The Influencing Styles describe which of a range of styles a person is most likely to adopt. This may be of interest in relevance to a variety of situations where there is a requirement to influence others or sell a product, service or idea.
As with most personality characteristics, the profile only describes a person’s most likely styles and not performance. Effective performance will depend on many factors including the type of product, the customer, the specific situation and the organisational culture in which the individual is operating. Equally, different styles may be adopted according to the demands of the situation and consequently a description of their predominant and secondary selling style is provided in GeneSys assessment reports.
The Confident Communicator
Very much the classic sales person, the Confident Communicator is a persuasive, sociable individual. Not suffering from social anxiety or “stage fright”, they will be confident when giving presentations and are likely to be effective in formal selling situations with clients in senior positions.
The Rapport Creator
Rapport creators rely heavily upon their ability to build warm, friendly relationships with clients in order to sell their products and services. Using their natural ability to create a feeling of goodwill and trust, they generate an atmosphere in which the client is confident they are getting the best advice available and are, therefore, more likely to purchase the products and services offered.
The Culture Fitter
Culture Fitters generally adapt their approach to selling to fit the prevailing culture of the client’s organisation. Hence, they will not push their own ideas or opinions but will convey those beliefs they consider to be shared by the client.
The Culture Breaker
In contrast to many other sales approaches, the Culture Breaker will generally take a radical stance, presenting ideas that are likely to be incongruent within the culture of the client’s organisation. Through presenting such radical ideas they will create an image of knowledgeable integrity.
The Enthusiast
As the name suggests, the Enthusiast’s success is dependent upon their ability to convey enthusiasm for the product or service that they are promoting. They are quite competitive individuals who have a strong desire to succeed. This energy, combined with their apparent eagerness, is likely to be contagious with clients catching their enthusiasm and thus influencing their likelihood to buy the products and services they are promoting.
The Perseverer
The Perseverer is a resilient and tenacious individual who creates selling opportunities through persistently making contacts and following up leads. Any rejections experienced will not be viewed with too much concern, as they believe that if enough contacts are made, and if they are followed up methodically, then sales will eventually come.
The Business Winner
The Business Winner typically achieves sales through a combination of persistence and the preparedness to try novel and unconventional approaches. Being highly competitive, they will work hard for their successes but their unconventionality may cause them to “tread on toes”. The Business Winner will be a particular asset in those times when existing client sectors have become saturated or when there is a particular requirement to expand into new markets.
The Technician
The Technician is typically an intelligent individual who has particular expertise in one area. Often found promoting hi-tech goods and services, they take pride in their ability to objectively analyse the client’s needs and arrive at a sound solution that is tailored to their requirements. Although they may occasionally appear condescending to those less knowledgeable than themselves, clients will tend to believe they are getting solid and impartial advice.
The Administrative Supporter
Preferring to work behind the scenes, the Administrative Supporter provides a valuable service to the rest of the sales team by coordinating client visits and ensuring promotional materials, etc. are kept up-to-date and sent out promptly. Consequently, the Administrative Supporter will typically have good organisational skills and will not mind ‘doing all of the work yet taking little of the credit’. Occasionally the Administrative Supporter may assume a more direct sales role, especially with the more pedantic clients for whom detail and precision are important.
The Team Manager
The Team Manager’s primary concern is to motivate the individual members of the sales team. Typically they will have a good sales track record and will draw upon their experience in order to optimise the performance of the team. This will typically be achieved through the effective delegation of accounts to suitable members of the sales team, and by using appropriate rewards to maintain the morale and enthusiasm of each of the individual team members.