Welcome to the first in a five-part blog series on behavioral types and how, with intentional practice, you can utilize them to grow your business. If you are passionate about helping your clients lead happier, healthier lives, you must understand how to best serve them by communicating with them based on their behavioral style.

The good news is, as women, we already have an advantage here.

We Have Great Interpersonal Skills

Practically every job in America has this listed as a pre-requisite for jobs.

But what does it really mean?

Some people have this mistaken notion that good interpersonal skills means you’re extroverted, enjoy talking, and are comfortable talking to others.

Nope!

Having good interpersonal skills means you are able to effectively determine the type of behavioral style you have, your clients have, and adapt easily to their style of communicating. This skill set is imperative for building relationships and trust. This precedes getting the opportunity to do business with them.

And women have great interpersonal skills, it’s one of the biggest advantages we have and hands down, one of our best qualities.

Having good interpersonal skills is also part of what makes us good communicators. You could say it the other way too- being good communicators is part of why we have such good interpersonal skills.

Why is that?

We are Born Great Communicators

There is quite a bit of scientific research that shows women are better communicators than men. There’s even scientific data that shows baby girls hear sound more clearly and sooner than baby boys. Thus, we usually start communicating at an earlier age.

Research has shown that girls hear better at the right range for voices. So they start responding with their voices sooner. This leads to talking, questions, and eventually understanding.

Women already have an edge when it comes to talking. It’s a natural ability!

Communicating with Personality

Thanks to my years working in Corporate America I have taken 100’s of hours of training seminars. These helped me become a better saleswoman. The best trainings I’ve received, and appreciated, are the personality assessment trainings. I enjoyed these the most for two reasons; first, I learned a lot about myself, and second, it helped me better understand how to communicate with my clients, listen, read body language, and be adjustable in conversation.

These trainings helped immensely because in business it is never about you. It is always about your client.

That’s why women are so good at it! We always put the needs of others and our clients first. We like to make others feel comfortable. Talk to any woman and ask her what she did all day and I guarantee the day revolved around serving others. We thrive in making others feel happy, comfortable, and putting their needs before our own.

This ability comes naturally to women. It is in our DNA. Men have to work harder to get good at this.

The Four Personality Types

One of the most commonly used personality assessment systems is D.I.S.C., which was developed by the famous psychologist William H. Marston. There are four distinctive behavioral types in his model;

• Dominance- people who are direct, decisive, and seek results
• Influence- people who are optimistic, fun, and talkative
• Steadiness- people who are calm, supportive, and patient
• Compliance- people who are precise, accurate, and detail oriented

Marston also went on to claim that everybody displays all four behavioral types in varying degrees of intensity. There’s plenty of websites you can visit to figure out which ones you display more than others.

To be successful in understanding our clients we must know our personality and theirs!

It’s also important to know that one personality is not better than another in business. They all bring significant value in their own ways. When you get really good at this skill you’ll become a well-rounded person. This is key to business success.

Use Your Natural Ability!

By knowing your personality type and which ones your clients possess, you’ll be on your way to success in sales. So don’t shy away from your own personality. You have the skills already to be a great communicator. You must learn how to use your strengths when selling.

It’s your natural ability!

And this natural ability is not celebrated as much as it should be in Corporate America. I personally believe that if more companies celebrated our natural abilities as women, the business world would be a better place. And not just for women, but for everyone!

Let’s start the change now!

Let’s play to our strengths and our natural abilities. Because, not only will it benefit your clients, it will also benefit you.

Before your next client meeting, find out from your connections, or your client’s connections, what their personality is. Plan your conversation accordingly. It does take work, but when it’s done intentionally it can make building relationships and trust with clients easier.

In my next post I’ll begin talking about the four personality types, starting with Dominance. I’ll lay out how to spot them, how to work with them, and most importantly, how to communicate with them.

Do you need help in building your interpersonal skills so your business can grow?

Let’s connect! Send me a message at www.thebloomrevolution.com to set up a free consultation.

My name is Valerie Garrison, Founder of The Bloom Revolution. I help women get comfortable with selling and being in leadership through one on one coaching and training, so that they can bloom into their full potential.