DRIVER

The Driver personality style is all about power and ego. External validation by applause,
commission checks, status or atta-boys drives them to excel.

They know what they know and they know it. If you are trying to manage them and you
don’t know as much, you’ll be in the weaker position to reprimand or correct.

The Driver is a ​player​; they are important, informed and have the ego to match. Drivers
have the ability to question prevailing wisdom from vendors, sales trainers and
customers. That is one of their strengths.

They are a sheer force of nature. The Drivers go right over the “but”s, before the
customer even has the opportunity to voice them. The Driver “cuts to the chase” and
speaks in shorter sentences. They tend to get agreement before going further.

In some ways they are the classic salesperson focused on doing the job of selling your
merchandise or service. They particularly identify with the premium or luxury brands or
services because they aren't afraid of the price tags. They know that sales is just a
game and they find their way to win it. That fearlessness is in their blood. They set their
sights on selling and they do it.

That’s why they are so valued at the top end of retail in luxury boutiques and in selling
products and services that cost thousands and millions of dollars.

The Good News

The Driver's desire to win and their knowledge of the game they are playing allows
them, if they are good, to morph and sell to the other three personalities by essentially
mirroring them. If they are dealing with an Analytical personality, the Driver can come up
with all the reasons and facts a product can do what the customer needs. If they are
dealing with an Expressive personality style they can "go with the flow" as they consider
multiple options to find their own unique style. If they are dealing with an Amiable
personality afraid of making a bad decision, the Driver can get in their shoes and help
them reduce all risk before they buy.

​ an​ do all of this.

Notice I said they c
Unfortunately, many Drivers don’t know how strong their personalities can be, so they
decide in a snap which customers are “players” and which aren’t. They dismiss the
others or turn them over to a lesser salesperson.
That’s a big miss because a Driver, when they are exposed to the other three
personality styles, can become like a chameleon and alter their behavior to make the
sale better than anyone. Why?

They are driven to make the sale...

You need Drivers who have learned how to get in touch with their ​softer​ side. A Driver
who comes on as strong as they naturally are, often turns off the other three personality
styles. But if they learn to adapt, they are quite powerful and an asset to your business.

If you are a Driver, you have to learn how to let Expressives speak. When you talk over
an Expressive (like you tend to do with your rapid-fire, quick thinking,) the Expressive
will get angry. When you hold your tongue, the Expressive can feel heard so the two of
you can converse.

A Driver who is naturally impatient when dealing with an Analytical’s need to process
everything slowly, needs to show patience. The Analytical’s need for facts are not
deemed important by the Driver. This can cause problems because the Analytical is
keenly aware of details and will demand focus and time. If Drivers can compare
knowledge on equal terms in a similar style, they can sell an Analytical.

An ​Amiable​ just wants to be liked so developing rapport is the most important thing a
Driver needs to accomplish. Drivers can take advantage of that because Amiables
rarely choose anything on their own. That’s why they inherently fear the big, ego-filled
Drivers.

Amiables come to to you with an open heart. Because they are not seen as a “player”
quickly, they are the ones most often dismissed by a Driver. Yet most Amiables are not
comfortable making their decision, they ​need​ the Driver. If treated right they could still
be the Driver’s most profitable customer because they are coming to the Driver to be
shown what they need. And they are the peacemakers so they don't fight or challenge
the Driver.

Amiables are happy to listen. Drivers are happy to talk. The danger is there is no back
and forth dialogue. The Driver has to provide positive affirmation for the baby steps the
Amiable takes during the sales process. The Amiable is out to make a friend, the Driver
is out to make a sale. A blustery Driver salesperson can turn off an Amiable because of
their power and force-of-nature style. Amiables need energy and direction but it has to
be more like a warm summer breeze than a gale.

In Sum
Here’s the point bluntly​...

Drivers, only selling one way – their way - will only appeal to the roughly 6% of the world
exhibiting their personality style. That's a lot of missed opportunities. I know, I'm a
Driver. I wish someone had told me these things forty years ago!

What do ​untrained​ Drivers do when they don’t connect with the ​Expressive​, ​Analytical​ or
​ They still have to get the sale any way they can...which means ​they’ll offer
Amiable?
a discount​.

When with a little bit of retail sales training, they could have had full profit sales.

Help your Driver personality to become a chameleon and you’ll enjoy higher sales –
even if they get a larger head.

Only an Expressive personality could wear a dress made entirely out of meat to present
at an awards show.

Only an Expressive personality could become a fitness guru wearing satin shorts and a
tank top for nearly 30 years.

Of course, I'm talking about ​Lady Gaga and Richard Simmons; both Expressive
personalities.​ ​In an earlier post I shared that ​the Amiable​ is the exact opposite of
the Driver​ and today you'll find that the Expressive is the exact opposite of ​the
Analytical​.

Expressive
The world is a stage to the Expressive personality style partly because we reward them
for their uniqueness, their vision and their thoughts, which they can express to others
easily.

The Expressive personality is all about new, fun, and different. These are the people
who truly march to their own drummers. They can have flashes of brilliance, pump up
an audience, or create the next must-have product. They'd be the yellow Labrador
retriever running around the dog park with the Frisbee in their mouth encouraging
someone to play with them.

Just because they are so gosh darn fun and exciting, these are the personalities who
can “sell ice to the Eskimos.”
Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious. In some ways they live in their own
rose-colored world of possibilities.

Expressives are great at selling your entire store; they open the funnel up to maximize
possibilities.

Expressive personalities are the spark plugs for your crew. When you open a new store,
these are frequently the personalities who come to apply. That's because they love new
things. Once it becomes humdrum or routine, they are looking elsewhere. Life is short.

If it is a great day at the beach, they’ll be the first to call in sick. Their charm can’t make
up for such unreliability, so many employers avoid them.

Which is a mistake.

Expressive personalities see all the possibilities almost like they can see into the future.
They’re the ones who can put together a great outfit, or show you what you can do with
the software, or give all the great ideas for what to do in the garden. Expressives are the
ones who can sell the sizzle, not the steak. (If you want to sell the steak, talk to an
Analytical.)

Expressives enjoy playing with the products, and they have no fear of ​selling​ them.

They make such great salespeople because there is no fear of rejection from others
plus Expressives have a natural ability to connect on an emotional, personal level with
anyone. They can be a great chameleon and make anyone feel comfortable around
them.

Much like the Driver personality, I said they ​can​ do this.

But ​untrained​ Expressive retail salespeople can be too much for a lot of people. Their
natural vibrancy and ​peacockiness​ can also be tiring to manage.

For an Expressive personality, more choice is better. But that's the opposite of the way
90% of the people in the world see things; most people want their choices brought down
to one or two.

An ​untrained​ Expressive often won’t stop suggesting competing items - even at the
close of the sale; this tendency confuses the customer and ultimately loses the sale.
When an ​untrained​ Expressive doesn’t continuously narrow the funnel down to one or
two possibilities, the customer can become lost in the sea of choices.
Expressives also are subject to what I call OMG moments. The ones where they speak
before thinking. Like this one I share from my book, ​The Retail Doctor's Guide to
Growing Your Business​…

A woman walked into our shop and asked, “How much is this vest?” The Expressive
employee quickly replied, “More than you can afford.” A bit shocked, she replied, “How
do you know how much I can afford?” And like the smooth talking, shape-shifting people
Expressives can be, he answered, “I saw all those shopping bags in your hands and
thought you might have been out of money.”

The kicker to the story is that he went on to sell her that several hundred dollar vest and
more.

Expressives are the ones who tell you all the benefits of a product. The trouble is they
can sell based on sheer emotion, so they may overstate some of the facts of what it
really can do.

Much like the Driver personality, the Expressive sees sales as just a game knowing the
more they give, the more likely they'll make sales.

Being over-confident (like Drivers) they can be rule-breaking cowboys who do things
their own way through discounting, then asking permission after the fact. Because they
are such powerful personalities, many managers let them do that because “high volume
covers a wealth of sins.”

Some apparel stores encourage the Expressive personalities to interject in other

employee/customer conversations. This can be both good and bad. The good being
when they say just the right thing to make the sale and the bad one of those OMG
moments.

Expressives have little fear of failure - not only with what they say but also with what
they wear, so you want to make sure that your dress code allows them to be unique, not
faceless.

When an Expressive gets upset, that frequently causes high drama. They feed off of
everyone's emotions and can stir the pot, so make sure they know when they've gone
too far.

If you are an Expressive, here are a few things you can do to make more sales more
often:

● Be aware of your voice so that you're not talking too loudly.

 ● Know when to perform and when not to.
● Your natural inclination is to talk, so find ways to limit yourself.
● You can't sell on emotion only; back up statements with facts.

After a speech in Minneapolis last year a man approached me and said, “I'm opening a
new restaurant concept and thanks to you, I finally understand why I'm not getting the
employees I want. For the first time in 35 years I understand that my Analytical HR
director is not hiring the very people I want, which are Expressives. They don’t fit their
way of seeing things.”

Expressive
While I was looking for a lawn spreader, I asked the salesclerk, “Why should I buy this
one?”

He quickly answered, “Because it makes sense...” At that moment he confirmed my

suspicions that he was an Analytical personality style.

I've previously shared my thoughts about the ​Amiable personality style,​ the
Expressive personality style,​ ​and t​ he Driver.​ Today, with their sensibile,
fact-based approach, it's the Analytical.

It would be easy to dismiss the Analytical personality style as a bookworm, a techie, a

person with too much information because then we would be thinking their depth of
knowledge is somehow not relevant.

But their focus on detail is what makes their sales ability an asset. No other personality
style will delve into as much product knowledge and history as the Analytical.
However, the Analytical is not

necessarily the best fit for most

stores.

Sure, an antique dealer who is trying to get thousands of dollars for a vintage pair of
eyeglasses really needs to be able to share all the reasons to justify the price. Or a
luxury jeweler, or stained-glass craftsman or even a plastic surgeon.

Analyticals, like the Amiables, are introverted; they share information as a defense
mechanism. Consequently the more nervous they are or under pressure, the more they
will try to calm themselves by reciting facts about a product.

The challenge is only a third of the world really appreciates all that information. 63% or
so of the population buys because of ​emotion​, not ​details​.

You can’t feel a fact – most buy on emotion.

And for that reason an untrained Analytical can be a liability for your sales floor.

With an ingrained sense of striving for perfection – which is good, they inherently feel
they need to share all that information to everyone. That can make them seem stern
and judging instead of friendly and helpful.

Analyticals, as their name implies, size up the situation, open the file in their minds that
holds all the information and logically shares everything they know with the customer.

But there's only so far you can go with logic..

And the more logic and facts you use, the less ​emotion​ enters the conversation.

And you can't fact yourself into a sale.

Analyticals see things as they are, but the Expressives and Amiables in particular want
to see things ​as they want them to be.​ That means it isn’t the watch, its what the watch
will do for them. That means engaging a customer’s imagination.

Unfortunately, Analyticals have a linear thought process that leads down to a logical
conclusion; they expect their customer will follow them down their road. But customers
rarely approach buying with just logic.

There are multiple reasons people buy things: to make them look better, feel better, or
make someone else do the same. Those are often emotional, not necessarily ​logical​,
reasons.

Here’s where logic hurts you. Say an Analytical works in a fine jewelry store. A guy
walks in and says he’s looking for an engagement ring for no more than $2000. The
Analytical salesperson answers, “Sure, we have a lot right over here.” They give all the
features of the ring and close the $2000 ring sale. They turn to their manager and say, “I
am a great salesperson.”

The danger of the Analytical is that they leave money on the table because the
customer only said they needed a $2000 ring. For that reason, the Analytical doesn't
feel the need to show an $8000 ring.

When the manager challenges their wisdom in not showing anything higher priced, the
Analytical says, “They never said they wanted a more expensive ring. I could have
missed the sale if I didn't show them what they said they wanted. I'd be seen as pushy.”
In an Analytical’s mind, the customer got just what they asked for. It's logical.

If you're an Analytical personality, here are some tips to help you:

● Use shorter specific sentences.

● Couple the benefit of the feature or fact you are pointing out to the ​individual
customer in front of you.
● Modulate your voice with high and low variations.
● Learn to tell stories that are funny so you can crack the inherent coldness your
facts may present.
● Challenge customers’ wrong information by asking questions rather than
thinking/saying “you’re wrong.” They just need better information.
● Adapt a selling style that is different each time for each unique person.
● Show a variety of higher priced items that a customer might be intererested in.
Analyticals are frequently found as managers or as department directors because they
know their stuff. For that reason, they can be assigned the role of “mentor” or “coach” to
their employees. That can be dangerous too as they may unknowingly kill the spirit of
the Driver and Expressive because those personalities won’t conform to a logical,
cookie-cutter, fact-based sales approach.

The good news is that once an Analytical is exposed to a better way to sell, they can
execute very well because they love to learn.

Amiable

We’re finding more and more untrained Amiables on the retail sales floor who end up
lurking behind the counters (​or the castle​ as I like to call it) passively waiting for
customers to approach them and say, “I'll take it!” It's not their fault...

To grow retail sales these days, customers need to be cajoled, coached, and cared for
in more assertive ways.

Because they're so sensitive to people's feelings, Amiables don't like to challenge

assumptions. Or push to get the sale. Or step outside their comfort zone.

That's why, if they are left untrained, they could be a liability on your sales floor.

Sure they can be seen as popular because “everyone likes them so much.” But there's
a big difference between being liked for ​niceness​ and liked for ​sales.​

The good thing is that since Amiable personalities live vicariously through others, they
can imagine what it would be like for someone to receive a gift and smile warmly. And
once they can relax and not fear being rejected, they can be some of the most
authentic, genuine people you’ll meet.

Amiables are by nature the caregivers of society - teachers, nurses, community service
volunteers - they need to help people. They ask, “Can I help you?” in earnest (even
though it's one of the worst greetings to use.) Friendly and loyal, the Amiable type is the
epitome of the classic TV show ​Cheers​.

The challenge in the buying process for the Amiable personality is the drive to make the
sale.

It's just not there in the same way as some of the other personalities.
Don’t get me wrong, because Amiables are generous with their time, they can help
another Amiable with a purchase. If something goes wrong, they will work hard to mend
the relationship – it's who they are. And that's a good thing.

Amiables form easy personal relationships and rapport with each other based on
understanding as if they were family. The challenge is the other half of the world, (the
other three personalities,) probably don't want to be treated like ​family.​ The Driver wants
to be treated like a ​player,​ the Analytical wants to be treated like an ​expert,​ and the
Expressive wants to be treated like a ​celebrity.​ None of those come naturally to the
Amiable personality.

François de la Rochefoucauld might have been talking specifically about the Amiable
personality style when he said 400 years ago, “We promise according to our hopes and
perform according to our fears.”

Where the Driver can make assertions about a product or service and challenge the
customer to rethink, question, or look at new options, Amiables don't tend to do that
because they fear rejection. Because they are hardwired to defuse tension, they have
the potential to not take a stand on what a customer should do.

Amiables have a hard time selling if they don’t have full faith in the product. If they are
selling something they really believe in, their belief system will make them see it as
helping​ the customer rather than selling them something. And they'll make the sale.

Some Amiables might feel people shouldn’t be buying premium goods others can’t
afford or that people should be helping others in this time of economic crisis, so they
aren’t assertive in making a sale. (See my post on s​ urvivor guilt​.)

Because they're afraid of looking bad or offending someone, they might find it hard to
reach within themselves and develop their other three personality styles, which in this
demanding retail environment is what's necessary.

An amiable person can make a good assistant and take direction well. Except when you
tell them, “Go help them." That’s because Amiables, much like the Analyticals, are in
​ hen it comes to complete strangers. So if you hire them into a
essence ​introverts w
commission setting, you have as much put them in a pressure cooker.

Which is why training is so very important to help get them over that natural tendency of
avoiding risk.(Checkout my online retail sales training, ​SalesRX.com)​

Managers contact me and say, “I have a bunch of senior salespeople; how can I get
them to change?” The challenge is, if they are an Amiable personality, change is
scariest to them. They feel they've been doing well enough - why do they ​have​ to
change?

Add the possibility you might hire some younger salesperson if they don’t perform and
their stress level has just gone through the roof. Which is why other Amiable assistants
and even managers might turn a blind eye to the problem – when it’s costing them
sales. Especially if you put them on the floor with Drivers and Expressive personality
types who have no fear of making a sale; the Amiable could be seen by them as pulling
sales down.

See also, A
​ miable, Driver, Expressive, Analytical and Other Personality
Myths Miss the Point

In Sum

What I'm saying in my own Driver blunt way is…

Amiables don't naturally sell; they like to help others like themselves and be friends
without asking anything - like buying - in return.

Rewards and contests aren't going to make them into superstars because they don't
value those type of rewards.

If you are an Amiable, here are a few things to expand your abilities and help make you
a top salesperson:

● Be aware of the time you are talking – not listening.

● Make sure you aren’t over-sharing personal information or
asking personal questions not relevant to the sale.
● Force yourself to not fold your tent even if it feels like the
customer didn’t respect you. Stay with it.
● Buddy up with an Expressive or Driver personality and ask them
how to improve.
Amiables are social creatures who work well in groups but not so well alone, which is
when they become more guarded.

Because they are so cautious, Amiables rarely let people know they’ve been hurt. While
a Driver won't enjoy criticism, they are not easily offended. The Amiable might be.
That's because again, their goal is to be well-liked. They can frustrate management
because they are so passive.

For the Amiable personality style working in retail, it has to go much farther than just
being liked, you have to ​make the sale​ to all four personality styles. Once you decide to
push your boundaries and sell, get some retail sales training and then you too can end
up being the top salesperson.