Coaching, negotiating, actively listening, understanding people, communicating and connecting. As a current sales manager, you must be a real all-rounder and, above all, have your soft skills in good order. Yet we all experience that conversations sometimes do not come naturally. You don't sense each other, you don't understand each other or it seems as if the other person speaks Chinese. A shame, because by delving into the thoughts and actions of your conversation partner, that connection will come naturally.
You probably recognize it; colleagues who always speak in meetings, while others hardly open their mouths. Or potential customers with whom you are immediately on the same page, while with someone else that connection is hard to find. People's behavior is sometimes difficult to gauge, which means you don't always understand others. Yet that bit of understanding and insight into people's behavior can help you further. Not by studying psychology, but simply by immersing yourself in a few basic skills from behavioral science.
'Self-insight in communication is the basis for working together effectively and functioning even better'
With a few extra tools, you will not only get to know your conversation partners better, but also yourself. Both useful with colleagues and (potential) customers, and privately. Because it can also be a real eye-opener among friends and family! At Kenneth Smit, we have been working for years with the color language of Insights Discovery - based on the philosophy of the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung - where everything starts with self-insight. This foundation will help you work together more effectively and function even better. Because why does your behavior seem completely normal and that of someone else strange, annoying or confusing? By taking a good look at yourself and understanding why you act the way you do, you are much better able to understand others as well.
'The colors give you a good idea of your own behavior and the way you react'
In the color language, the four basic behavioral preferences that every person has are linked to a color; red, blue, yellow and green. The colors give you a good idea of your own behavior and the way you react. At the same time, it provides insight into why other people react differently. For example, someone with a lot of blue in his or her profile is very focused on details and objectivity; an organized and methodical worker. Red behavior represents purposeful decision making; behavior that suits ambitious, decisive and direct people. Yellow stands for expressive and feeling; creative people who like to think out of the box. And green stands for caring and harmony and suits stable, helpful team players.
You may think that this immediately puts someone in a box, puts a label on them or is biased. Certainly not! A person is never just red, green, yellow or blue. Color theory assumes that we all have all the colors within us, but that we do have a preference for a certain dynamic. You may also react a bit 'redder' in your daily work at times, while green is better the next day. But it depends on what is on the program, who you are working with or having a conversation with. By recognizing the color of yourself and the other, it is easier to adapt and you have a better sense of how that person wants to be treated. Moreover, you can convey your own message so much better. In my opinion, the step towards more effective communication, connecting and a sustainable customer relationship.
Would you like to know more about Insights Discovery's color method and how it can help you and your sales team? We are happy to help you!
