THOUGHT 4 THE WEEK
Statistically only 1%-3% of unsolicited letters, emails and text is read!
As you've been discovering over the past few months, each face2face situation has the advantage of allowing you to accommodate the primary personality of the person in front of you ~ provided you know how to adjust your behaviour.
To recognise PP, ask yourself two simple questions:
1) is the person in front of me attempting to guard their emotions? Yes, equals COOL. No, equals WARM; and
2) is this person attempting to control my thoughts and actions? Yes, equals TELLER. No, equals ASKER.
You have now identfied the four primary personalities.
In the written form, however, you won’t have the above advantage unless you are already aware of someone’s primary personality. And, that’s why mailshots have a high statistical failing rate.
Capturing the ATTENTION NEEDS of each primary personality raises reader connectivity by as much as 10-fold! That’s a potential increase of reader-reach from 3% to 30%.
The following writing sequence has been tested and it only works!
Opening Paragraph ~ the least patient of the four primary personalities is the Demanding COOL / TELLER, which represents 10% of the tested population! Their eyes tend to flick between the top and bottom of unsolicited correspondence seeking the gist of the communication. So, open with a bold strapline below your salutation, plus a bold post-script below your signature that focuses on anticipated results.
Second Paragraph ~ the Interactive WARM / ASKER, which represents 30% of the tested population is the next least patient. Describe how your ideas, products or services has improved the financial situation of the people who work with and through you. Adding a line about ‘lifestyle’ helps, too.
Third Paragraph ~ the Cautious COOL / ASKER, which represents 20% of the tested population, wants the detail. But, too much detail within the core of your correspondence tends to switch off Teller personalities. So, briefly outline how your ideas, products or services work offering links to the detail. In a letter, this can be achieved by adding an appendix or a brochure or an invitation to obtain them. In e-correspondence the same thing is achieved by adding e-links and/or attachments.
Closing Paragraph ~ the Supportive WARM / ASKER, which represents 40% of the tested population is the most patient of all the primary personalities. Don’t mention specific names or companies without prior permission, but add a few lines about the people your ideas, products or services have benefited ~ personally. Maybe family members, friends, employees, work colleagues and, of course, customers.
The above highly effective writing sequence is: COOL/TELLER followed by WARM/TELLER, followed by COOL/ASKER followed by WARM/ASKER.
Why settle for 3% success, when you could attain 30% or better by simply adjusting your paragraph structure.
Email john@uetp.co.uk to explore your correspondence and campaign designs.
Too many people get inter-personal relationships horribly wrong! But this needn't be the case!
If you’ve been keeping up with our BLOG over the past few months you are learning to recognise and accommodate the positive and negative personality traits for better relationship outcomes.
You'll know how to describe the FOUR Primary Personalities, one of which is predominantly your own.
So, how do you get along better with someone just like you? And, how do you get along better when you meet those not like you?
You are predominantly either:
- Demanding
- Interactive
- Supportive
- Cautious
Personalities JUST Like You
Demanding Cool / Tellers tend to contain their emotions and take control of people and situations. Like you they compete for results. However, as you possess greater awareness of personalities, your mutually beneficial strategy will include offering alternative options or solutions, which allows them the perceived advantage of making the decision.
Interactive Warm / Tellers tend to freely shows their emotions and take control of people and situations. Like you they want everyone to get something ~ provided it's on their terms. They are easily distracted. However, as you possess greater awareness of personalities, your mutually beneficial strategy will include an unwritten-agenda that keeps you both on track.
Supportive Warm / Askers also tend to freely show their emotions but are content to fit in with what others want. Like you they need to feel safe. They tend to have a vulnerable 'under-belly'. However, as you possess greater awareness of personalities, your mutually beneficial strategy will include constant personal reassurance that they can depend on your support.
Cautious Cool / Askers tend to contain their emotions and are content to follow a leader. Like you they want the facts and figures to each proposition. They tend to focus on the problem. However, as you possess greater awareness of personalities, your mutually beneficial strategy will include adhering to a sequential agenda that keeps you both moving towards the objective(s).
Personality NOT Like You
Demanding Cool / Tellers want you to stick to the task at hand and remain focused allowing them make the decisions. You must focus on improving results and be economical with their time.
Interactive Warm / Tellers want you to allow time for interuption and distraction. You must impress them with your experience, connections even sence of humour. You must remain engaging and flexible with time.
Supportive Warm / Askers need you to get to know them personally, as well as those who are important to them. You need to remain affable even jolly. You will need to pursue their relationships with sincerity.
Cautious Cool / Askers need you to prove the facts and the figures of your argument. You need to remain task aware. You will need to demonstrate there is always more than one solution.
Contact john@uetp.co.uk
Complicated is Easy! Simple is Hard!
Great question!
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) Co-founder Apple Inc. said, “The greatest people are self-managing … Once they know what to do, they will go and figure out how to do it …”
So, how does Steve's words apply our process of Relate, Discover, Advocate & Support?
R-D-A-S is a universal decision-making process that translates into any and every situation. It is highly effective within families as well as careers. It is highly effective within sales and marketing as well as managing people. It is highly effective within training. And of course, it is highly effective within recruitment.
Let’s take Recruitment: The job of the interviewer is much like that of a detective. The only difference is they are looking for a good person, not a bad one!
R-D-A-S may be applied in the following manner:
- RELATE ~ is about accommodating someone’s Personality. In recruitment, this means applying our proprietary Motivating and Behaviour Profiling process (used under licence) to identify which of the *16-Personality Traits is displayed by a particular candidate and comparing it with the personality required by the job-role (profiled by management). Motivating-values (or current rewards sought) is also identified through our proprietary process.
- DISCOVER ~ is about identifying AND agreeing Problem(s). In recruitment, this means co-discovering how someone sees their future, as well as exploring what isn’t right with their current situation and what they want to do about it.
- ADVOCATE ~ is about short-listing and selecting Solution(s). In recruitment, this means inviting the candidate to list all possible career opportunities and to select the best one for them right now (which might not be the career opportunity the interviewer has in mind).
- SUPPORT ~ is about Planning and Organising Immediate Action with Future Actions. In recruitment, this includes a career presentation with Q&A session together with a summary of the initial interview and an agreement to meet again or not. If the former, the summary may sensibly include some pre-second interview ‘homework’.
Steve Jobs once more, “So, the neatest thing that happens is, when you get a core group of ten great people, it becomes self-policing as to who they let into that group, so I consider the most important job of someone like myself is recruiting.”
To explore more, email reply to john@uetp.co.uk
*Each Primary Personality quadrant is divided into x4 backup personaities.
Complicated Is Easy! Simple Is Hard!
The Oxford English Dictionary includes in its definition of Addiction “... the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular activity or habit ... ”.
Coaches of every discipline emphasise ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. They are talking about substituting good activities and habits for bad ones!
This weeks T4TW looks at level four of highly effective decision-making ~ SUPPORT. SUPPORT (level 4) follows ADVOCATE (level 3), which follows DISCOVERY (level 2), which are all encompassed in RELATE (Level 1).
SUPPORT means positive reinforcement of the immediate action agreed during Advocate. Without SUPPORT, the person with the problem feels isolated from their Discovery Agreement and may succumb to procrastination ~ nothing happens!
Read the following words out loud several times: “Planning is to Effectiveness as Organising is to Efficiency! Effective planning always comes before efficient organising if I want to obtain the desired outcome.”
Effective Planning means Doing the Right Thing! It is aligning the tools of your trade with your personal talents, strengths and skills. It includes preparing your physical, emotional and intellectual energy to obtain the objectives you are working on, alone, or with others.
Efficient Organising means Doing the Thing Right! It is performing in the best possible manner with the least wastage of time and effort. It includes applying in the correct scheme of things, your requisite knowledge, skill, competence and capability to obtain the objectives you are working on, alone, or with others.
Together these two vital disciplines ensure you will always SUPPORT the person solving his problems by Doing The Right Thing, Right!
To explore more, email john@uetp.co.uk
Recommended Reading
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
Fail Your Way to Success by J Michael Derem
Start to Win by David Hannon
Positive Action Plan by Napoleon Hill
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation without investigation". William Paley
We’ve recently been exploring highly effective decision-making that employs four levels to all effective human communication. They are:
- RELATE
- DISCOVER
- ADVOCATE, and
- SUPPORT
Level 1 recap RELATE ~ means the Accommodation of Primary Personality to establish and maintain mutually beneficial outcomes. This level encompasses all levels of highly effective decision-making as failing to maintain a relationship places everything else in jeopardy (see prior BLOGs).
Level 2 recap DISCOVER ~ last weeksT4TW introduced Discover & Agree, the journey of allowing the other person to find their own reasons for wanting to do something (their WANT) by helping them uncover what they care about most ~ something or someone. Failing to discover and agree attitudes, belief’s and feelings sustains impotence ~ nothing happens!
This week’s T4TW looks at level 3 of highly effective decision-making: Advocating solution(s).
Whilst Discovery & Agreement is problem-centred: “Where am I right now?” and “Where do I want to be?”, Advocating is solution-centred: “What are the different ways of solving my problem?” and “Which is the best way for me, right now?”
Level 3 ADVOCATE ~ the 1st-step of Advocating is that you never offer any solution ~ even if you have some in mind! This is a time for the person with the problems to brain-storm all possible solutions they can think of.
Encouraged by your SOFT-FACT APPROACH during the Discover level, the person with the problems now realises they are the one responsible for solving them. They commence this by considering any/all possible solutions ~ even the obscure.
Your role is to respond ‘sensitively’ to the solutions they offer. Their list can be short or long, with no right or wrong answers at this stage. Simply note every solution as ‘possible’.
The Possibility List ~ now, you enter the 2nd-step of Advocating by helping the person with the problems dismiss inferior solutions in favour of the best solution, or the immediate action.
NOTE: Large problems may require multiple solutions. But solving them begins with immediate action. Any subsequent solutions in the scheme of things fall under the heading of future actions, which are entered in an Action Plan and Dated for review.
Next week’s T4TW will explore SUPPORT. Actions to reinforce the first solution was the right one!
To explore these principles in more depth, email john@uetp.co.uk
“I promise never to offer any solution to someone’s problem until we have both discovered and agreed that the problem exists AND that s/he cares enough to want to do something about it”
Recommended Reading:
Questions Are the Answers by Allan Pease
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
Stay In The Game by Van Crouch
Lateral Thinking for Management by Edward De Bono
How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger
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