Communication Styles in Sales

If you are an introvert, you probably have many friends who are introverts as well  -- along with a few extrovert friends to balance it all out. It probably isn’t a conscious decision that this is what happens, but you instinctively know the personality types you are most comfortable being around. This can be said of personal, family, and business interactions as well. In much the same way, there are four basic communication styles in sales you should be aware of – whether you’re doing the selling or you are the buyer. As the seller, knowing your communication style allows you to tailor your approach to someone with a different style. As a buyer, you know what salespeople to go to for advice. Either way, the four basic communication styles in sales help you in one form or another.

Communication Styles

Emotive Person – someone who is highly sociable and dominates conversations. An emotive person is active, takes initiative to start a conversation, prefers informal interactions (prefers first name basis rather than something more formal), and expresses emotional opinions. Not shy about expressing their opinions, this personality is less of a guessing game when trying to figure out what they prefer.

Director Person – Someone who is low on the sociability scale but still tends to dominate conversations. This is someone who is “in charge” but takes things more seriously, maintains control of situations, and appears (whether or not he/she is) busy. Don’t take their directness and low sociability as a lack of warmth or caring, they just prefer to be heard rather than listen.

Reflective Person – these personalities are low on the social and dominance scale, and very much introverted personalities. Being introverts, they spend more time thinking, and prefer organization and order and more formality in their social interactions. This can lead to taking a longer time to make a decision than their extroverted counterparts, but doesn’t mean they don’t know what they want.

Supportive Person – Low dominance and high sociability personalities. Patient and good listeners, they tend to avoid being the center of attention, use the power of persuasion rather than power itself to influence others, and make deliberate decisions. Ask these personality types direct questions to get to the heart of what that person is looking for. They are social, but don’t like to dominate a conversation so they will share their opinions when prompted.

Knowing which communication style in sales works for you and that of your co-workers, boss, or even what your customers prefer, helps you in the long run. Not only will you know your strengths, but you can identify the areas of your sales personality that need improvement. Learn more about the best methods of communication, in sales and other business interactions, by contacting Ty Boyd today.