What You Need to Know to Sell to the 4 Different Personality Types

While sitting in front of the TV on family night, and ad for a sports drink comes on, your brother gets up to leave the room, your parents start a conversation, but you sit there, enthralled in the message of teamwork and perseverance. It’s as if the makers of this commercial knew your basketball team was your second family and that you are one game away from the playoffs. How did they know how to reach you? Well, they know that people in the same family, even in the same room do not view advertising the same way.

The 4 different personality types you are likely to come across in life are also the 4 types that your small business will come in contact with in advertising and marketing. Let’s break them down and talk about how to reach them.

1) Assertive (HEADLINE)

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The Traits:

  • Typically Presidents or C-Suite Executives.
  • Won’t waste time on details because they’ve got a vision Quickly skims and absorbs information.
  • Appreciate efficiency, so cut to the chase and avoid repetition.
  • Prefers bullet points and bold pullout quotes.

The Technique:

  • Be prepared and professional. Give them data.
  • Be efficient and do not waste their time.
  • Use their competitive nature to reach them on an emotional level.

2) Amiable (LOGOS)

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The Traits:

  • Friendly, calm, and patient.
  • Prefers collaboration and wants buy-in from their team.
  • Values building rapport.
  • Needs to feel safe in their relationship with you.
  • Likes the excitement of new challenges and enthusiastic about creative solutions.

The Technique:

  • Give them a vision to get behind, and help set a goal they can achieve.
  • Build trust and understand it will take a little time. They may need few good experiences with you company before giving you a shot.
  • Data will not have an overwhelming impact on this personality type, consider a softer approach with more visualization.

3) Expressive (ILLUSTRATIONS)

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The Traits:

  • Full of personality, colorful, and charismatic.
  • Wants to bond with you and feel connected on a personal level.
  • Needs information that’s interesting and visually stimulating.
  • Appreciates awards.
  • Values mutual respect, loyalty, and friendship.

The Technique:

  • A proven track record goes a long way.
  • If you have a relationship, point to it. Use the trust you’ve already established.
  • Data is important but don’t make it the focus of your interaction. They are interested in the bigger picture.

4) Analytic (BODY COPY)

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The Traits:

  • No-nonsense people who love data, facts, and figures.
  • Less expressive than other personality types.
  • Takes a lot of time before making a decision.
  • Values procedure.
  • Can occasionally be plagued by analysis paralysis.

The Technique:

  • Don’t expect a snap decision. After seeing your advertising or marketing approach, they will need time to research.
  • Avoid claims you can’t back up with data. Emotional please won’t be entirely lost, but you need to include exactly what your business can bring to their lives.

When taking this marketing approach, it’s important to know that most people are a mix of the 4 personality types. No one person will fit neatly, they might be a mix of several. However, being familiar with these core personalities will let you devise a marketing strategy to deal with a wide range of possibilities.

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