What if you were in a restaurant in Japan, the waitress came to take your order, and you said, “Je voudrais un café et un croissant, s’il vous plait.” (That’s French for “I would like a coffee and a croissant please.”) The server would probably look at you with a blank stare, because you’d be saying all the right words, but in the wrong language.
The same thing sometimes happens on our real estate teams. We have the same conversations over and over. We say the words, but the other person has no idea what our point is because we aren’t speaking the same language.
So, to be a true Ops Boss™, you need to learn how to speak DISC.
DISC is a behavioral profile. I like to think of it as a filter we can use to see things more clearly. In order to communicate effectively, we need to learn what our own profile is, as well as the profiles of our team members, our clients, and our vendors – and we need to learn how to adjust to others whose profiles are different from our own. (Our team used the paid version of DISC offered by Abelson; we found the different free versions offered to be inaccurate.)
Here’s a very simple summary:
· D = Driver, Direct, Decisive, Dominant (They want things done yesterday.)
· I = Influencer, Interesting, Interactive (They are the life of the party.)
· S = Steady, Stable, Supportive (They don’t like change.)
· C = Cautious, Careful, Conscientious, Compliant (They like things to be done right.)
In short, Ds and Cs are task-focused, while Is and Ss are people-focused. Ds and Is are active people; Ss and Cs are reflective people. A top-notch team needs people with all of these profiles on their team.
Here are a few ideas on how you can use DISC to communicate better:
1. Show this video at your next team meeting. I guarantee you will laugh, and there will be some elbowing & pointing going on, too. You’ll probably recognize yourself, and so will your teammates. After you watch it, have a discussion about it. What did you learn? Did you know that 86% of the population is either S or C, while many rainmakers are DI or ID? What adjustments are you making to ensure you’re not speaking French to someone who only understands Japanese?
2. Add this question to your Seller & Buyer Information forms so you can identify the DISC profile of each person you work with:
“Would your spouse or best friend describe you as (A) Straight and to the point (B) Social and Outgoing (C) Steady and Dependable, or (D) Cautious and Perfectly Accurate?”
Put their responses into your CRM so each person who deals with that client knows how best to communicate. (For example, you may have a husband who is a C and a wife who is a D. If your goal is to get a price change, the wife will want you to just bottom line the price they’ll need to sell, while the husband will want all the details and statistics that back up a price change.) You might want to role play the typical conversations you have with clients at a team meeting. Take a topic and script it out based on the client’s DISC profile. How would you give feedback to a D vs an S? How would you adjust a listing presentation for a C vs an I?
You can also use DISC for your advertising, social media and direct mail. Are you targeting all profile types? For example, some people may like charts & stats, while others may respond better to stories.
3. Make a profile sign for each person on your team and hang them up in your office. If you use the Abelson version of the DISC, you will find two pages in the report, one titled “Ways TO Communicate With Me” and the other called “Ways NOT To Communicate With Me”. Ask each person to choose the most important statements from these pages and add them to their profile.
When I was on The Belt Team, this is what my profile sign looked like:
4. Do a team activity to increase awareness around the various profiles. Have your team split up by their dominant letter – D, I, S or C. Send each group to a different corner of the room. No worries if there is a letter with only one person. The activity still works. Give each group 15-20 minutes to come up with a bumper sticker and a hashtag for their behavioral profile. Then come back and share. I promise you’ll be rolling with both laughter and awareness.
Mastering communication is one way an Ops Boss™ stands out from an average assistant. It can mean the difference between leading those you work with to be a real team, or just working with them as a group – and the difference between happy clients and raving fans.
If you’d like to learn more about the difference between an “average assistant” and an “Ops Boss™”, you’ll want to attend BE A BOSS! 10 SECRETS OF A MEGA EA. This event is offered at multiple locations around the country. Bring your “Rainmaker” too. We promise it will be eye opening and inspiring, and you’ll appreciate learning the difference between having a job and building a career!