SELLING TO THE FOUR BASIC TYPES OF PEOPLE
Salespeople need to be versatile. They need the willingness to adapt to the different needs and situations of a customer.
It has been suggested there are four basic types of customers: drivers, expressives, amiables and analyticals. A different selling approach and technique is needed for each.
While individuals may at times exhibit features from any one of the four groups, it is believed they predominantly fall within one of the following:

THE DRIVER This is the highly assertive, fast acting, go getting, risk taking sort of person who likes to take charge.
The need of the driver is to be efficient. If you are going to sell to the driver then stick to business. Forget about the small talk and don't waste his time. But it takes just as much time to work with this customer as it does with any other, because you spend your time in preparing before you get there.
He is going to ask you a fast two or three questions to check your competency, and if you can't answer these then you are dead.
Never give a driver just one option because you are taking away his control. Present him with options which are acceptable to you, then let him make the decision, Present the facts logically and plan your presentation efficiently.
The weakness of drivers is that they don't like to listen, because when they listen they lose control. So don't ask them to listen too much. Come prepared with all requirements' objectives, support
material in a well-organised package. And you had better give the driver a one page summary.
The orientation of the driver is now. It's get the work out today and worry about picking up the dead bodies tomorrow. The question he is going to ask you is what have you got? That is all he wants to know. Drivers do not suffer fools gladly. Once they have confidence in your competence, they want you to go right to the bottom tine, to the results. Don't walk him through all the steps and processes and study you'll turn him off. Once he thinks you are competent he does not want to go through all that.

THE EXPRESSIVE!
Is a warm, outgoing, enthusiastic sort of a person who has a need to be stimulated.
With them, you have got to establish a relationship first. They like a lot of relationship and a little task. They have all the time in the world for the relationship, but when you get to the task, they go very, very fast. You go back and forth; a lot of relationship and a little task.
Expressives are future orientated. They are dreamers. If you want to sell an expressive, then earn his trust and find out what his dream is, and show him how your product or your service can help him get his dream.
The question they want answered is, what's in it for them? They buy recognition, being first, being innovative and out in front.
Expressives are the kind of people who jump off the diving board and then check to: see whether there is any water in the pool. They are risk takers. If there is any small print in the contract make sure they read it and initial it. Expressives do not read the small print. They. have trouble with the big print.

THE AMIABLE
Like the expressives these people may, be warm, outgoing enthusiastic or they may be quiet, good listeners. They are friendly, and informal, but they are very slow to act, low risk takers.
They have a need, and it is to feel safe. They are going to have to feel safe with you before they buy from you. So you've got to spend time, establishing a trust relationship, getting to know that person. He or she has got to feel good about you.
When you think of amiables think of two words team and approve. An amiable may want to do business with you, but if everybody else wants to do business with a competitor, then he will go for the competitor. When you deal with an amiable, you have got to sell to the whole team.
Always give your home phone number to an amiable. Tell him to call you collect don't worry he's too nice to do it. Never give your home number to a driver. He'll call collect - at three in the morning!
How do you sell to an amiable? The question they want to know is why. Why will it be important to my customers, why will it be important to my staff?
The weakness of an amiable is that they don't like to reach. If they, are working with another supplier and you are offering something different, you have to take time and take all the risk out of a change.
Never lose the trust of an amiable. Anniable's don't get mad, amiable's get even. They have very long memories and they will get you in the end, and, as one recently said in a seminar, you'll never even now you've been had.

THE ANALYTICAL
They are very rational, business-like, formal, stoic, logical. They like to gather and process data and make a decision based on the facts.
The analytical has a very real, but painful, need to be right. If you are going to make a proposal, then the more data, the more computer print-outs, the more flow charts, the more specifications the better. They will read it all and then come back to you with a whole series of questions.
Approach them a straight forward, direct way, don't be disorganised or messy. Build your, credibility by listing pros and cons to any suggestion you make. But never give an analytical two options because you are going to appear incompetent. You are supposed to have done your homework and come up with the right option.
The analytical wants to know how. How is it going to work? Give them time to verify the reliability of your actions.
The weakness of the analytical is that they have difficulty in deciding.
A written guarantee is very valuable to them. They buy self-respect, they buy the knowledge that they, have done the most intelligent, the most correct thing.

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