The Psychology of Sales – Part 2. Promoted content from IRD Prospector

We recently discussed A & B type personalities and how to identify and then sell effectively to each. A great initiative to try if you’re missing sales targets, looking to increase the conversion rate of sales leads or shorten your sales cycle. 

However, for maximum results Psychologist and business profiling expert Keith Lamport suggests starting within your own sales prospecting team. 

To build an engaged sales team, you need different personalities to complement one another to create a harmonious culture and sell effectively. More so, if a valued member of your team identifies strongly with a different personality profile, don’t be afraid to change their role. A good sales rep could make an excellent Account Director, and vice versa. 

It depends what you’re selling as to the perfect mix of personalities, however within any company you’ll find 3 sub-groups:

1. Objective – Assertive/aggressive, thrives in hard-selling, new business setting. These are typically your sales professionals.  
2. Subjective – Collaborative, customer-service, client focussed. These are typically your Account Management or Client Services team. 
3. Interested in the Facts & Figures – Examples of these job roles would be a Marketing Manager, Commercial Director or CEO 

Acknowledging that these are general and people often demonstrate multiple traits, Lamport uses the ProfilePlus questionnaire to provide deeper, individual analysis. It’s not a test but a self administered, validated and reliable behavioural profiling instrument that uncovers how people see themselves, how they perceive others viewing them and how they may behave under stress. It provides an understanding of an individual’s internal and external motivation, their behavioural traits, role expectations and how well they are likely to fit a particular job and the environment they have to work within.”

Once you’ve assembled your perfect sales team, it’s time to align them with your prospects.

It’s critical to identify the personality types of who you’re selling to, and then adapt your pitch to address their needs. This may involve re-allocating prospects in your sales pipeline that have not responded in the past. It could be as simple as a personality mis-match – the seasoned decision-maker at Company A may prefer a more relationship-based approach than your assertive, up-front sales rep is practised in. Consider implementing a quarterly review where all unsuccessful prospects are re-allocated to a new rep. The key to success is rigorous note-taking on what makes these sales prospects tick, why they say yes and no, and what personality cues you can identify. 

But the first step, and usually the most difficult, is for a salespeople to identify the decision-maker.

This comes back to profiling your prospect and identifying who plays the following roles in the potential sale. 

– Economic Buyer 
– Coach
– Influencer 
– End User  

Once you know who these people are (using Sales Intelligence Tools ), where they sit in the hierarchy of the decision to purchase and what role they play, you can overlay their personality type. Then you will know who your prospect is, who in your team should be matched with them and importantly, how to tailor your message for your highest chance of success. For tips on how to get more Decision Makers in your meetings, read this . 

To uncover your (and maybe your prospect, boss or colleague’s) dominant Behavioural Traits, use this graph) 

The basics of good sales don’t change – do your homework, find the right contact and source your Valid Business Insight to open the door to a game-changing partnership. However, utilising this extra layer of intelligence can set you apart from your competitors and teach you a thing or two about the human condition at the same time. 

Keith Lamport

Keith Lamport has worked for over 20 years at various multi-nationals including roles such as General Management, Sales and Marketing and Manufacturing. His international experience includes ANZ, North Asia and South East Asia. Keith is a Graduate in Psychology and developed and validated Profile Plus in Australia specifically to relate to Australasian business requirements. You can email Keith here.