DISCinsights Blog

“Reading” people is one of the most critical skills a salesperson must possess. Building a warm connection with a prospect or a client may not happen very quickly, or not at all, if you do not take a behavioral approach. The good news is that this skill can be learnt!

As sales prospecting tools and methods have evolved considerably over the past 50 years, one thing remains unchanged for sales professionals - objections. Prospects’ doubts and reluctance will spring eternal, which is why it’s important for sales professionals to utilize the reliable objection as a sales opportunity. Below are ways to conquer objections from a behavioral-consultative perspective:

Hiring has always been one of the biggest challenges for any business. Every business owner and HR professional know how lengthy and tedious the process can be – from job posting, collecting applicants’ resumes, screening, reading, interviewing first time, second time and so on. Employees are often hired for their resume skill sets and interview presentation ability, and then fired due to poor performance or because they were a poor behavioral fit for either the job role or the company culture. This makes the hiring process endless, hard, and tiresome!

Coaches use DISC to understand the catalysts for micromanagement. Understanding behavior is the first step to creating effective coping strategies.

Let’s not twist the facts - people are, by nature, biased. Even people who say, “I’m not biased,” can be biased. This is perfectly natural because experiences instinctively shape viewpoints (also called stereotypes), depending upon what one has experienced (in the past) and will unconsciously shape a person’s opinions (in the future). Unconscious biases, therefore, work on people much like gravity: you can’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not working.

One of the most valuable tools of the coach/consultant’s trade is the Behavioral Action Plan. It’s the part of coaching that gives you a window into the future and makes you a witness to the results of your joint efforts. If you want to affect more than self-awareness, read on to learn how to create a behavioral action plan with your client that will get results.

Cognitive computing is here to stay and it is revolutionizing healthcare, the way we shop, and the way we work. Data analysis in human resources (i.e. people analytics) is having a surprising impact on corporate profits by way of increasing job satisfaction, retention and productivity, which has made executives take notice. Over time, HR leaders are thinking more like owners, as HR departments adopt cognitive HR systems to increase hard numbers (like profits) with softer ideals (like job fulfillment). According to an American Statistical Association report on the SHRM website:

DISC reveals universal truths benefiting your child in school and beyond. DISC is an increasingly popular tool in the workplace. Many organizations use it for team building, leadership development, and to assess hiring fit. But please don’t file your DISC profile away or leave it in your desk drawer! Take it home with you because it’s actually a very practical tool for helping your kids become better students.

With all of the requirements of managers today, there is one more increasingly important skill managers are being asked to possess - the ability to act as a coach. Evidence shows today’s great leaders are also coaches. Consequently, managers are often being asked to play a coaching role to develop internal talent, identify leadership qualities, develop team work competencies, and close the soft and hard skills gaps. In fact, according to recent research by Google, the single most important managerial competency that separates highly effective managers from average ones is coaching.

It’s not enough to just know how to coach, more importantly, it’s knowing how to be an effective coach. To coach effectively requires understanding the natural characteristics of the coachee. Meaning that you, the coach, have to assess where the person is currently to develop a plan or map of where the coachee wants to go.