1. How can you use personality styles information to sell?
Here is a real life example of selling that applies DISC concepts successfully. Bill Bonnstetter tells it in The Universal Language: DISC, A Reference Manual (Copyright 1993 by Target Training International, Ltd.).

A successful salesman of Pontiac automobiles, who understood the DISC "language" and knew the strengths and weaknesses of his own "S" style, was visited in the showroom by a married couple looking to buy a new vehicle. Observing their behaviors, he recognized that both the husband and wife had "C" type profiles. The couple explained that they had pretty much decided to buy a Ford, but they wanted to gather information on a comparable Pontiac. The salesman understood they would feel they had covered all their bases and would be more comfortable with their predetermined decision to buy the Ford. He also knew that emotionalism and pressure would not help him make a sale. He knew they preferred to remain objective. He offered them the variety of information they had requested in a nonconfrontational,  slow-paced manner.

Knowing that they were on their way to the Ford dealership up the street, he recommended that they ask for a particular Ford salesperson, one whom he knew to be a "D," who did not know anything about personality styles and preferences. Why? Because he expected the "D" Ford salesman would be "pushy" with these cautious buyers. If this happened, perhaps the couple would "sour" on their Ford decision and visit him again to discuss Pontiacs. Predictably, the "D" salesman tried to close the sale immediately. That was enough to throw up the couple's yellow caution flag. After a few more thoughtful days of collecting information, they returned to the easygoing Pontiac salesman to buy their car.

Did the Pontiac salesperson unfairly manipulate his customers? It is a simple fact that people buy from people they like. For this couple, their feelings about the person from whom they bought their car was more important than the brand of car they bought. Even though they felt they were being objective, they made their decision emotionally: who were they comfortable with? According to Stanford Research, 85% of our success is related to our people skills and only 15% is related to technical skill and ability.

The salesmen discovered that making people happy and the customers' confidence are very much related to personality styles:
The higher the "D," the more he prefers to be in control and decide for everyone else.
The lower the "D," the more he prefers to be a team player and decides not to decide.
The higher the "I," the more he prefers to be with people and talk things out.
The lower the "I," the more he prefers to be alone and think things out.
The higher the "S," the more he prefers a stable, unchanging environment.
The lower the "S," the more he prefers a varying and changeable environment.
The higher the "C," the more he prefers facts, data, structure and order.
The lower the "C," the more he prefers emotion, spontaneity and excitement.

For further information, take a look at our book, Who Do You Think You Are... Anyway? This and many other topics concerning how people interact are discussed at length.

2. Are certain jobs better suited to certain personality styles?
Once, after a seminar, a man said to me, "You mentioned that 'D' types often make good police officers. I am a little concerned because I'm a police officer, but I am a 'C.' Can a 'C' make a good policeman?" I was thinking about Columbo and what an excellent investigator a 'C' can be, and I thought about how complete a 'C's' reports would be, and how detailed his testimony would be in court. So I asked the man, "What do you do in the police department?" He replied, "I'm on the SWAT Team." Honestly, I could not picture a 'C' battering down a door like a commando, but I asked him one  more question: "What do you do on the SWAT Team?" And he replied, "I'm a sniper." Perfect! If I were in a hostage situation, who would I want aiming at the terrorist who was holding a gun to my head? After all, a "D" tends to work like this: Ready... Fire... Aim! An "I" tends to work like this: Ready...  Aim... Talk! An "S" tends to work like this: "Ready... Ready... Ready... (in this case, the "hesitation factor" could kill you!) But a "C" tends to work carefully and accurately, like this: "Ready... Aim... Aim... Aim... I know I would want a very cautious person on that kind of assignment.

It is generally true that any personality style can learn to perform a specific job. But the issues of comfort and fit and area of contribution can be heavily influenced by traits associated with specific styles.

Much more detail on how this information relates to work and environment can be found in the "DISCovering Your Work Design" chapter of Who Do You Think You Are... Anyway?, our Get Real! Teen Profile Assessment, our Adult Profile  Assessment, the book Positive Personality Profiles, and in very specific application in your own Success Package ®  computer scored Assessment report.

3. How can employers use this information?
The use of assessment instruments promotes objectivity and can reduce human bias in screening and evaluation. Rather than giving a fuzzy "you've got to do better" pep talk or a dark threat of termination during employee reviews, a manager can sit with an employee and say, "Your responses indicate that you really enjoy interaction with people, but that  you really don't consider yourself a detail person. This may be why your reports have been late and why some of your figures didn't add up. Now that we have identified this area, let's put together an action plan that will help you meet deadlines and improve accuracy."

In assembling a work group or project team, a glance at the proposed participant's profiles will suggest balance or imbalance in desired skills,  priorities and orientation. Sharing this information among team members may help them work together more effectively - understanding each other's communication styles and work habits.

In one hospital we know of, employees wear a little colored button that represents their style, reminding others how to adapt and adjust for improved productivity and harmony. The Human Resources Department reports great excitement and acceptance by the staff and a more ready acceptance of employees as contributing team members.

An automobile dealership invested in six hours of DISC training for its entire sales force. The following Saturday, they broke the dealership's all-time daily sales record. Soon, they broke their monthly sales record, followed by their all-time weekly record. The General Sales Manager explained their success by learning to think from their customers' perspectives: "We no longer sell cars. We work to make people happy!"