I once read a great book by Florence Littauer called “Your Personality Tree”, which taught me a lot about how to approach many different types of clients. In this book I learned about the theory of Humorism and the four humors, also known as “temperamentum” or temperament, which represents a way of thinking, behaving and reacting.
Humorism theory suggests that each person is born with a basic temperament, determined by which of the four humors is most evident within them. The four types of temperament are: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic. They are associated with the following personality characteristics:
“Optimistic” – Cheerful, optimistic, the “life of the party” who is comfortable and gets along with everyone (extrovert).
“Choleric” – Type “I’m in charge”, “It’s my way or the highway”, characterized by a quick temper, hot and aggressive nature (extrovert).
“Melancholia”– A thinker, everything is well planned and thought out, no decision is made in haste. This type of person tends to have a pessimistic view of the world and may be sad or depressed (introverted).
“Felgmatic” – A “worry wart”, can be lazy or slow to make any decision, even something as simple as “will it be cream or milk in your coffee?” (introvert).
An effective sales approach using these theories would be: #1 – Assess your customer’s temperament type. Is he or she dominant? Introvert? Cautious? Optimistic? #2 – Adjust your sales presentation to accommodate your customer’s assessed personality type. Here are some tips that do just that:
When selling to an “angry” customer: Let them know they are in charge and praise them for good decisions.
When selling to a “blood” customer: You don’t need to do much except get along with them and work to close the sale quickly (assuming there isn’t another decision-maker behind the scenes, like a spouse or business partner with a different personality type).
When selling to a “melancholic” customer: Be prepared to answer a list of questions that he or she will have for you. These guys are true investigators and detail oriented. Be prepared to settle in and receive questions about your product or service that will test your expertise. You probably won’t close this sale in the first session, but that’s okay. By following up properly and being prepared for more questions after you leave, you will put yourself in the best possible position to close this sale. Just be patient!
When selling to a “phlegmatic” customer: Typically, you’re going to be dealing with a person who has a hard time making decisions, especially a perceived “big” financial decision. After assuring this person that everything will be handled professionally and with great care, be prepared with some third-party proof. Reference letters indicating how professional and caring your company is, insurance certificate, any awards you have received and/or articles written about your company. In the end you have to take charge of the sale and just close it. If you are not strong in your closing, you may allow this client to get away with all of your uncertainty and worry. Help make the decision for the customer, and then congratulate them on making such a good decision in the closing of your post.
These personality or temperament theories have a very practical application in sales and business. Sales professionals, managers, business owners, and any professional who works with people can use this basic knowledge of personality to improve their dealings with people. Understanding the underlying reasons why people behave and interact the way they do helps us as professionals work through challenging business negotiations and help our clients make better decisions.