Salespeople are Different….Manage to their Personalities!

December 6, 2011

Whether they can sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in a white dress or ice to an Eskimo, great salespeople are often defined by their ability to sell anything to anyone. But managing salespeople, even those that often exceed expectations, can be challenging. Even the best managers have performance reviews and team meetings that feel more like trying to diffuse a hostile client who’s upset about her white dress being covered in ketchup than a motivational moment. Applying a basic understanding of the four common prospect personalities to your sales team can help managers turn ineffective meetings and laborious coaching sessions into productive, positive experiences.

Personality Pie

If personality were a pie, it could be divided into four slices. Salespeople are often trained to see prospects as fitting into one of four common personality types: analyzers, empathizers, expressers and commanders. Much time and effort goes into learning how to identify which type a prospect is and then manipulating a sales pitch so that the prospect turns into a client. In the midst of all the training, it’s easy for sales managers to overlook the value of applying those personality styles to their team members. Figuring out which personality types make up a sales team helps managers to maximize their teams’ potential and leads to greater team productivity.

Managing Analyzers

Salespeople with an analytical personality are intentional, accurate, orderly and detailed in the way they approach their daily work. Sales managers can better understand and relate to analyzers on their teams by presenting goals and coaching information to analyzers in a logical, practical manner. Help analyzers identify areas where they might be spending too much time and energy so they can shift their focus to achieving the most important team and individual goals.

Managing Empathizers

Empathizers are sensitive to the feelings of others. As salespeople, this helps them relate to clients and prospects extremely well. Although they are naturally trusting individuals, they can also be resistant to change. Help empathetic salespeople by putting in the time necessary to gain their trust. Be sensitive to their feelings and encourage them to take the risks necessary for greater reward.

Managing Expressers

Expressers are visionaries. Salespeople with this personality focus on the big picture and are excellent motivators for their sales teams. Managers should can utilize expressers’ natural tendency to think outside the box to brainstorm effective ways to improve their performance. Walk through a few big results with expressers and break down the actions, step by step, that were required for successful fulfillment of those goals. Seeing how details turn into dreams helps expressers pay more attention on the present while still keeping an eye on the future.

Managing Commanders

Salespeople with a commanding personality are self-confident and task-oriented. They know what they want and what they need to accomplish to get it. They excel at making quick decisions and are highly productive. Managers should talk directly to commanders in an organized, efficient manner. Help commanders by not letting them focus so much on getting things done in the present that they forget about the future.

Remember that all four personality styles succeed in sales and that every salesperson has a dominant, as well as a secondary personality style. Like the prospects they sell to, salespeople are a blend of personality types. Managers should discern the personalities of the salespeople they manage and approach each member as an individual, harnessing their personalities for greater production and success.

SVP Marketing & Sales

<strong>Brian Zimmerman</strong> was a Partner at OpenView from 2006 until 2014. While at OpenView he worked with our portfolio executive teams to deliver the highest impact value-add consulting services, primarily focused on go-to-market strategies. Brian is currently the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at <a href="http://www.5nine.com/">5Nine Software</a>.