Negotiate better, avoid conflicts and cultivate better relationships – Part I

BY JAY BRIJPAUL

Fire, earth, air and water define our personalities. In 1928, Dr. William Moulton Marston wrote “Emotions of Normal People,” resulting in the DISC Personality System. Today, more than one million businesses adopt this model to assess personalities. There are four distinct personality traits: The Driver (D), The Influencer (I), The Supportive (S) and The Critical (C). Supportive and Critical thinkers are slow paced and a left-brain personality while Drivers and Influencers are faster paced and right brain personality.

In the realms of real estate, we encounter many types of personalities. We deal on a daily basis with buyers, sellers, mortgage brokers, bankers, building inspectors, appraisers, accountants, contractors, landlords, tenant, and the list goes on. By perceiving someone’s personality, we can adjust our style and can choose better tenants, negotiate better deals, make friends and avoid conflicts. News Corp Australia, a giant news media, wrote an article on personality traits where they associate the various personalities with birds.

Driver (D) Personality – Eagle (FAST)

Drivers love to fly high above the crowd and in so doing, oversee everything. We can compare the D-personality to a lion. The lion is “the king of the jungle” and loves to roar. D personalities make good CEO’s for companies and often start their own business. They make quick decisions, value time and are self and ego driven. D-personalities are often forceful in nature, mashing toes and getting into trouble easily. The D-personality takes on many tasks at once and loves new adventures. They are not detail-oriented, dislike routine tasks, and have poor listening skills.

When dealing with a D-personality, give them the beginning, the middle and the end. I recall an incident where a landlord and his tenant clashed over everything. I met both parties at the property and realized that the tenant was a D-personality. I explained to the landlord that we must let the tenant feel he is in control. The home needed a good cleaning and some landscaping done. I got the tenant involved in getting quotes for the job and overseeing the project. The biggest fear of a D-personality is being taken advantage of and by letting him be in charge that fear disappeared.

I negotiated a commercial purchase for one of my clients. At our first meeting with the seller, I determined that the seller was a D-personality. He was impatient, controlling, and spoke quickly.  At our second meeting, I gave the seller a binder with my assessment of the property. I included photographs showing the state of the property, the property’s net income and justified why I thought that the property’s value was less. Knowing his personality, I prepared a summary page in point form. The seller picked up the report, thumbed through the pages, looked at the photography, read the summary and gave it to his realtor for review. The next day, we found out that the offer was accepted.

Influencer (I) Personality – Peacock (Fast)

Peacocks love excitement. You can identify this personality because they love to talk. They are full of life, charisma and charm. Double handshakes and colourful clothes are characteristics of an I-personality. They are often late for appointments, speed and run red lights. Their approach is ready, fire, aim. They fear rejection and don’t know when to stop talking. They dislike details and are usually disorganized. I personalities are good in sales. They will spend five minutes closing the deal and two hours socializing. Because of their charisma, they are great entertainers.

Marian was in negotiation with Henrick, an I-personality. In Henrick’s office, there was a picture of his dog. Marion looked at the photo and said, “That’s a lovely dog.” Henrick spent the next ten minutes talking about his dog. They spent the next thirty minutes chatting and finally got down to business. Henrick was selling his home and had two other offers but preferred to work with Marian’s offer because he felt a connection.

I came across a novice landlord who socialized with his tenants. The tenants often praised him for being nice and knowing his nature, would ask for concessions. It started with new appliances and then, late payments. I got involved and advised him to change his approach. All future communications for the property should be done through the landlord’s son. I personalities get carried away quickly and need to be refocused often. When dealing with I personalities, flattery works.

Next edition, we will review the last two personality types, and I will provide you with more real life examples. This week, start seeing how you can identify yourself in the first two personalities. Do they resonate with you?