When Sam walked into his boss’ office for his annual review he was pumped.

He knew he had aced his job over the past few months and he expected a high rating and a serious pay raise.

An hour later he was totally deflated. His boss had spent the whole time going over his assignments in excruciating detail and pointing out every little thing that could have been better.

At the end, Sam asked if he could expect a pay increase and his boss stared at him and said, “Have you not heard one word I said over the past hour? No, you won’t be getting an increase until I see marked improvement!”

Getting What You Want

When was the last time you asked for something and didn’t get it? What was it? A promotion? A raise? A night out with the boys (or the girls)? Help from a co-worker with a project? A sales order from a good prospect?

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you get the things you ask for… and sometimes you don’t?

It’s usually because the other person has concerns or issues. Or – in sales terms – objections.

And that means you need to respond to those concerns in a way that convinces them the issue is either manageable or non-existent. Or that a compromise can be reached.

Did you know that if you could figure out the communication style of a person you’d be in a much better position to put forth an argument that would resolve their concern?

The Big News

Our communication styles affect how others react to and perceive us. Knowing your own communication style, and knowing how to adapt to someone else’s communication style can make your interaction with them totally win-win.

Let’s look at Sam again. If Sam had access to The People Profiler he would have known that his boss is a detail-oriented person obsessed by high standards of quality and focused on rules and facts. With that knowledge, Sam could have arrived at the meeting armed with his detailed listing of projects and made an organized presentation about the high quality, on-time results he delivered, in spite of a few small mistakes. In fact, Sam could have provided his boss with the presentation a few days in advance so that he would have time to absorb it.

Sam Missed Out

In this scenario, using DISC terminology, Sam’s boss is what we call a high C.

Using The People Profiler, Sam would have had a list of Communication Do’s and Don’ts customized to his boss’ style, as well as a Communication Game Plan template to plan out the conversation and presentation needed to convince his boss that he was indeed doing a great job and deserved a sizable raise.

The People Profiler gives you the knowledge you need about another person so that you are able to provide them with what they need to feel comfortable with a decision and do it in a way that resonates with them.

Not convinced? Profile your first person now and see how much knowledge you can gain about them and how you should approach them in any situation where they have concerns.

Or you could wait until wait and see how your next performance review goes.  Nah.