You know what’s fascinating? Two people can sell the exact same thing but speak completely different languages.
I’m watching this play out right now as we shop for pool companies. Four kids bouncing off the walls means we need somewhere for them to burn energy that isn’t our living room.
So here come the salespeople. And boy, are they different.
Pool Company A rolls up with this incredible presentation. Full-color packets with gorgeous renderings of the future backyard paradise they hope to sell us.
Then he whips out his laptop and shows us a 3D mockup – complete with waterfalls, sound effects, even birds chirping in the background. You can practically smell the Vacation Inc sunscreen and hear the kids laughing.
The whole thing even has our actual house and trees built into the rendering.
Next day, Pool Company B shows up. Same mission, totally different approach. This guy hands us a spreadsheet that looks like it could launch a space shuttle.
Every single line item broken down. Dimensions precise to the quarter inch. Material specs that would make an engineer weep with joy.
But then I ask to see a picture. He looked at us like we just asked him to juggle flaming pool noodles. “Well no, not yet. We need to figure all this technical stuff out first.”
Here’s what’s wild about this whole thing: Both guys are trying to sell the exact same product. But they’re speaking completely different languages.
The first guy is all about the experience, the vision, the feelings. He wants us to imagine summer barbecues and kids doing cannonballs.
The second guy is all about facts, figures, and getting every detail locked down before we even think about fun.
Neither approach is an inherently wrong way to build a pool. But their approaches are made for two different types of people.
Some folks (like yours truly) need to see it, feel it, get excited about the possibilities before they’ll make a move. Others want every specification nailed down and every risk calculated before they’ll even consider it.
The problem happens when the visual person meets the spreadsheet guy, or when the detail-oriented person gets stuck with the dreamer. Total mismatch.
This same thing happens in elective practices every single day. You’ve got patients walking through your door with different communication styles, and most practices use the same approach for everyone.
The solution to that? Leaning into Personality-Based Selling.
That’s where our DISC for Doctors & Teams (D4D) program comes in. Because here’s the deal: Spreadsheet person can learn how to put on a “storyteller” hat. And big, exciting visuals person can learn how to present a spreadsheet.
It’s a matter of WHEN and HOW to do it. And D4D gives you a simple framework to quickly identify what type of communication style your patient has, then adjust your approach to match what they need to hear.
No more losing patients because you’re showing spreadsheets to dreamers or telling stories to engineers.
Sound impossible? It’s not. And not only will it help your patient interactions, but it has massive benefits in how you lead and manage your team as well.
If you have questions about that, hit me back. I’m taking off to celebrate my oldest son’s 13th birthday. (Yes, I have a teenager now). We’re headed to buy a new driver and then go test it out at Top Golf.
Talk soon,
Troy “pool shopping professor” Cole
PS – Want more sales lessons from this pool buying experience? Reply “Cannonball” and I’ll make sure they come your way…