Every business has a list of ideal customers and prospects that they would like to speak directly to, call upon, and ultimately secure a deal with. Sales and customer service reps may also wish to build stronger relationships with current customers but not know the best communication styles for working with them.
Understanding Communication Styles
At X5, in many of our sales and customer service workshops, we complete communication style exercises to help team members understand the different communication styles that exist, how to identify them, and what the strengths and weaknesses of each style may be. As a proud Everything DiSC Authorized Partner, their Transformational Learning Model, including the four communication styles they outline, in many of our trainings.
For example, in the Everything DiSC® Management program, we focus our training in five key areas:
- Understanding DiSC® styles
- Directing and delegating
- Creating a motivating environment
- Developing others with different styles
- Identifying strategies for working more effectively with managers.
But today, we are focusing specifically on that first step: understanding DiSC® styles.
The more you understand how your team members, customers and prospects like to communicate and be communicated with, the easier it will be to achieve a positive outcome in any sales or customer service situation.
The simple yet powerful model describes four basic styles: D, i, S, and C, and they serve as the foundation for the Everything DiSC Application Suite. Each communication style has definite characteristics. Knowledge of these characteristics allows you to flex your own individual style to anticipate others’ reactions and adapt your style to respond to the situation in the most effective way.
The 4 Communication Styles and Their Key Characteristics
Here are the four communication styles, as outlined by discprofile.com:
D = Dominance
A person primarily in this DiSC quadrant places emphasis on accomplishing results and “seeing the big picture.” They are confident, sometimes blunt, outspoken, and demanding.
i = influence
A person in this DiSC quadrant places emphasis on influencing or persuading others. They tend to be enthusiastic, optimistic, open, trusting, and energetic.
S = Steadiness
A person in this DiSC quadrant places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. They tend to have calm, deliberate dispositions and don’t like to be rushed.
C = Conscientiousness
A person in this DiSC quadrant places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise and competency. They enjoy their independence, demand the details, and often fear being wrong.
Right off the bat, one of these communication styles might seem more like you than others. But it’s important to note that each of us is a combination of these styles. Each one has its benefits, and one of them isn’t better than the others. Rather, these styles denote the best way to communicate with others depending on their assessment. For businesses, this insight is an invaluable tool for sales, customer interactions, and virtually any other operation that involves communication.
Learn more about how Communication Styles can help drive Sales and Service outcomes with Everything DiSC® Sales
Everything DiSC® Sales is a classroom training and personalized learning experience designed to help salespeople successfully create customer-centric interactions that improve results.
Using the foundational DiSC® Model, this training program teaches salespeople to stretch beyond their natural Sales style to more effectively adapt to their customers’ preferences and expectations— regardless of the customer’s unique buying style. The experience is sales-specific with in-depth information, including tips, strategies, and action plans to help salespeople become more effective.
If you would like more information and participate in a complimentary DiSCovery Meeting with X5 Management, click here to get started.
In the meantime, are you interested in discovering more about the history of Everything DiSC®? Then take a look at the timeline of this model, dating back almost 100 years.
Did you learn a lot about communication styles in this post? Here are three more to read next:
- Communication for Everyone – How to Connect with External and Internal Customers
- Four Rules of Successful Customer Engagement
- Sales Team Development: Five Critical Areas You Can’t-Miss
This post was first published in 2015 but it was updated in 2021 just for you.
