Sales Blog: Communicate the Way They Want It

As a kid growing up, I constantly heard on Sunday to “treat others the way I wanted to be treated”. In Canada, this can get some people into very hot water. I happen to be a part of the 8% of Canadians that want brief, bullet point conversations about the big picture only. Whether you are a Business Leader, Manager, Employee or Sales Person, developing and maintaining successful relationships in business and life is crucial.

I have a secret…cheat! You can learn about the four-model communication and decision-making theory called D.I.S.C. Successful business people are lifelong learners. The most important project is yourself. D.I.S.C. will allow you to better understand yourself and how other people see you.

People are a combination of two or three different styles and one is normally your primary style. Extroverts are either a Dominant or Influencer style who like to talk, are big picture and quite impatient. Introverts are either a Steady Relator or Compliant style who like to listen, are very detailed and patient. Emotional and relationship people are either the Influencer or Steady Relator style. Task and fact/strategic people are either the Compliant or Dominant style.

Common combinations of D.I.S.C. styles include a D, I or D,C or I,D or I,S or S, I or S,C or C,S or C,D. The letter that comes first represents somebody’s primary style. In Canada, the D.I.S.C. population breaks down this way – 8% of Canadians are primary Dominant, 37% of Canadians are primary Influencer, 32% of Canadians are primary Steady Relator and 23% of Canadians are primary Compliant.

Learning about D.I.S.C. will allow you to identify other people’s primary style and help you understand how they like to communicate. This will allow you to “read the person’s D.I.S.C. style then decide if you need to adjust and adapt” based on your style interacting with their style. No communication and decision-making style is better or worse than others, the key is learning how to “read people” then communicate with them in their preferred manner.

Communication can be simplified once you learn about the social psychology behind D.I.S.C. Happy communicating!