-I enjoy achieving goals. I do not like salespeople who waste my time by trying to build trust and rapport with me. When I want to buy, I buy. I do not like to be "sold." Tell me what you have that can help me and get on with it.
-People like me. I love people. I am a good at selling myself and my ideas and have a strong ability to influence others. I am flexible and pride myself on my ability to adapt and change to meet current circumstances.
-I am a caring, kind, and supportive individual. I would not think of myself as a leader and feel confused when I do not have a plan or list of tasks. I am a helper and prefer to follow a detailed plan created by someone else. I am really good at my job. I love facts and data.
-I am a detail person. I consider myself analytical and am a good planner. Even though I am detail oriented and can create a plan to follow, I get lost in the details.
The Controller
Controllers get things done. They buy the best of everything and are often in the top 1 to 2 percent of all income earners. They are unique and will avoid anything that is "common." They are very focused on their goals and confident in their abilities. They are highly visual. When it comes to achieving a goal and choosing to maintain a relationship, the controller will choose the goal over the relationship every time. It does not mean relationships are not important, just that the goal is more important to them than trying to make someone feel good. They often do not have a lot of friends, and you can track them through jungle by following the trail of broken relationships they live in their wake.
They make quick decisions with much less information than most. Their images and appearance are very important o them. What drives them is the need to fulfill what they know they are capable of achieving. If for some reason they do not achieve their goals, they simply make the necessary changes and move on. They have zero tolerance for people who waste their time.
If you are trying to sell or influence them do not try to build rapport; only if they are interested in what you are selling will they spend time with you. Just get down to business and eliminate the fluff. Be careful, though, they still want details, but prefer the "big picture" and make decisions once they feel they have enough information. If you insist on making them deal with details, they may interpret your efforts as showing a lack of respect or worse, not listening to them.
The Promoter
Promoters make great salespeople. They get along with most everyone. They often make up things to stress a point and easily adapt to changing circumstances. A promoter is a party waiting to happen. They have lots of friends and love to hear themselves talk. The promoter lacks self-confidence and even with this extra ballast they seek out challenging positions like sales in an attempt to overcome their weakness. Sales gives them the affirmation their personality needs as it makes them feel accepted and important.
Promoters emulate controllers and can appear quite similar: The thing that separates the promoter from the controller is confidence, or lack of it. They know they lack confidence, and you will often hear them voice it: "Well, I am just not sure," or "I just do not have the confidence to make a decision." When selling to them or negotiating, try to align your proposal with someone you know they respect (another controller or successful person). They buy anything sexy, trendy, or whatever controllers buy. When they miss a goal, they view it as their fault and ruminate over it, driving their confidence lower.
The Supporter
Supporters are quiet, unassuming, and the helpers of the world. Ask them to do something, and they will often set their own agenda aside to help you. They focus a lot of time and energy on building and maintaining relationships. In a group they are shy and quiet. Although they are not outspoken, they form strong opinions; it just takes a lot to get them to express it. Once they feel comfortable with you, they will carry on a conversation; just do not expect them to initiate it. If they know you they love you and can be loyal to a fault. A supporter will always preserve a relationship, even at the expense of not achieving their own goals. These people buy traditional cars, recycle, and are intelligent. Ideal occupations include customer service, inside sales, and management.
The Analyzer
With strong analytical skills the analyzer loves data and is hard working. They are well organized and detail oriented. Analyzers drive controllers crazy. Both in length of time it takes them to make a decision and the amount of detail they need to make it. Their need for information is far more than a controller would need. Information is important because they like to make smart decisions. They do not want to be corrupted by "the system" and are ferociously independent. They pride themselves on their personal integrity and are socially conscious. They get involved in current affairs, environmental concerns, and the homeless. Their attention to detail supports the controller who is not detail oriented. Working in seclusion is not a problem for them whereas promoters would explode if they did not have someone to party or talk with. Occupations often include lawyers, accountants, engineers, and physicians.
You should base your selection and hiring of people in accordance with your own personality and style. Find people who are different. As counter-intuitive as that might sound, it is a sound business strategy. It will add balance to the business and support achieving your goals.
