This week we’ll take a look at how best to
persuade someone who is a pragmatic or driver personality. In my mind, Donald
Trump is an off-the-charts pragmatic because he’s someone who is more task-oriented
as opposed to relationship-focused and he likes to control situations and
others. The following describes this personality type:
Pragmatics generally want quick results; are more
focused on getting things done than chatting with people; prefer taking control
of situations; sometimes act before thoroughly thinking things through; are assertive;
not afraid to take risks; appreciate getting to the point quickly.
Because pragmatics are not relationship-oriented
it will come as no surprise to learn in my online survey they chose answers
that engaged reciprocity and liking far less than did the expressive and
amiable personality types, two personalities that are people-focused much more
than task-oriented. Some persuasion advice when dealing with a pragmatic:
Don’t be rude but don’t spin your wheels using
the liking principle because they don’t care much about being your friend. Do you
think Donald cares more about being your friend or possibly closing the deal? I bet he wants to close the deal.
Don’t try to pull the reciprocity lever by doing favors with an expectation that it will be
a difference maker because it probably won’t help too much. Donald will gladly
accept what you offer but it’s doubtful it will be top of mind for him to think
about how to repay the favor.
Uncertainty can be bothersome for pragmatics
so when they’re not sure what to do they tend to respond to a couple of
principles more than others.
Pragmatics generally don’t care what everyone
else is doing but it can be persuasive to tell them what others just like them
are doing. While they don’t respond to the principle of consensus as much as other personalities it was nonetheless one of
their top choices. Donald Trump doesn’t care what the run of the mill
businessperson is doing but he cares what respected peers are doing so do some research and incorporate your findings into your presentation.
Sharing hard data or using the advice of
perceived experts is the most effective route with this group. In fact, in more than half the cases where authority was a choice, pragmatics went with it! Show Donald what
the numbers are or share what respected experts have to say and he’ll give that more weight than anything else.
Motivating pragmatics to action can be easy if
you know which principles to look for. Generally you want to use consistency or
scarcity.
When it came to using consistency – what someone has said or done in the past – pragmatics
were more motivated by this principle than any other personality style. In fact, it was
their second most often chosen reason when it came to being persuaded. When
Donald Trump says something do you think he believes he’s right? Of course he
does, so tie your request to his previous words, actions or beliefs and your
odds of success go up dramatically. I can back up that claim because I saw this to be the case on an
episode of The Apprentice.
While scarcity wasn’t one of the top three choices for pragmatics, using this
principle was more effective with pragmatics than any other personality type. Think
about Donald Trump – he hates to lose! Talk about what pragmatics might lose by
not going along with what you’re proposing and you’ll get more compliance than you would by talking about what they might gain or save.
When it comes to the pragmatics you know, they
may not be as extreme as Donald Trump, but nonetheless there are certain
principles that will be more effective than others. In order of effectiveness they
are:
Authority
Consistency
Consensus
Scarcity
Reciprocity
Liking
Next week we’ll take a look at the expressive
personality, sometimes known as the influencer.
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
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