It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (already)
Is it just us, or does Christmas seem to appear in the major stores earlier and earlier? It seems we've just finished celebrating Fathers' day when the Christmas decorations start appearing. This is quite a good thing for retailers and the hospitality industry. People start thinking about shopping for Christmas presents, planning parties, entertaining and fixing up their houses - all of which are good for these industries bottom lines.
For other businesses however, it can be quite a negative. Customers can become unwilling to commit to major decisions, preferring to put them off to the new year, when they return from holidays and Christmas expenses are sorted.
Christmas, New Year and the end of financial year are all critical points in the consumer psyche - they're times that people are making financial decisions about what to spend money on, what they can do without and what can wait.
Make sure your marketing plan factors these times in. If the time to acquire each sale is slowing down, or consider giving your market an incentive to commit now.
Who do you deal with day to day?
Ever wondered why you find certain colleagues and customers easy to deal with, while others seem to be not only on another page, but even in a completely different book to you? Perhaps it's time to take a look at your behavioural profile.
One tried and tested method is using DISC profiling. Created by William Mouton-Marston and based on the theories of Carl Jung, the DISC model looks at a person's natural behavioural style and the way they deal with the world around them.
The DISC model works by dividing people into four different categories. Let's take a look at the four personality types.
D People
D stands for dominance. People with a predominant D profile are likely to show the following characteristics:
- Hard and fast decision makers
- Like to be in charge
- Results focused
- Often perceived as assertive or aggressive
- Appear to lack patience
- Risk takers
- Bold
Think Gordon Gekko from Wall Street.
D profile people are often found in management, which satisfies their desire for control. When stressed they can become rude, aggressive and a bully.
They're also not well known for worrying about other people's point of view.
How to deal with a D
- Be prepared
- Be assertive
- Be concise
- Don't be offended
I people
I stands for Influencer. These entrepreneurial people love to share their thoughts, energy and enthusiasm with everyone around them. They enjoy being the centre of attention. I profile people are likely to show the following characteristics:
- talkative
- motivated and persuasive
- animated and energetic
- Upbeat and optimistic
- Receptive, open and agreeable
- Are not great listeners - they're just waiting for you to be quiet so they can start sharing their views with you.
Think Richard Branson.
I profile people are often found in the public domain as speakers, trainers and sales people or entrepreneurs. When they get stressed, I profiles complain, can lose focus and be dramatic.
How to deal with an I
- Show interest
- Don't ask for their feedback if you're not prepared to acknowledge it
- Put details in writing and set goals
- Be constructive in your criticism.
S people
S represents steadiness or submissive. S profile people are team players. They are the people who look out for those around them.
S people show the following characteristics:
- Calm and stable
- Supportive
- Like to work with a structure and procedures where the rules are known
- Like to work through issues, plan and then implement
- Don't like change or being put on the spot.
When S profile people get stressed, they tend to internalise their problems, can be emotional, indecisive and lose confidence.
How to deal with an S profile
- Make sure they have time to digest information and make decisions
- Don't be confronting
- Be supportive and build trust
- Plan for change
C People
C people are the specialists of the behavioural world. They're happy to be locked away and focus on one thing until they reach a conclusion. C people show the following characteristics:
- Logical and questioning
- Sceptical and persistent
- Has high standards for self, and expects other to also have high standards
- Likes things to be right (regardless of how much time that takes)
When C People get stressed, they stop communicating, isolate themselves and get bogged down.
How to deal with a C profile
- Set time limits
- Be logical in your approach
- Show competence
- Use a more formal approach
So, what does this mean for you in business? Well, with customers, you can begin to understand how to make them feel more comfortable with the way they work with your company, products and people. This can be the difference between a great working relationship and one that benefits no one.
For employees, it can help you understand how to get the best out of them. Jack Welsh, former CEO of GE revealed that he spent 50% of his time on people issues. It takes a lot of energy to deal with people with different characteristics. Learning which of your staff are better suited to some situations and roles than others can make everyone's working life a little easier.
Remember, there are no right and wrong characteristics. Most people are capable of adopting other characteristics as needed, but most of us will revert to what feels natural. Everyone has jobs that they try to avoid, or that they need to force themselves to do. Chances are these jobs are inconsistent with behavioural characteristics. We can do them, but it takes far more energy. Energy that could perhaps be better spent on other tasks.
Quote of the month
“A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.” Mohandas Gandhi
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