Submitted by coombes on
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BLUF: The CEO/Sales director of the 15 person company where I work has suggested that we only deal with customers based on matching DISC profiles. Is this a good idea?
As part of our sales process, we assign DISC profiles to prospective customers (actually Thinker, Doer, Actor, Friend - but I believe there's a one-to-one correspondence with DISC). At a company strategy session, our CEO has suggested that we should aim to only deal with customers of a similar DISC profile to ourselves. This means our CEO would always deal with high Is (he is the best example of a high I within our company) and other DISC types would be dealt with by other people within the company. This does suggest that some customers would not be dealt with by our two person sales team.
So, I'm interested to hear views: is this kind of "DISC-pairing" something we should always aim for?, something we should ignore totally? (but still remain aware of prospective customer's DISC profiles and act accordingly) or something in between?
For what it's worth, I'm sceptical about this idea (if you haven't guessed already). I think it's better to use other criteria to establish who talks to specific customers and to practice good communication (i.e. being aware of my own style and seeking to minimize differences in style).
Thanks for your suggestions!
Andrew
minor clarification
" This does suggest that some customers would not be dealt with by our two person sales team." ... but by someone else within the company - possibly field application engineers
Right application of DISC
First of all, I think it is fantastic that your organization uses DISC, from the CEO on down.
Second, in my opinion, the DISC profile should be used to help two people communicate more effectively. For instance, if you're customer is a Thinker (high C), and you are a Friend (high S), when you are dealing with this customer you are aware you need to behave more like a Thinker, providing details and data in order to persuade that customer to buy. As someone in sales, having the ability to adapt to other people's style is a great tool to have in your bag.
If the amount of sales calls is too much for the two person sales team, and other colleagues outside your team will be contacting customers, then it would make sense to pair up DISC profiles.
If your sales team is so bad
If your sales team is so bad that they cannot adapt to customers of varying profiles (which is almost unknowable going into a first meeting), the solution is to get better sales people.
It is not a good idea.
You asked if this was a good idea. It is a bad idea. This is because it takes the power of the model and minimizes it. I would rewrite your suggestion as, lets take the easy way out so that the people communicating with each other might coincidently be effective. Your suggestion removes the need for the sales person to make a conscious decision to communicate in the best way possible to reach that customer; dulling their skills to speak with other people. What if there are 3 people at the customer’s organization? What if the other person (customer) is an effective communicator and was “showing” you their ‘D’ during the first stages of the negotiation, but they are really an 'I'? What if you were wrong in your classification?
B-A-D,
RC
To the man holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail
I second TomW - Being able to adapt to the customer is a minimum competency of sales staff.
Kudos to your CEO for integrating DISC into actual work processes.
I'd like to add that all of these skills and techniques need to be applied appropriately to the circumstance - they are not hard fast rules.
To the man holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Abraham Maslow.
re: matching DISC profiles salesman-client
I imagine myself working at your company and my high I in me jumped at the idea of being able to act more freely and naturally with clients. It takes a conscious effort adjusting yourself to being a bit less of something one is naturally and a bit, and one can feel more at easy being one self.
Then my high D in me jumped in and said: "It is not what you like to do, it is what it takes to be effective", and I got really scared of the type of sales agreement a high I sales person an a high I client would agree upon. Poor high C´s there trying to get it done!
That said, be careful whether your CEO "suggested" as you said, or is actually directing you to do it. There can be positive issues around it too. In principal to get a more natural relationship among your company and your client through similar communication profiles makes sense. You just need not to take to extremes, but it may not have been what the CEO has suggested. Remember high I`s do seem to exaggerate from other people´s perception.
I just listen to the naysayer podcast. It is not a good idea to point out the risks of the ideas to a high I CEO if he has made his mind and without some other suggestions of solutions/improvements.
Nara
Eh, not a good idea.
I'm very familiar with DISC, and I know that half the benefit of using DISC is being flexible into other styles - i.e. an "i" for example being able to adapt to customers with a "C" style. Technically, you're organization isn't really implementing DISC and getting the most out of it. You've simply just labeled yourselves, restricting yourselves from growth.
That having been said, I agree with Nara. It may not be the best idea to turn down your CEO's idea without a backup. Perhaps, you may want to recommend a training program in which you not only discover your DISC style but actually practice working with other styles. Try teaming up an "i" and a "C" together for the day, or put them on a particular project together and ask for weekly updates. It could even be a short 4-hour training in which you focus more on being FLEXIBLE then just familiar with your own DISC style.
Hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of more assistance!
Jonelle
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