times. Hint: Be visual with this kind of person, create a lot of hype and WOW factor with this kind of person. The bigger the show the more appreciative they are.

Analytical: I like to call these kinds of people “propeller heads.” Like Dragnet, it’s all about the facts. They show little emotion, very pragmatic, and if they have a sense of humor, you won’t see it. Hint: You better know your product knowledge. They will often ask questions already knowing the answer; they are testing not only your knowledge, but also your integrity.

Do-gooder: The Do-gooder wants to please everyone. They are the life of the party, likeable, amiable, and go with the flow. Hint: These personalities are very easy to get along with, but a word of caution; they will throw likeable stalls at you, giving you the impression that you have something, just not today. When you follow up with them, they purchased somewhere else, but they “appreciate all you did!”

Remember most of what you say is unsaid; it is done non-verbally. Sometimes we are so busy selling that we become blind to their responses and what is being said through their body language. Instead of using a “canned” personality with all of your customers bringing you mixed results, try adopting the H.E.A.D. method- adapting to their personality and begin to see more consistent results and close more deals.

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Comment by Stephanie Young on July 20, 2011 at 1:16pm: Marsh, trust me....I still have a long bucket list!!!! LOL I wonder if we compared service advisor stories about those who came in and said, "It sounds like...." to those who said, "It feels like..." and see which case is most likely to be accurate. Hmmmmm????

Comment by Marsh Buice on July 20, 2011 at 12:59pm: @ Joe, my dome is copywrited!!! LOL, no I found one online that almost represented the Chome Dome! Thanks my brother for the comments!

@ Stephanie, girl is there anything you DONT do??? That totally makes sense; people come in telling my advisors what they are feeling-often times they are right. We listen to what the diagnostics say with a car instead of feeling what they feel. Sounds like a blog for you ;) There are things in life that can be diagnosed, there are experiences we have to feel our way through. When we feel our way, we become more in touch with who we are and the direction we are going. Helluva share Stephanie.

Comment by Stephanie Young on July 20, 2011 at 12:32pm: Marsh, thank you....but it is my father who gets the credit. Not only do I come from amazing women, the men in my life are outstanding too. Here is another from my father story that will go with your quote. We have established my father is deaf, but to him that is not a handicap but a super power. I had no idea what gift it was to have a deaf father until I really started to interact with others who know only a hearing world. When my father and I were restoring his 67 mustang with a 289 as my first car, I learned that a car is a living and breathing machine.....just like a human. Kind of sounds like Transformers, but he did transform my way of seeing the world at that moment. My father learned to tune engines from his father by laying on the hood so he could feel the vibrations. So, I spent all summer learning how to "feel" the car and the rest of my life telling service advisors what is wrong with a car by how she "feels". Not everyone can "feel" their way through life, but if you want to hone one of your senses, just take one of the other senses away and you will adapt.

Comment by Joe Clementi on July 20, 2011 at 12:14pm: Marsh: Is that your giant dome? It's not a flattering picture but the post makes up for it in content. There is a delicate balance between personality profiles and selling. Having the ability to read, adapt and then present to those profiles are essential selling skills. Nice job brother!

Comment by Marsh Buice on July 20, 2011 at 12:13pm: @ Bobby, thanks for the comment my brother!

@Stephanie, awesome share!! You just revealed something to me. I wrote in my journal a quote by TD Jakes that said, Be deaf when others are speaking." I wrote "what the hell does that mean" beside it. Years later, you just nailed it. Instead of listening to mere words, look at what they are saying through their facial expressions and body language. WOW, thank you!!!

Comment by Stephanie Young on July 20, 2011 at 11:34am: Marsh, body language is enormously important. What we are not saying speaks a lot louder than what we are saying. For example, my father has been deaf since he was three days old. My grandmother did not want her child to be different, so he did not learn to sign but instead he learned to read lips. This talent made it possible for him to attend public school as a "normal" child. Fast forward to a successful parts house owner who must interact with hearing people all day long. When my father retired, there were several people who had worked with my father for years as vendors and customers that had no idea my father is deaf until I shared his life story. How could this be true? Without the sense of hearing, my father was able to "listen" to people's body language and still understand what they were communicating without hearing a word from their mouth.

We all know that I like to play games and one of the ways I have honed my skill for listening to someone's body language is to pretend I am deaf. I focus not on what I hear but on what I see when they are speaking. I am not as talented as my father (in my teen years, I tried lying to him....don't recommend it) but I do have a knack for "reading" someone as a result. Actions speak louder than words!!!!

Comment by Marsh Buice on July 20, 2011 at 8:12am: Lol, thanks Jim

Comment by Jim Kristoff on July 20, 2011 at 7:52am: Great post.....

I am a fan of the follically challenged!!!