Arm yourself to land more deals, make more money

What’s your number?

Hey, what’s your number? Too cliche? I didn’t think so. Not for you guys! This weekend, I was lured into a training session for a Board that I sit on because we have recently had a major shift in our Board structure; thinking it wise to get a better understanding for how each of the other Board members interact on a personal level, we opted for the DiSC, sometimes called D.I.S.C., testing to be administered. “The D.I.S.C. personality report or inventory, developed by William Moulton Marston, profiles four primary behavioral styles, each with a very distinct and predictable pattern of observable behavior. Applied in corporate, business and personal situations the DISC inventory can lead to professional and personal insights. ”

I selfishly started thinking about how I could optimize my knowledge of the DiSC assessment and my personal style with my clients and of course, other agents whom I may deal with on transactions, who if you think about it, are my team mates… right? Right. You want to know my scores now, don’t you? So invasive. I don’t mind. I’m a nearly exactly the same on ‘i’ and ‘C’, which I found very interesting, because I am totally a people person, who is optimistic, outgoing and truly do enjoy energizing others through events and forming of groups. I am also extremely into planning out how things will work, researching and making sure that people will understand what I am trying to get across. Hmmmm. Freakin’ personality profiling. My husband thinks it is junk science, and I think that he is totally a D. We won’t tell him that, though.

So, what do you do with this information, other than feel like someone has stripped you down into your underoos and shared with the world all of your vulnerable spots while sitting in a group forum? Uhm, hello… you take notes. Listen to how each different style of behavioral types will interact in team environment, because what is a real estate transaction other than your team that you get to lead?

How to use this new knowledge

Important questions and solutions to think when assessing how to deal with your new found knowledge after taking your DiSC assessment:

• Is your client the sort who just wants the facts and keeps everything in an awesome excel spreadsheet? This is probably an ‘S’- make them proud by offering them a folder with all of their personalized details.
• Is your client the sort who needs to marinate on the information and digest things for a week before giving you an answer? This is probably a ‘C’ who isn’t quick to make a decision, and will never rush anyone into anything they aren’t ready for; let them know you are ready when they are.
• Is your client the sort who doesn’t want flowery speak? Lay it out there in bullets? They might be a ‘D’ and they can jump right into the game as long as you have given them clear cut information.
• Is your client the sort who wants hear all about how the week was before you get into any of the fine print of the actual job at hand? Maybe they are an ‘i’. Learn how to use this to work well with them, or how to get them to focus.

Discovering your own type

Do you want to figure out what you are from this brief run down of the DiSC assessment- check it out! “The online DISC Profile is a validated learning tool, focusing on people-skills for personal and professional relationships and development. The DISC Profile is a nonjudgmental survey for understanding behavioral types and personality styles. It helps people explore behavior across four primary dimensions:

• Dominance: Direct and to the point, decisive and bottom line oriented. These people tend to be independent and results driven. They are strong-willed people who enjoy challenges, taking action, and immediate results.
• Influence: Optimistic and outgoing. Often highly social and out going. They prefer participating on teams, sharing thoughts, and entertaining and energizing others.
• Steadiness: Empathetic & Cooperative. Typically team players and are supportive and helpful to others.  They prefer being behind the scene, working in consistent and predictable ways. They are often good listeners and avoid change and conflict
• Conscientiousness: Concerned, Cautious & Correct. These individuals are often focused on details and quality. They plan ahead, constantly check for accuracy, and what to know “how” and “why”.”

The best part about doing an assessment like this, is that it isn’t just for your interaction with clients, it is pretty much useful for any sort of business interaction! That other agent who is needlessly argumentative, give them a dose of your understanding ‘D’ treatment! Your proposal for the builder who may or may not want to go in on the tract of land doesn’t want to hear the history of the neighborhood, but wants to see the graphs and spreadsheets- throw down the awesome ‘S’ knowledge you’ve learned.

I had taken the Myers Briggs test in high school and it has many more components than the DiSC assessment, but DiSC still focuses on core values and motivations. One of the coolest things that I took away from the Board retreat, aside from that now I know how each of my Board members receive information and process it, is that now I understand each of my clients a bit better now, too! Insight is a pretty nifty tool.