Advanced Sales Techniques
Based on personality type
"Selling" is an everyday activity. Even if you do not have a sales job, you will often need to "sell" your ideas and plans to colleagues, management, friends and family.
The Myers Briggs model of personality can be used to help you sell better. For a salesperson, it provides an advanced technique on top of the basic Sales training techniques that are widely available. For everyone else, selling techniques are still very valuable, because they help you find ways around interpersonal barriers - making life a bit easier, reducing conflict, and finding a way of collaborating that is based on a win-win solution.
This page does not cover basic selling techniques (refer to our generic page on Selling to help identify training courses that might help in this area). Below, we cover specifically how Myers Briggs can be used in the selling process.
Guidelines on selling using Myers Briggs
Selling using Myers Briggs involves:- continue to use the basic sales techniques you have learned on sales training courses
- learn about your own natural style by completing the MBTI questionnaire: this will help you understand which approaches you tend to take (even when they may not be appropriate!)
- recognise the personality type of the person you are selling to, using table 1 below
- adapt your style to the other person's personality type, using the recommendations in table 2 below
Table 1 - recognizing preferences
| Extroversion | Introversion |
| actively seeks involvement in social activities | actively seeks privacy |
| is expressive of thoughts, and tends to think aloud | keeps his thoughts to himself, and can be quiet |
| tends to get involved in many tasks | tends to focus on a few tasks |
| takes a broad perspective in discussions | explores subjects to some depth |
| tends to interact with people and the environment | tends to concentrateon the issue in hand |
| has an outward focus, on other people or things | has an inward focus, sometimes wrapped up in own thoughts |
| tends to act or speak first, and then think later | tends to think first, and then act or speak |
| communicates where possible by face to face discussion | communicates formal information in writing |
| enjoys responding to issues as they come up | prefers some advanced warning of discussions |
| Sensing | iNtuition |
| prefers dealing with concrete facts | enjoys exploring abstract ideas and possibilities |
| likes information to be presented in the form of details | prefers to be given an overview or the big picture |
| focuses on the present and enjoys things as they are | looks towards the future to achieve something better |
| takes a practical approach to life, trusting experience | contributes creative ideas, following inspiration |
| proceeds in a sequential or step-by-step fashion | proceeds in a random fashion, missing out 'unnecessary' steps |
| is a realist - at extreme with his/her feet stuck on the ground | is an idealist - at extreme, with his/her head in the clouds |
| tends to use things for the purpose they were intended | tends to change things to be better or do something new |
| sets goals that are specific about what is to be achieved | sets goals that are general and reflect the underlying purpose |
| prefers tried and trusted solutions | prefers to invent his/her own solutions |
| Thinking | Feeling |
| tends to analyse a situation | tends to sympathise with those in a situation |
| takes a logical and objective approach | takes a personal and subjective approach |
| tends to criticise or see the flaws in situations | tends to appreciate or see the positive in situations |
| can be detached, as if an onlooker to the situation | feels involved as a full participant in the situation |
| decides by identifying the principles involved | decides by reference to personal values |
| tends to take a long term view | tends to take an immediate view |
| focuses on the differences in people's arguments | tries to find agreement during discussions |
| is interested in costs and benefits | is interested in the impact on people |
| regards competence as important | regards others' experience and views as important |
| Judgement | Perception |
| defines boundaries and establishes closure | leaves things loosely defined and maintains openness |
| establishes a structure to life | takes life as it comes |
| organises people and/or things | learns about or experiences people or things |
| tends to take a firm approach | tends to take a flexible approach |
| seeks to control self and others | seeks to act spontaneously |
| plans work, andthen follows the plan | tackles work in a flexible or casual manner |
| makes decisions quicklyand then sticks to them | postpones decisions, or reviews them after they're made |
| prefers to meet deadlines with time to spare | leaves things untilthe last minute |
| prefers clarity to ambiguity | sees clarity as sometimes restrictive |
Table 2 - What approaches to use
| Extroversion summary | |
| Talk face-to-face. If not, use the telephone. If you have to write, use E-Mail rather than paper, and use short notes. | |
| Maintain ad hoc, frequent contact. Have informal discussions in preference to formal meetings. | |
| Cover a wide range of subjects and don't force the discussion too deeply into one topic | |
| Solicit immediate reactions and be prepared for the Extrovert to take, or expect, immediate action | |
| Allow the Extrovert to think aloud, to develop ideas as he/she is talking and to change his mind | |
| Introversion summary | |
| Don't interrupt the Introvert at his desk if he is deep in thought. Ask if he wants you to come back later. | |
| Give advanced warning of the need to discuss an issue, or better still, give him something to read first. | |
| Don't introduce too many topics into the discussion, and be prepared to go more deeply into one subject. | |
| Don't force the Introvert to take action - allow him time to think about the subject and come to his own conclusions. | |
| Encourage the Introvert to share his thoughts - don't interpret silence as agreement. | |
| iNtuition summary | |
| Describe the overview before the detail | |
| Discuss the meaning of information or data, and the insight it provides | |
| Emphasise long term benefits over short term ones | |
| Discuss the most important steps in a process, in order of importance, rather than going through each step in chronological order. | |
| Be innovative in your style of communication, and enthusiastic in your approach | |
| Identify opportunities and challenges | |
| Sensing summary | |
| Focus on concrete facts | |
| Discuss the steps involved in the correct sequence | |
| Emphasise immediate or short-term benefits | |
| Identify relevant experience or other successful applications | |
| State the next (Practical) step | |
| If you are outlining an idea, state when the details will be sorted out and who will do it | |
| Thinking summary | |
| Be logical in your arguments, | |
| Find out and support the criteria that the thinker uses to evaluate alternative suggestions | |
| Take a businesslike approach | |
| Focus on the underlying principles involved | |
| Discuss the costs and tangible benefits | |
| Don't shirk from conflict | |
| Feeling summary | |
| Focus on areas of agreement | |
| Express appreciation for the other person | |
| Recognise and support the other person's values | |
| Take a friendly approach | |
| Identify who else is 'for' the idea | |
| Demonstrate the positive impact on people | |
| Be constructive | |
| Build on proposals rather than criticising others' ideas | |
| Don't fall into the trap of avoiding conflict or criticism altogether | |
| Judgement summary | |
| Have a clear purpose for the meeting and an agenda that you have both agreed on | |
| Adhere to timescales | |
| Be predictable - if you need to introduce something radically different, give plenty of notice | |
| Keep track of where you are in the Agenda - don't meander through the discussion | |
| Focus on reaching decisions and then moving on to the next subject. Don't reopen subjects that have already been concluded. | |
| Perception summary | |
| Adapt to the Perceptive person's agenda - don't impose a formal agenda, but explore the subject | |
| If new information comes to light, be prepared to review decisions after they have been made | |
| Allow the Perceptive person to meet deadlines by a last minute rush | |
| express tentative views, and be prepared to revisit decisions that have already been made | |
| When scheduling meetings, leave time free in your diary for the meeting to overrun. | |
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