Sales Personalities: How to Deal With Drivers

February 3, 2012

 

This week I was faced with taking a TAIS personality assessment, TAIS standing for The Attentional & Interpersonal Style Inventory. Basically, this assessment asks about 100 or so questions to analyze your personality type – ranging anywhere from “Did you date in high school?” to “Do you ever find yourself in a confused medley of multicolor?”…hmmm.

Anyway, I was not surprised with my results. I think I know myself fairly well and was not shocked to discover that I am in the upper 15th percentile of being intellectually and physically competitive. However, the main purpose of my taking this test was not only to analyze the way I work, but also how to work with different personality types. TAIS told me that I need to remember that not everything is a competition. Yeah right, whatever.

Other interesting components the test revealed were my preferred work environment based on my personality as well as certain positions that would suit me best. This made me realize even more how an individual’s personality can truly drive their career path. Now, this isn’t always true, but there are certainly some trends I have witnessed.

Specifically, I have observed the “Driver” personality most commonly seen in salespeople.

Sometimes this type of person can be difficult to communicate with, especially as a recruiter over the phone. I think the best way to overcome this is to understand what drives the driver and adjust the conversation accordingly.

Usually one can tell right away if they are speaking to a Driver. There is no small talk and the first question is typically “What does it pay?” A Driver is going to demand control and always take the opportunity to be in charge. They will be straight to the point.

My advice is to come back with your own point. Say something like, “Great question, but the purpose of this call is to see if this is a fit on both sides and then get into compensation. I know that’s important and we’ll get there. So tell me about your day to day….”

I find that if you don’t skip a beat, and relay exactly your own purpose for having a conversation, this type of personality will respect your honesty. Otherwise, they are not just a Driver, they are just rude. You don’t want a rude salesperson.

Make sure to not let a Driver intimidate you. Don’t let their “no-nonsense” attitude offend you, and do not get your own emotions involved. Otherwise it can be easy to get upset, your emotions will show, and this person is most likely not going to fare well with it.

A lot of times Drivers love agreeable individuals, as they can take advantage of the situation. If you find yourself to be a “yes man” recruiter, be sure to speak up for yourself! Express that no, you will not be able to reveal the commission structure at this point or the name of the hiring manager. Don’t let this person manipulate or intimidate you into something you are not comfortable with.

This is not to say that all salespeople are overly aggressive, manipulative and intimidating. But there have certainly been times in my career where a Driver has done all of the above to myself and I wanted to share my personal experience and advice – and that’s coming from an overly competitive person. The best way to deal with any certain type of individual is to understand how they tick and adjust your approach to achieve the best outcome for both sides.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Driver types or other personalities? What’s your take?

Recruiting Lead - Software

<strong>Katy Smigowski</strong> is the Recruiting Lead-Software at <a href="https://www.fitbit.com/">Fitbit</a>, where she is directly managing sourcing team, recruiting process and recruiting strategy dedicated to driving software hiring in our Boston office. Prior to Fitbit, she was a Talent Specialist at OpenView responsible for recruiting initiatives for both the firm and its portfolio companies.