Uncategorized

The Adaptive Style: Grow Where You’re Planted? Really?

 

 

“Grow where you’re planted.”

It’s a lovely proverb; very uplifting—if you’re a weed. Humans, however, have a free will, and growing where we’re planted isn’t always practical, depending on our natural style. Oh, sure, if we’re the crabgrass type, we can pretty much grow anywhere. But those of us who are more like azaleas are certainly not going to bloom in the desert!

 

That’s why the natural vs. adaptive style analysis available in the AHS sales hiring pre employment test is a valuable tool for determining whether an applicant will or will not be a good salesman who will fit well with your sales team. As we’ve discussed before, administering a DISC assessment is a good way to identify the best candidates by singling out the high D and I (Drive and Influence) qualities in the potential salesmen.

 

To one degree or other, all of us have each of the components measured on the DISC assessment, and we’re all generally higher on two of the characteristics than the other two. The thing is, different sets of questions on the DISC assessment reveal that most people actually demonstrate two distinct styles. Their Natural style is their essential self; it’s what they say and do spontaneously when they’re in their natural element. Their Adaptive style is what they say and do when they stop and think about what they should say and do.

 

In an ideal world, everyone would have the same chart for both their natural and adaptive styles. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and many of us find ourselves in work situations where our natural style just doesn’t cut it. That’s when we modify our behavior so that we are actually more conscious of the way we approach other people and situations. We’re out of our comfort zone, so we have to think about how we respond, rather than just react. In sales, the more distance between the high D and high I on the adaptive and natural charts, the more likely a salesman is to be stressed out on the job.

 

For example, when high S people find themselves in a high D environment like sales, they may need to shift some of their natural behaviors to accommodate the expectations of the workplace. If their D factor is too low, they feel completely out of their comfort zone, and their efforts to adapt their style to respond appropriately to the expectations and demands of their environment will cause them a great deal of stress. Those are the azaleas in the desert. Not hiring them would actually be a kindness.

 

The objective of administering the DISC assessment to screen all applicants is to identify candidates’ natural inclinations so that there will be less need for them to make uncomfortable, stressful adaptations. Although there are some talented individuals who can assume different persona for different occasions, most of us would prefer not to go there.

 

When you have candidates who show high D and I levels on both the natural style and adaptive style levels of the DISC assessment, you can be sure that these people will be good interview candidates. One exception might be applicants who are just out of college. Since they have never been required to adapt to any workplace situations, their adaptive style score will probably be unreliable, so pay more attention to their natural style score.

 

 

Read More
Uncategorized

Optimism—Part of What Makes a Good Salesman

 

We all know that the sales profession can be very rewarding in many ways. But it’s certainly not easy. In fact, sometimes it can be pretty discouraging. That’s why good salesmen should have optimistic personalities. Optimism is essential in keeping salesmen on a positive track toward success. It’s one more thing on the list of what makes a good salesman.

It’s like that story of the two traveling shoe salesmen; maybe you’ve heard it. They were assigned a new territory in a rural village somewhere. After a day, they reported back to management. The first one said, “This is a terrible market. No one here wears shoes.” The second one said, “This is a tremendous opportunity. No one here wears shoes!”

The story is a great illustration of optimism in salesmen. The optimistic salesman is always visualizing his success and anticipating realization of his goals. Without the burden of negative and destructive thoughts, he is able to prevail over any obstacles that cross his path.

There have actually been some psychological studies on the effect that mental attitude has on success. In one study that compared insurance salesmen, the optimists outperformed the pessimists by 20% better sales during the first year of the study, and a whopping 50% in the second year.

Optimism instills a sense of equilibrium in the up and down, highs and lows world that is sales. Rather than taking a rejection as a sign of failure, the optimistic salesman opens up to the possibility—no, the probability—of success on the very next call. But we shouldn’t confuse optimism with fantasy. Optimists can still be in touch with reality, and they know that life occasionally throws a few detours on the road to happiness. Each success, each failure is a lesson, and it’s what we do with the knowledge from these lessons that will set us back on the right track.

How does optimism relate to risk-taking? Since willingness to take risks is another factor in what makes a good salesman, an optimistic point of view enables salesmen to view uncertainties as possibilities, embracing successful outcomes and acknowledging disappointing outcomes while learning from them.  After all, successes and failures are both a part of the natural order of things, and the person who understands that is going to be happier and more successful than the person who doesn’t.

If you have pessimists on your sales team, they’re going to make life difficult for everyone else with their negative attitude. When they don’t have a positive outlook, they will not be likely to engage in their work or their relationships with energy or enthusiasm.  Their negativity may even rub off on colleagues or worse, customers, and then where will your company be?  under those circumstances, it’s not likely that you’ll be recording better sales.

 

Read More