How to be a Professional Salesperson.©
Free Sales Training Video Series – Be a chameleon
Be a chameleon
Everyone likes talking to people they think are like them. It’s human nature. That’s why, when talking to a prospect or customer, it’s important for you to be like them. You’ll find greater success if you deal with a Type A personality, with a Type A personality. I’ve learned after living in Atlanta for a long time that conversations move at a different pace than they do where I was born in Chicago.
You don’t have to have multiple personalities to be a chameleon. You just need to listen and respond accordingly. Plus, you need to react early in the customer’s buying cycle. It can be tricky.
When I call my old friend Phil in New York and he says, “Hey Looo. How yooou doooin?” I usually say, “I’m doooin fine. How yooou doooinn?” When I speak to some of my Atlanta clients and they ask me, “How y’all doin today?” I respond with “Fiiine. How you all doin?”
Personality types aren’t partial to a particular part of the country.
- Driver – Northeasterner
- Amiable – Southerner
- Introverted – Midwesterner
- Laid back – West Coast
- Driver – West Coast
There are endless combinations of personality types in the world. This isn’t something you can pigeonhole. Do not try. Your key to making this successful is in trying to relate to all of them. Be a chameleon. Caution: I’m not saying you should be someone else. You need to be yourself. There is a subtlety herein where you need to be able to relate “to” without imitating or being disrespectful “of.”
