DISC Selling Series - Assessing Influence - Adaptive Business Services

We continue our series on DISC selling. Today we will talk about assessing another area of our DISC quadrant, Influence.

Remember that those who are high in this factor will typically be considered to be extroverts who will communicate and operate at a fast pace and will focus their attention toward nurturing relationships rather than managing tasks.

Descriptors – Note that people can be either high (above the mid-point energy line) or low (below the line) and that there are descriptors that can generally be associated with each. Also note, and particularly as we move higher up the chart, the intensity of that person’s behavior or communication style will also increase.

Emotion: Optimism. People who are high in the influence quality tend to be glass half full types of folks. Conversely, people who are low in this area will tend to be viewed as being pessimistic.

Biggest Fear – Social Rejection

Tone – Generally animated friendly, and fast-paced. They have a tendency to provide rambling explanations

Communication Style – Keep in mind that these folks love to talk and their discussions will be relationship focused.

Body Language – Stance – Always animated and with a tendency to touch others which may sometimes be viewed as being too forward

Walks – Fast, always going somewhere

Body Language – Gestures – A lot of hand movement when talking. Big gestures

Communication Clue – They will be long on establishing rapport and slow on getting down to business

They will decide – Quickly but may reverse a decision. They will respond well to special offers

Social Media Clues

Preferred Networks – Twitter and Facebook

Profile Photo – Fun and with large smile. Their photo will often say “look at me!”

Likes to Post – Fun things and photos and particularly photos of themselves doing fun things

Update Length – Can be quite long and don’t be surprised by an overuse of caps and/or emoticons

Engagement Factor – While they are active engagers, they also have limited attention spans,

It is important to note that very rarely will we find an individual who is made up 100% of the one of the DISC quadrants. They will have a preferred style and that style can actually either be high or low. Unlike other DISC models, TTI recognizes the absence as well as the presence of these qualities and someone’s dominant style may actually be that DISC quadrant that is the furthest (above or below) point from the energy line. Furthermore, as most people will reflect two or three preferred styles, you must be prepared for style shifting. Have you ever started a conversation with a customer and thought … “This is great! We are really connecting here!” Five minutes later you find yourself wondering .. “What in the hell is going on!? We were doing so well and now I have lost them!!”. Welcome to style shifting. We will discuss this more during the adaptation stage of this series.

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!