Ch 5: Communication Styles -- A Key to Adaptive Selling Today

Supportive style

A communication style that displays the following characteristics: appears quiet and reserved, listens attentively to other people, tends to avoid the use of power, and makes decisions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner.

Directive style

A communication style that displays the following characteristics: appears to be businesslike, displays a serious attitude, and voices strong opinions.

Emotive style

A communication style that displays the following characteristics: appears to be quite active, takes the social initiative in most cases, likes to encourage informality, and expresses emotional opinions.

Reflective style

A communication style that displays the following characteristics: controls emotional expression, displays a preference for orderliness, tends to express measured opinions, and seems difficult to get to know.

Communication-style bias

A state of mind we often experience when we have contact with another person whose communication style is different from our own

Learn to adapt interpersonal versatility and build strong selling relationships with style flexing

A third dimension of human behavior -- versatility -- is important in dealing with communication styles that are different from your own. You can adapt your own style to meet the needs of others -- a process called "style flexing." Style flexing is an attempt to change or adapt your style to meet the needs of the customer

Discuss how communication style influences the relationship process in sales

Many sales are lost because salespeople fail to communicate effectively with the prospect. Communication style bias contributes to this problem. Every salesperson who is willing to develop style sensitivity and engage in appropriate style flexing can minimize one of the most common barriers success in selling

Communication style

Patterns of behavior that others observe

Platinum Rule

Provides each of us with the motivation we need to treat others the way they want to be treated

Sociability

Reflects the amount to control one exerts over emotional expressiveness. People who are high in sociability tend to express their feelings freely, while people who are low on this continuum tend to control their feelings

Dominance

Reflects the tendency to influence or exert one's will over others in a relationship. Each of us falls somewhere on this continuum

Explain the four communications styles in the communication style model

The Emotive style combines high sociability and high dominance, whereas the Directive style combines high dominance and low sociability. The Reflective style combines low dominating and low sociability, whereas the Supportive style combines low dominance and high sociability

Identify the two major dimensions of the communication style model

The communication style model is based on two continuums that assess two major aspects of human behavior: dominance and sociability. By combining them as horizontal and vertical continuums, we create quadrants that define four styles of communication. We have called these the Emotive, Directive, Reflective, and Supportive styles

Style flexing

The deliberate attempt to adjust one's communication style to accommodate the needs of the other person.

Personality

The thoughts, feelings, and actions that characterize someone

Adaptive selling

Used to describe sales training programs that encourage salespeople to adjust their communication style of the customer

Learn how to identify your preferred communication style and that of your customer

With practice you can learn to identify your preferred communication style. The starting point is to rate yourself on each scale (dominance and sociability) by placing a check mark at a point along the continuum that represents how you perceive yourself. Completion of the dominance and sociability indicator forms will help you achieve greater awareness of your communication style. This same approach can be used to identify the customer's preferred style

Versatility

describes our ability to minimize communication style bias