Cold calling: How to use your understanding of DISC profiles to connect

Earlier today, I was getting ready to update a few social media posts, and I came across a video ad titled “Cold calling is dead.” What caught my eye was the 20-something real estate agent who was proposing that you don’t need to cold call to build a pipeline or make contact.

The magic pill was Facebook ads to connect you to an unlimited stream of business. At the end of the video was the kicker: for $197 he would show you the light.

I shook my head and looked up his real estate sales through the multiple listing services. The young man had sold 10 properties in the past two years.

You see this is exactly what is wrong in the real estate industry. We have a lack of qualified training and instruction for agents. We have a whole lot of theory sprinkled with a touch of fluff. It’s the same 40 steps regurgitated through many voices.

Truthfully, the initial contact and human interaction — with someone who is authentic and has integrity, knowledge and the empathy to fill the void that the client has — is priceless.

The way you do this is through branding, marketing, social media and, most of all, cold calling — specifically the first 30 seconds of contact.

Preparation means success

Preparation for a call to relate to a complete stranger is the key. This preparation isn’t a script. It’s not a pep talk. It’s psychology.

The psychology of a cold call begins with understanding personality types. First, you must understand and master yours. However, you must also learn and master the other three personalities surrounding you.

A big part of understanding this psychology is studying the DISC personality profiles. After analyzing your personality, you can then begin looking at the other three personalities and how you interact and relate. This allows you to determine new and profound communication styles to clearly communicate with anyone.

DISC profile personality types

To help you understand DISC a bit more, I would like to share the four types of the DISC personality profiles with you. Knowing just this basic information can impact your life and business positively in many ways.

D dimension (decisiveness) 

These are the traits that define Ds:

• Take control
• Get it done
• Boss at home and work
• Decisive
• Observant — but not watchers and listeners
• Problem-solver
• Adventure-seeker
• Self-reliant
• Confident
• Great under pressure

Sometimes completing a project is more important to a D then taking the time to make sure everything is perfectly correct.

The downside of this personality is that a D does not know how to tone down the aggressive nature that can cause problems when working with others. Most true entrepreneurs and business owners are strong Ds.

If your dominant personality type is a D, there are a few areas that you can improve and focus on:

• You need to learn how to take a deep breath and relax.
• It’s not a criminal offense to take a few days off to just rest and have a good time.
• You need to learn to force yourself to listen to others and learn how to give encouragement rather than automatically giving solutions.
• Try to give others a chance to work at their own pace without forcing them to get right to the point.

The best personality that you can partner with would be a C. Cs are great at focusing on details of any project that you can easily overlook.

Take a step back, and realize and learn how to balance your natural strengths with kindness, empathy and patience or you will come across rude and arrogant.

I dimension (interactiveness)

Traits that define the I dimension are:

• Seek excitable cheerleading types who love to communicate
• Great at encouraging and motivating others
• Need to be in an environment where they can talk and influence decisions
• Outgoing
• The life of any party
• Center of attention
• Strong desire to be liked by everyone
• The crowd is more important than completing tasks and deadlines
• Not inclined to focus on specific details
• Focus is on the future instead of the present
• Does not like confrontation
• Vulnerable to peer pressure
• Strong verbal skills

If you’re an I, these are a few areas for improvement that you should focus on:

• Life is not just about having fun; you have to learn how to become more aware of the needs of others and more serious about meeting those needs.
• You need to focus on completing your existing commitments before you take on new projects.
• Talking is one of your greatest assets, however, you need to learn to listen and honor others by listening to them with your mind and not just your ears.
• You can learn to balance your natural impulses by taking time to seek advice from others before you make important decisions.
• You need to set realistic deadlines.

When it comes to partnering in business, you need to partner with Cs and Ds. Ds will help you achieve your important projects and dreams in an efficient amount of time. Cs will help you with making sure your important details do not fall between the cracks.

S dimension (stability)

Personality traits that define the S dimension:

• Loyal and pleasing
• Great listeners
• Compassionate encouragers
• Quick to defend but slow to attack
• Put people first
• Tough time standing up for themselves
• Confrontation is the last thing they want
• Their biggest need is to have close, harmonious relationships

If you are an S, you are very great person, however, here are a few areas you can improve in:

• You need to realize it is not a crime to make your opinions, needs and hurts known. Making these things known will definitely strengthen your relationships. Not doing so will weaken them.
• When it’s necessary to become more assertive, you need to.
• You need to learn how to politely tell people no more often. If you don’t, you will become emotionally drained. Remember no is not a bad word. Learn to establish these boundaries and make your own needs more important.

The C dimension (conscientiousness)

Traits of the C dimension include:

• Perfectionist, regardless of time
• Thorough
• Often the accountants, architectures and doctors
• Find it difficult to show warmth in relationships

Your score in this column determines how much of a perfectionist you are. The fact that you need to do everything perfectly can become a devastating factor in your life and relationships.

If you are a C, you have an analytical nature and you focus on the thoroughness and quality of a project. You have the ability to be extremely hard on yourself and others who are not as focused on details as you are.

A C is desperately needed by every other personality type. You can build value and relationships with just a few adjustments.

However, you need to remember:

• Perfection is not always a necessity. There may only be one perfect way in most situations, however, there are many other good ways to accomplish a task.
• You have to adjust and be more accepting of others doing things their own way, even if you feel your way is better. You can try to become more flexible and open up to others’ ideas and ways.
• Making a mistake isn’t the end of the world.

Out of the four personality types, the C is most likely to experience depression. If the mistake happens, they tend to get angry and keep all that anger inside.

When a person bottles up that anger inside and turns it inward, it will cause depression. It is critical you learn to forgive yourself more often. Try to become more forgiving of others and understanding of their mistakes and ways. By doing this you will feel more accomplished and happy.

Now that you know the DISC personality types, on Monday, we’ll discuss how they relate to cold calling and how you can use them to your advantage.

Philip Simonetta is the founder of The Simonetta Group Of Charles Rutenberg Realty and the creator of Top Agent Academy: Real Estate Apprenticeship Program. You can follow him on Facebook or LinkedIn.