As you guide sales conversations with prospects, your job is to help them work through their decision-making process. The conversation is an information exchange that relies on THEM getting what they need, in the way they need it, so they are confident in you and the value they receive.
That’s why this series Convert Consistently with Customs and Connections is so important to you. I’m sharing the communication model and specific To Do’s for four Tribes of buyers.
In this episode, I introduce you to the Expresser Tribal Type. Have you encountered questions like these?
- Who will I work with?
- What do others say?
Those are two questions that the Expresser buyer Tribal Type might ask when you’re in a sales interaction and conversation.
Introducing the Expresser Buying Tribal Type
This is the fourth, and final, Tribal Type to introduce in this series with the information to help you quickly identify and then adapt to the customs necessary for that person as they make a buying decision for a service or a product.
Let’s look at the key descriptors for this Expresser buyer tribe. Expressers:
- Are talkative and will use many words when describing something
- Will go on tangents at times
- May appear disorganized
- Are faster paced overall and will typically speak quickly
- Often use their hands and their whole body as they communicate
- Find it more restrictive when conversations are virtual or by phone only
- Use a lot of inflection when speaking
- Use an animated writing style. You’ll see Emojis and exclamation marks.
- Seek acceptance from each person they’re in conversation with
- Look for the social connections and impact in any situation
- Are energetic
- Won’t pay as much attention to timelines or deadlines as others
- Have a lower detail orientation and may miss things, either details you’ve shared or things that you’ve asked them for
Clues to the Buyer Tribal Type: Expressers
With those descriptors noted, here are the quick clues to look for in pace, word choice, and level of personal connection to quickly identify that you’re talking with an Expresser:
- They’re often easy to spot because they’re the center of attention. They’re going to be the ones sharing information whenever they can
- They’re faster paced
- The words they use which will be feeling-, emotion-, and people-based
- You’ll hear opinion questions such as, “How do you feel about this?” or they’ll say something like, “Here’s what I feel.”
- They will seek a strong personal connection with you
- Time and agenda will not be tracked tightly. If you have forty-five minutes with an Expresser, they may be comfortable spending the first thirty minutes getting to know each other before addressing the agenda
Now that you’ve spotted them, then what? Adapt to their customers with the following selling strategies.
Selling Strategies and Tips for the Expresser Buyer Tribal Type
The selling tips for Expressers:
- Allow yourself more time than you might in other situations for that personal and social connection that they need. Everything else will go easier afterward
- In written communication, include personal starters like:
- Hi, how are you?
- How’s the weather?
- How was your weekend?
- What’s your family up to?
- Hey, I saw that ___ just happened in your area.
- Find a common connection they have with somebody else, which will allow them to trust you faster
- Take care of details whenever you can
- Follow up any interaction with written specifics so that you have a good record of it for both of you
- Seek specific decisions and timelines. Don’t leave things under assumptions. Statements like the following are not a decision, they are good indicators, but not decisions.
- Oh, this sounds great.
- It feels great.
- Yeah, I’ve got a good feeling about us working together.
- We like you.
They very well may be swayed after the conversation by another person. So if you can get specific with deadlines and follow up activities or actions, it will help you know where you really are in the process with them.
- Find out who else will be involved or influence the decision-making before you get too far. Otherwise, you might get all the way through and then find out they need or want someone else’s input.
- If possible, never let them feel like they’re failing. They have a big fear of failing and not looking good in other people’s eyes. So even if they’ve made mistakes, be careful not to hurt their feelings or that associated negativity could reflect onto you.
The big tip for Expressers is already noted, but can’t be emphasized enough: Don’t assume that you have the business with them until the commitment is in writing because they have a hard time telling people “No.” They have a hard time rejecting you, so be careful not to assume that the “feeling good” comments that they share with you mean that they have made a decision and that it’s going to stick.
And there you have the Expressers. Did people come to mind as you read these descriptors? They’re easy to spot, aren’t they? And that’s great for us to quickly start adapting to the customs that are important to them because there are things that we can do to help them get to that decision to work together more quickly and benefit from your service or product sooner.
That’s your final introduction for the four buyer Tribal Types. You’ve met the Achievers, Commanders, Reflectors, and Expressers. In the final installment, I’ll share overall strategies for applying this information around buyer Tribal Types.
Watch for the finale!
Financial Advisor sales training doesn’t have to focus on pushy tactics or high-pressure pitches. Genuine Sales teaches the fundamentals for sales success that allow you to be genuine, ethical, and successful!
