The DISC method: understanding the behavior of your prospects to better sell

What is the DISC Model?

Origins of Marston's DISC Method

The DISC method, more commonly called the 4-color method, isn't new. Known in philosophy and psychology, it was created to better understand different individual behaviors and how they adapt to their environment, by determining personality types and their associated colors.

The first to invoke this method was Empedocles, who proposed that human behavior was tied to four elements: water, earth, air, and fire. Hippocrates then built a theory that humors impact our behaviors.

But it wasn't until the 20th century that the theory was refined, thanks to Carl Gustav Jung, a psychiatrist and student of Freud, and William Moulton Marston and his work on "Emotions of Normal People." He explained that to determine a person's primary behavior, they must be placed on two axes:

• A vertical axis, corresponding to the individual's perception of the world
• A horizontal axis, corresponding to how the individual acts toward the world

Basically, each individual develops a behavior that corresponds to the foundation of our personality. It's built through genetics and our past. But we also possess a "protective" behavior that adapts based on situations (example: a new job).

William Marston and Carl Gustav Jung's DISC technique therefore allows us to introspect about ourselves and determine different client typologies to build an adapted commercial strategy according to the profile. This behavioral assessment tool is very useful in sales, recruitment, and management.

How to Use the DISC Method? The 4 Client Typologies

In the 1920s—quite a while ago—William Marston classified behaviors according to 4 typologies from our two vertical and horizontal axes:

• ‍How do we perceive the world? Some people are more hostile while others are more friendly.
• ‍How do we act toward the world? Some individuals prefer to work alone while others favor teamwork.

To facilitate use and understanding of the DISC model, 4 colors were assigned to the 4 typologies. Thus, an energetic and hurried person would be associated with red. Some people, warmer and more demonstrative, would be associated with yellow. Others, calm and attentive by nature, would be associated with green, and finally, organized and thoughtful individuals would be associated with blue.

As you've understood, each individual has a dominant profile, which itself has an associated color. However, the DISC method isn't there to evaluate your intelligence or abilities.

It's a reading grid to better understand human behaviors, determine your prospects' profiles, and adapt your discourse according to your counterpart. Because yes, each client typology requires adaptation.

You need to learn to deal with an aggressive client just as you would with a frugal client who has trouble opening their wallet.

D for Dominant, Associated with Red

The Dominant is a go-getter—a dynamic, independent, and direct person. They don't beat around the bush and are difficult to please. The positive when working with a dominant profile is that they're focused on the goal to achieve.

They need challenges but are primarily an impatient client type who wants to see concrete results.

I for Influential, Associated with Yellow

The Influential (with yellow) is social and friendly by nature. They maintain excellent relationships, are very demonstrative and enthusiastic. They're an understanding client but critically lack organization and can quickly scatter.

You need to stimulate them so they can stay focused on the objective. Too formal a framework will make them lose their enthusiasm.

S for Steady, Associated with Green

The Steady is a composed, calm, and methodical person. They're a patient client who shouldn't be rushed in their rhythm. You need to be available and particularly attentive to their needs. They're loyal, but also a wary client—you'll need to earn their trust.

C for Conscientious, Associated with Blue

The Conscientious is an individual who likes order and following rules. They're very organized and structured, both in their affairs and their words. They remain rather reserved—more of an observer than a talker.

It's necessary to understand their operating mode to understand them and their expectations.

Getting to Know Yourself Better Through Personality-Linked Colors

To sell better, it's necessary to know yourself and understand which typologies you correspond to. We all have a behavior that dominates all others and defines how we react.

Knowing and learning to channel it is a major asset! Because once you know yourself, it's easier to understand the people facing you and adapt to their primary behavior.

You don't need to be a genius to realize that the DISC method has very interesting commercial potential. Thanks to it, you can adapt your communication and increase your chances of closing sales! So don't hesitate to take the test!

The more you practice this method, the more comfortable you'll be defining your prospects' typologies and adjusting accordingly.

Imagine you have a Dominant profile (red)—you're consequently rather quick and blunt. Facing you is a prospect with a Steady profile (green), calm and attentive by nature. Being too direct with them risks scaring them off.

You'll therefore adapt to them and try to calm your dynamism by being more composed and attentive to the person. You need good time management, slow down your speech pace, and choose a more temperate tone. You can then more easily present your arguments, carefully selected according to your prospect.

Why Use the DISC Method?

Using the DISC Method for Your Communication

In sales or customer service, the DISC technique gives you the ability to optimize your client relationship. You'll communicate better by:

• Understanding behaviors and adapting to them
• Selecting the right arguments that will hit the mark
• Using the appropriate tone and rhythm

As you've understood, with the DISC method you can recognize your prospect's primary profile and adapt your communication and behavior. You'll also know which clients you'll get along with best. You can then get better time management in your sales process!

Simple details like your gestures and speech pace can make the difference! For example, an Influential profile will have trouble getting along with a Conscientious profile, organized and rigorous by nature, if they don't adapt. To help you, you can notably rely on the 4x20 method.

The goal is to synchronize for better communication.

If I correspond to a Conscientious profile and don't change my way of acting, I won't be able to get along with an Influential profile. I need to ease up a bit, show myself more open and more inclined to emotional demonstrations.

Thus, knowing yourself and knowing your clients' DISC profiles will allow you to synchronize more easily with them. This will be very useful at each phase of the sales process: to generate leads, make initial contact, conduct meetings, up to closing the sale.

Using the DISC Method for Your Sales Pitch

Throughout your sales process, questions fly. Whether open, closed, alternative, or leading, it's imperative to choose them well!

For example, by asking a leading question to a Steady profile, they might claim to be convinced without actually being so. Closed questions should be favored with the Influential profile, who tends to stray from the subject without a strict framework.

That's the whole art of crafting a good sales pitch. And for that, you need to adapt and personalize your discourse. To achieve this, you can combine the DISC method with the SONCAS(E) method, a psychological sales approach based on active listening.

Thanks to these 7 psychologies (Security, Pride, Novelty, Comfort, Money, Sympathy, Ecology), this technique determines a person's psychological profile to activate the right levers and increase chances of successful sales. Just like the DISC method! This will help you build a rock-solid sales pitch.

Once you've identified your client's typology, you can adapt your discourse according to the person you're facing by asking the right questions and practicing effective active listening!

Using the DISC Method to Manage Your Teams

A team is composed of individuals sharing the same objectives. But as you know, each individual has their perception of the world, has their own needs, and has their own way of communicating. Each will have a different way of analyzing and acting when facing a specific situation or objective.

And this generally leads to disagreements and misunderstandings. But thanks to the DISC method, you can create team cohesion and collective harmony. If your team has an Influential profile, you can combine them with a blue profile, which will help refocus the first and loosen up the second.

The DISC model is also used during recruitment. It helps identify whether a candidate's profile can complement your team or integrate easily. You can then have a team composed of each color!

Finally, as a manager, the DISC method can also prove profitable. By knowing each team member's profile, you'll be better able to resolve conflicts. We know all too well that poor internal communication is often the primary reason for team conflicts.

Also, for an employer, it's not always obvious how to properly motivate employees. With DISC, you'll know exactly how to trigger your team's enthusiasm through this behavioral analysis. For example, a Dominant profile is much more stimulated by competition than an Influential profile, who would prefer recognition-based rewards.

Leveraging the DISC Test in Your Sales Process

Phase 1: First Contact

Once your lead is identified, you'll need to contact them. And this first contact in the different sales process phases is super important! It's your first exchange point. You can contact them through prospecting methods adapted to their client typology.

This first contact will allow you to build your prospect's profile, know more precisely who you're dealing with, and start working on phase two: needs analysis.

Phase 2: Know Your Prospect

Phase 2 helps you analyze your prospect's needs. It's crucial for preparing a future pitch adapted to your client's profile (Dominant, Influential, Steady, or Conscientious). But for phase 2 too, the DISC method will be very useful.

For example, if you know your prospect has an Influential profile, you'll need to drive the conversation to avoid diverging. Conversely, a Dominant profile will know how to tell you what they want and how they want it, just as a Steady profile will need you to establish a trust environment to open up.

Phase 3: Convince Your Prospect

The convincing part allows you to implement your sales pitch, which you'll have built through phase 2. This is where you'll combine the DISC and SONCAS methods. By mixing the different detected profiles, you can then give the right arguments to convince your prospect.

Since you won't argue the same way with a Dominant profile and a Conscientious profile:

• With a Dominant profile, you must get to the point and show results
• You must respect a Steady profile's calm rhythm
• The Conscientious profile needs organization and rigor
• The Influential profile requires a framework conducive to exchanges and stimulation

Phase 4: Close the Sale

Finally, during closing, the method remains essentially the same, regardless of whether your client is Dominant, Influential, Steady, or Conscientious. Nevertheless, if you're facing a green or conscientious profile, don't hesitate to emphasize the final important details so they feel confident throughout the process.

One last piece of advice? As a salesperson, whether you're Dominant, Influential, Steady, or Conscientious doesn't matter. It's not because your profile is "Influential" that you'll more easily close a sale through your likability than a "Conscientious" profile who'll have more facility structuring their arguments.

With the DISC method, you're aware of your strengths and weaknesses. You're then better able to work on them.