How to Persuade the Slow and Steady Client

Transcript:

Hi! Welcome to this week’s training. I’m Sherri Wilson, an introverted entrepreneur. And I train and empower other introverted entrepreneurs and business owners in the art of persuasion and influence to communicate your message confidently and create a life and business authentic to who you are.

This week we’re going to continue our study of the different client types you’ll encounter in business. Actually these are the different types of people you’re probably married to, your friends with, etc. So as we go through these make sure you apply them to your personal life too because these techniques will work with everyone.

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. ”

— Bruce Lee

So far we’ve gone through the BOTTOM LINE CLIENT and the LIFE OF THE PARTY client. Today you’re going to learn about the SLOW AND STEADY CLIENT  or the S personality on the DISC. Another nickname I like for this person is SALT OF THE EARTH” type because they are those that will help anyone, give the shirt of their pack, and serve however they can.

This type of client is:

1. Slower paced

2. People focused

3. Even-tempered

4. Accommodating

5. Patient

6. Humble

7. Tactful

When I say this type is slower paced, it’s not referring to intelligence or anything like that. This type likes to make decisions slower, prefer a slower and more relaxed interaction, and time to think making it crucial for you to slow down if you are the fast-paced BOTTOM LINE or LIFE OF THE PARTY type. And don’t pressure them! They will dig in their heels, albeit nicely, and refuse to budge.

The SLOW AND STEADY type doesn’t like change. Their philosophy is “Why fix it if it isn’t broken?” But once you persuade them on the value of the change needed to use your product or service, you’ll have a loyal customer.

Family is the most important thing to this type. In fact, they’ll break relationship or you’ll see them angry if anyone ever does anything or says anything against their family. They will keep their family’s interests in mind when considering your product or service so when you hear, “I need to discuss this with my spouse,” they’re typically not putting you off or letting you down nicely. They really need to discuss it. But sometimes it can be a nice way of saying no. You see, this type hates conflict, hurting people’s feelings, and saying “no.” Sensitivity is very important to them, which is why they’re so tactful and hesitant to come right out and decline. I like to tell this type that they can say “no” and it won’t hurt my feelings. 

The SLOW AND STEADY client type requires ACCEPTANCE along with SAFETY and CONNECTION. What this means is that you’ll get farther along with them if you share a few personal details about yourself to help them warm up to you. For them, however, they won’t typically share too much about themselves with you at first. If they see you’re genuine and want to help others, you’ll gain their trust. Also, ask about their spouse and/or kids when you see them.

You need to really watch body language and facials expressions for any signs of uncertainty or questions when conversing with them because they are reserved and, again, won’t want to hurt your feelings. If you watch for those signs, you can ask them questions like, “So you seem to have some questions or concerns. Feel free to share or ask me anything you need!” 

The KEY is to slow down, be considerate of their family needs, and chit chat a little about yourself to gain trust.

Priorities:

1. Showing sincerity

2. Emphasizing dependability

3. Building relationships

Motivated by:

1. Stable environments

2. Sincere appreciation

3. Cooperation

4. Opportunities to help

Fears:

1. Loss of stability

2. Change

3. Loss of harmony

4. Offending others

You will notice:

1. Patience

2. Team player

3. Calm approach

4. Good listener

5. Humility

Limitations:

1. Overly accommodating

2. Tendency to avoid change

3. Indecisiveness

Ok, so realize that the SLOW AND STEADY is a total opposite of the BOTTOM LINE client type meaning that if you’re the BOTTOM LINE client, you need to slow down, be personable, and patient. Also, the LIFE OF THE PARTY can be difficult for this type because this type likes STABILITY and a lot of LIFE OF THE PARTY types are not necessarily stable and fast-paced on top of that. 

“I am what is mine. Personality is the original personal property. ”

— Norman O. Brown

As a BOTTOM LINE type, my abruptness, lack of thinks like saying, “Hi. How are you?” in the text first before getting to my main question. LOL. BOTTOM LINE people are not necessary sensitive, patient, or good listeners unless they’ve trained themselves to be so. And they can be so blunt that it puts off the SLOW AND STEADY type. 

But if you’re the SLOW AND STEADY type, you need to be more straightforward in a respectful way with the BOTTOM LINE people. Trying to be tactful and diplomatic can be taken as dishonesty by the BOTTOM LINE or that you’re trying to hide things. 

I will add some more time to my schedule for this client type because a more relaxed, slower paced atmosphere is pleasant for them. And I really enjoy them and their depth of thought and character. In a way, interacting with them is like a nice slowing down for me in an otherwise hectic day. 

Guys, if you learn this stuff well and practice it, it will help you so much in understanding others and even avoiding conflict. It helps to not take things so personally when an opposite client type does something that you would NEVER DO! 

Let’s celebrate each other and who we are giving others grace. And for those that are what I call unrefined personalities that seem to like to cause problems, just throat punch them. JUST KIDDING!

If you feel this is helpful for you, please share it with others. You can share it from our blog at sherriannewilson.com or invite them into this private group. Until next week, be empowered in who you are!