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Sales would be so much easier if all customers were the same. But we all know that we are paid to discern and act on the subtle differences between people.

One of these key differences is how people like to communicate. Our customers normally have a preference for one of the following types of communication and we would be smart to know which they prefer:

1. F2F (Face to Face Communicators). These are individuals who like to talk person to person. This is by far the most effective type of communication because it allows for all the subtle, and important, nuances of the interchange to be observed.

F2F requires a bigger time commitment from our customer, but the time investment is worth it to them in order to increase the quality of the communication.

2. EC (Email Communicators). People who prefer to deal indirectly with people usually prefer email. They like it because it allows them to control when they communicate and it provides a permanent record of the transaction.

Email communicators can frequently feel overwhelmed by salespeople whom they perceive as too aggressive. This is a way for them to feel in control of any communication they have with us.

3. PC (Phone Communicators). While many people consider the phone intrusive on their time, it is less time consuming than F2F and still provides a fairly high level of communication quality.

Customers who prefer the phone are trading off some of the quality of F2F communication for a smaller investment of their time. They’re usually busy individuals who want more than an email.

When we use the communication mode that best fits each of our customers, it can be amazing how positively they respond. We are appealing to their unique personality and isn’t that what the sales game is all about?

We have to be sensitive to the communication preference of every person we deal with and leverage this subtle, yet amazingly important and overlooked customer preference.

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Tags: language, personality

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