Key Takeaways:
📌 Have you ever heard the similar-to-me effect?
It is a cognitive bias that explains our tendency to prefer individuals who look and think like us. This bias is incredibly useful in sales as customers feel more comfortable and connected while interacting with the reps who share similarities with them.
When sales reps mirror the communication style, behavior, and values of their prospects, they develop a sense of familiarity with them, leading to meaningful and positive conversations.
In this article, we delve into the common prospect profiles and how to use DISC in sales to enhance your revenue and contribute to organizational growth.
Mastering DISC personality profiling in sales conversations helps you identify buyer behavior, adapt your pitch, and close more deals. Learn how to quickly assess a prospect’s DISC type and tailor your approach for maximum sales success.
📌 Want to get a quick-reference DISC Sales Cheat Sheet? [Download it here!]
Every great sales rep knows that not all buyers think the same way. Some are direct and want the bottom line, while others need trust and relationship-building before making a decision.
That’s where the DISC personality model comes in. By understanding whether a prospect is Dominant (D), Influential (I), Steady (S), or Conscientious (C), you can:
✅ Recognize buyer personality types in seconds
✅ Adjust your tone, pitch, and sales strategy accordingly
✅ Increase your closing rate by communicating in their preferred style
In this guide, we’ll break down how to apply DISC personality in sales conversations, complete with real-world examples and practical scripts to help you close more deals
To apply DISC in sales conversations, you need to spot a buyer’s personality type fast. Here’s how:
| DISC Type | Personality Traits | Verbal Cues | Visual Cues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🔴 Dominant (D-Type) | Direct, competitive, goal-oriented | “What’s the bottom line?” “How soon can we start?” | Strong posture, fast movements, direct eye contact |
| 🟡 Influential (I-Type) | Outgoing, enthusiastic, people-focused | “This sounds exciting!” “Tell me more about the people who’ve used this.” | Smiling, animated gestures, leans in |
| 🟢 Steady (S-Type) | Loyal, methodical, risk-averse | “I just want to make sure this is a good fit.” “What kind of support is available?” | Relaxed, softer gestures, nodding |
| 🔵 Conscientious (C-Type) | Analytical, detail-oriented, skeptical | “Do you have data to support this?” “I’ll need to compare this with other options.” | Furrowed brows, minimal gestures, reserved posture |
📝 Tip: Within the first 60 seconds of a conversation, listen for verbal cues and observe body language to categorize the buyer into their DISC type.
Now that you’ve identified the buyer’s personality, it’s time to adjust your sales approach to match their communication style.
Example Sales Pitch:
❌ Wrong Approach: “Our product is great because it’s been used by hundreds of companies with amazing results. Let me tell you all about our history and features!”
✅ Right Approach: “This solution will increase your team’s efficiency by 30% and reduce costs by 15%. You’ll start seeing ROI within 60 days. Are you ready to move forward?”
Example Sales Pitch:
❌ Wrong Approach: “We have the most competitive pricing structure in the industry, with a 15% discount if you sign today.”
✅ Right Approach: “One of our clients, Lisa, had the same challenge you’re facing. She implemented this solution and saw a 50% increase in customer engagement in just a month!”
📌 Example Sales Pitch:
❌ Wrong Approach: “This deal is only available today. You should act fast before it’s gone.”
✅ Right Approach: “I understand that making the right decision is important to you. Many of our long-term clients started with the same concerns, but they found that our customer support and reliability made all the difference. Would you like to see a case study?”
📌 Example Sales Pitch:
❌ Wrong Approach: “Trust me, this is the best option out there. Just go for it!”
✅ Right Approach: “Here’s a report comparing our solution with others in the market. You’ll see that we offer a higher ROI and better long-term value. Would you like some time to review it before we schedule a follow-up call?”
Even when you apply DISC correctly, buyers will have objections. Here’s how to handle them based on their DISC type:
🔴 D-Type Objection: “I don’t have time for this.”
✅ “I completely understand. Let me summarize the key benefits in under 60 seconds.”
🟡 I-Type Objection: “ I need to run this by my team.”
✅ “Absolutely! I’d be happy to do a quick demo for your team so they can see the benefits firsthand.”
🟢 S-Type Objection: “I’m not sure if this is the right fit for us.”
✅ “That’s why we offer a 30-day trial—so you can experience it risk-free before committing.”
🔵 C-Type Objection: “I need to analyze this more before deciding.”
✅ “I’ll send over a detailed report and a case study. Let’s set up a follow-up call next week after you’ve had time to review.”
The following are the benefits of targeting the DISC personalities:
DISC profile segmentation empowers you to understand the communication style of your prospects by identifying their pace, tone, and level of detail. It allows you to deliver messages that are clear and easily comprehensible. You can also proactively anticipate the customer’s reactions and adjust communication accordingly.
Using DISC profiles, sales reps can understand the prospect’s behavioral signals and buying intentions, allowing for more persuasive negotiations. It helps the reps to be better prepared for questions and convert effectively.
With insights into the preferences and communication patterns of your prospects, your sales team can seamlessly match their approach to the client personally. It ensures your product/service is offered in a way that resonates with their problems and priorities.
For instance, if you are offering a microlearning LMS to Dominant prospects, then you should emphasize highlighting features that help increase frequency or reduce training costs. You may include features like automated data entry or follow-ups in your pitch. It is because clients with dominant personalities are more result-oriented and focus more on eliminating challenges or friction.
To yield the maximum benefits, it is essential to integrate DISC profiling into your sales processes and ensure they’re in alignment with your sales strategies. Below are some essential steps you need to follow for selling to DISC personalities:
✅Step 1: Perform DISC assessment
The preliminary step for selling to DISC personalities is to circulate the DISC prospect personality assessment among your sales squad and potential customers.
The test includes a series of questions that can be answered on a scale of strongly agree and strongly disagree. The following self-assessment usually takes 15 minutes or less and helps you identify the personalities of your business prospects.
On the other hand, prospects can also have a hyper-personalized customer experience from the sales team, better understand how the offering aligns with their needs, and efficiently address challenges and make decisions.
Focusing on such benefits can convince them to complete the assessment. You can also incentivize the process through Amazon vouchers, discounts, and more.
✅Step 2: Analyze and develop customer profiles
Once you’ve collected the data from DISC assessments, study the results to create comprehensive customer profiles. Identify common behavioral traits, communication preferences, and decision-making tendencies among your target prospects. The next step is to segment your potential customers into the four DISC personality types.
✅Step 3: Upskill your Sales team
Now, collate extensive training material on DISC profile segmentation to coach your sales team in various aspects of the sales process. This includes helping them:
✅Step 4: Implement and Iterate
Integrate the DISC-focused initiatives into your workflows. Now, continuously monitor and analyze sales interactions to assess the effectiveness of the approach. Gather feedback from the sales team to identify if DISC-specific adjustments have been successful. Make changes as needed and repeat the process to strive for business excellence.
When you apply DISC personality in sales conversations, you’re not just selling—you’re communicating in a way that resonates with your buyer.
Brasstacks offers comprehensive DISC courses to help your sales team accomplish their overall goals and increase organizational revenues. Visit our course catalogue to learn more about the courses.
🚀 Want to take your DISC sales skills to the next level?
👉 Enroll in our DISC Sales Training Course – Delivered via SMS for Daily Learning!
Here are some of the frequently asked questions:
DISC stands for Dominant, Influential, Stable, and Compliant characteristics. These are the traits used to differentiate the different types of customers. It allows you to evaluate how a person perceives the world around them and how they react to a sales pitch.
A common thought among sales consultants and entrepreneurs is that the "Lazy Z" DISC platform is most effective for improving sales performance. The Lazy Z pattern would look like this on the DISC scale: D (60-70%), I (65-85%), S(25-40%), and C(40-60%). For many sales positions, it is considered as a recommended personality.
DISC stands for Dominant, Influential, Stable, and Compliant characteristics. These are the terms used to differentiate the types of prospects. The technique enables you to assess how a person perceives the world around them and how to react to it. It helps in closing sales deals better.
The DISC model describes four main personality types: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Everyone is a mixture of each style, and most people tend to fall into one or two main DISC style quadrants. It helps in targeting the sales prospects and achieving organizational goals.
The most important benefit of DISC is that it meets the prospect at their level. It helps in understanding consumer psychology and reframe the sales pitch accordingly. For instance, you can use the same sales pitch for a dominant and stable profile. Through this technique, you will be able to understand customers better and sell more.
Every profile requires a certain attention to detail. With a dominant "red", you have to get to the point and be precise. With an influential "yellow", you have to be open and friendly while taking your time to talk. With a stable "green," you have to adapt to your pace and not rush towards closing a deal. Finally, with a conformist "blue", you have to be neat and rigorous, while paying extra attention to prospective needs.