How to Identify and Manage Sales Personality Types

Imagine putting together a sales dream team. You’d want a mix of skills, right? There is a bit of charisma here, a dash of analytical genius, and a sprinkle of resourcefulness to top it off. But here’s the kicker: your team already has these qualities in different proportions. 

Understanding each person’s sales personality type and leveraging their unique strengths is the secret.

Ready to decode what makes your team tick? Let’s dive in!

What Is Personality Type in Sales?

In sales, personality types refer to the recurring traits, behaviors, and tendencies that influence how someone approaches their work. These types are not just about how people sell, they’re about how they connect, strategize, and solve problems.

For instance, while one salesperson might excel at charming clients, another might thrive by crunching numbers and offering data-backed solutions. Neither is better or worse; they’re just different approaches to the same goal, closing deals.

Why You Should Care About Your Team’s Personality Types

Every salesperson brings something unique to the table Understanding your team’s personality types allows you to tap into these strengths and align them with business goals. It’s the foundation for creating a high-performing sales team where everyone contributes their best.

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1. Assign the Right Roles

When you know your team’s personality types, you can match each individual to tasks that suit their strengths. This alignment not only enhances productivity but also keeps employees engaged and satisfied.

2. Enhance Collaboration

When sales teams clash, it’s often because of mismatched communication styles or misunderstood intentions. Knowing your team’s personality types can transform how they interact.

3. Boost Morale and Motivation

Imagine being a data-driven thinker asked to spend all day cold-calling. Frustrating, right? When team members are constantly pushed outside their natural strengths, morale suffers.

4. Drive Better Results

Ultimately, recognizing and leveraging personality types leads to better business outcomes. You’re not just creating a team that works, you’re building a team that wins.

7 Common Sales Personality Types

A sales team is a mix of diverse personalities, each contributing a unique approach to the game. Understanding these personality types not only helps you manage them better but also ensures you’re tapping into their full potential. 

1. The Charismatic Connector

They thrive on building rapport and are natural-born storytellers. Their charm makes them perfect for high-touch client interactions.

How to manage them:

• Encourage them to mentor junior team members.
• Provide tools to turn their charisma into long-term relationships, like CRM systems.
• Keep them focused with structured goals, sometimes their charm needs direction!

“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
The Charismatic Connector embodies this philosophy.

2. The Analytical Strategist

Data is their playground. Analytical Strategists excel at spotting trends, creating detailed plans, and presenting logical arguments.

How to manage them:

• Give them access to analytics tools and data dashboards.
• Assign them tasks like market research or ROI calculations.
• Pair them with Charismatic Connectors for a balanced approach.

3. The Persistent Closer

No doesn’t faze them. Persistent Closers are determined and resilient, often turning “maybe” into a resounding “yes.”

How to manage them:

• Celebrate their wins, they feed off recognition.
• Set challenging yet realistic targets to keep them engaged.
• Offer support during tough sales cycles to prevent burnout.

Real-life inspiration: Remember Chris Gardner from The Pursuit of Happyness? His persistence paid off big time!

4. The Empathetic Listener

These individuals are emotional sponges. They understand client pain points better than anyone and excel at offering tailored solutions.

How to manage them:

• Provide training on active listening and conflict resolution.
• Use their skills in customer retention strategies.
• Ensure they don’t overextend themselves emotionally, boundaries are key.

5. The Competitive Go-Getter

This type lives for the thrill of the chase. They’re highly ambitious, driven, and often the first to hit their sales targets.

How to manage them:

• Create friendly competitions within the team.
• Offer clear rewards and incentives.
• Keep their competitive streak in check to avoid clashes with teammates.

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

6. The Resourceful Problem-Solver

Give them a challenge, and they’ll find a way to tackle it. These individuals thrive on thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions.

How to manage them:

• Assign them complex problems that require innovative thinking.
• Let them collaborate across departments for fresh perspectives.
• Encourage them to share their hacks and insights with the team.

7. The Relationship Builder

These salespeople play the long game. They prioritize trust and loyalty, ensuring clients keep coming back for more.

How to manage them:

• Focus their efforts on key accounts and client retention strategies.
• Recognize their ability to create long-term value.
• Support them with tools to manage ongoing client interactions effectively.

Personality Tests for Your Sales Team

Curious about the mix of personalities driving your sales team’s performance? Personality assessments can provide valuable insights into your team members’ strengths, communication styles, and motivations. These tools not only help you understand your team better but also empower you to manage them effectively, align roles with their natural tendencies, and foster collaboration. Let’s dive deeper into four popular personality tests and how they can benefit your sales team.

1. CliftonStrengths

Developed by Gallup, CliftonStrengths (formerly known as StrengthsFinder) focuses on identifying individual strengths rather than weaknesses. This test highlights 34 distinct talent themes, grouping them into four categories: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.

How It Helps Your Sales Team:

• Role Optimization: By understanding who excels at relationship-building versus who thrives on strategic planning, you can assign roles and tasks more effectively.
• Team Collaboration: Knowing each person’s strengths encourages teamwork by leveraging complementary skills.
• Motivation Boost: Highlighting strengths makes team members feel valued and confident in their abilities.

2. DISC Assessment

The DISC model analyzes behavioral tendencies by categorizing individuals into four personality types: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. This test emphasizes how people communicate, make decisions, and respond to challenges.

How It Helps Your Sales Team:

• Improved Communication: Understand how each team member prefers to communicate, whether they value directness (Dominance) or collaboration (Steadiness).
• Conflict Resolution: Reduce misunderstandings by identifying potential friction points and adjusting communication styles accordingly.
• Enhanced Sales Techniques: Tailor client interactions based on DISC insights, for example, pairing an “Influence” personality with clients who value enthusiasm and relationship-building.

3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The MBTI categorizes people into 16 personality types based on four dichotomies:

• Introversion (I) vs. Extroversion (E)
• Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
• Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
• Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

How It Helps Your Sales Team:

• Insight into Working Styles: Learn who thrives in structured environments (Judging types) versus who prefers flexibility (Perceiving types).
• Client Matching: Pair salespeople with clients whose preferences align with their own, for example, an empathetic “INFJ” working with a values-driven client.
• Balanced Teams: Create balanced teams by mixing complementary types, such as intuitive big-picture thinkers (N) and detail-focused sensors (S).

Example Application: An extroverted “ENTP” might be ideal for networking events, while an introverted “ISTJ” could excel at back-end tasks like CRM management.

4. Enneagram

The Enneagram categorizes individuals into nine personality types, each defined by core motivations, fears, and emotional tendencies. Unlike other assessments, it delves into the “why” behind behaviors, making it a powerful tool for understanding team dynamics.

How It Helps Your Sales Team:

• Motivational Insights: Discover what drives each team member—a Type 3 (Achiever) might be motivated by recognition, while a Type 6 (Loyalist) seeks stability and support.
• Emotional Awareness: Understand how different team members respond to stress and success, allowing you to provide tailored guidance.
• Cultural Fit: Build a team culture that resonates with your employees’ shared values and emotional needs.

Example Application: A Type 2 (Helper) might naturally gravitate toward roles that require nurturing client relationships, while a Type 8 (Challenger) could excel in competitive environments.

Which Test Should You Choose?

Each personality assessment offers unique insights, and the best choice depends on your goals:

• If you want to focus on strengths and team dynamics, choose CliftonStrengths.
• To improve communication and understand behavior, opt for the DISC Assessment.
• For deeper insights into personality traits and preferences, try Myers-Briggs (MBTI).
• To explore motivations and emotional tendencies, use the Enneagram.

Consider using a combination of these tests for a comprehensive understanding of your team. The insights you gain can lead to better management, increased productivity, and a more harmonious workplace.

Pro Tip: Introduce personality tests as a team-building exercise. Not only will you gain valuable insights, but your team will also appreciate the effort to understand them better. As the saying goes, “A team that understands each other wins together.”

Keep Your Sales Team Motivated and On Track with Kennect

Motivating a diverse sales team requires more than blanket rewards; it demands alignment with individual strengths and driving forces.

Beyond customization, Kennect provides real-time performance visibility, allowing sales reps to track their progress instantly. This transparency not only keeps them engaged but also fosters accountability, creating a culture of trust and autonomy. By automating incentive calculations and seamlessly integrating with your CRM, ERP, and HRIS systems, Kennect eliminates manual admin, giving you more time to focus on what matters, and empowering your sales team to succeed.

To experience Kennect's Incentive Compensation Management platform firsthand, you can schedule a free demo today.

Final Words

As Dale Carnegie said, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”

Take the time to understand your team, and you’ll create a sales force that’s not just effective but unstoppable. 

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