Author: uku

Whether you have used EPIC platform for many years, or you have started out recently – you might not be aware of these 2 great functions that can add value in your respondent’s journey with DiSC while also saving admin time for you.

1. Adding Custom Email Messages while sending out access code emails – Great for better respondent journey and quicker completion of the questionnaire

EPIC allows you to save several email templates. These can be used for sending out access codes or reminding participants to complete their profiles.

Once stored in the library, the messages can be inserted into emails anytime EPIC provides you with an option to insert Custom Email Messages.

Instructions:

Go to Personal Options / Manage Custom Messages

EPIC will display the custom message folders and messages you already have stored.

Click Create a new message and you’ll see a screen like this.

1. Give your custom email message a title.
2. Select a folder in which to store the new message (you can create a new folder for that).
3. In the text editing area, enter the text you want to include in your message.
4. Press the Save button to complete the process.

On the image above you can see a sample text we usually recommend adding to the access code email in order for the respondents to be prepared better.

After this is done, you can always choose this template when you send out assessment links. For that click OK on the final notification message before sending out the email:

On the next page find the saved template under Custom Messages and click Select. The message is now added to the email and you can click Send.

2. Import Respondent details from Excel file – Great for a faster process of sending out the assessments

If you are sending out 5 or more new assessments, then you can save a lot of time by importing respondents’ data directly from an Excel file. It is quicker to add all the respondents to Excel and upload it to EPIC rather than adding the respondents one by one.

Instructions:

Download the template and fill it in with your respondents’ data. In column C, choose if you want respondents to get their results after completing the assessment or not. Save the Excel file and then upload it by clicking on the Upload button as shown above.

For filling in the Excel, just follow the instructions on the downloadable import template.

If you haven’t used these moves in EPIC before, then we hope that you can try these out soon and find them useful. Feel free to ask us, if you need any further guidance!

Sales objections are the reasons why your prospects can’t or won’t buy your service. Some prospects will tell you they don’t need your service. Others will think they don’t trust your company. Maybe they don’t have room for your service in their budget.

Prospects don’t come around easily so you can’t afford to give up on a potential sale so quickly.

It’s your job to reframe the perspective of your potential customer.

What is great about any objection is that it gives you a critical insight into the exact pain point you need to overcome. In addition, the objection often reveals something about the person’s DiSC style. The nature of their objection and how it’s communicated contains important information, helping you to tailor your response accordingly.

There are almost always ways to address your prospect’s concerns if you approach the objection in the right way.

We will bring you just a few of the most common objections that you might come across while selling your DiSC-based services.

Need

If the prospect thinks they don’t need your service or this product, you should try to reframe the conversation and change their perspective if you still think you can add value for them. DiSC profiles have very wide application opportunities, so it can add value to many different programs and create a much more personalized training experience no matter the topic.

You will definitely come across a situation where a prospect tells you “I’ve already done DiSC, what else do you have?”. It’s important to explain that DiSC is not just one profile as there are many different DiSC tools and applications.

Or you can always ask back “But how are you using DiSC and the knowledge that you got from your last experience?”. Most with already some prior experience with DiSC would greatly benefit from a follow-up DiSC-based training to refresh and deepen the knowledge, and most of all – rehearse their behavioral adaptation.

Price

The budget doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker.

If the prospect says “It is too expensive” then you should talk about the added value DiSC profiles could offer their business. It’s about convincing the prospect not to see it as a cost, but rather as an investment in their people.

You could point at the reasons why to believe in DiSC – the foundation of research, transformational learning and global trust and scale of it (2 million learners every year experience DiSC). Also, it’s always great to refer to existing customers who have benefited from DiSC.

If the prospect says, “I can find a cheaper alternative” you could ask: “If price were not an issue on this, is this solution something you would move forward with today?” It’s important to remind that cheaper in most cases does not mean better, so ask the prospect if they have considered if the alternative solution is:

• A) researched, validated and normed in your local culture?
• B) a diagnostics tool (a lot of beautiful numbers with little impact and help in long term) or a development tool (focused on developing people and helping them to implement this knowledge in their workplaces)?
• C) a one-time assessment tool or a true catalyst for cultural transformation?

Time

This objection will test your sales skills, especially on the phone. Your relationship management and conversational prowess is vital.

• If the prospect says, “I’m not interested now, but maybe next year” then you could ask “What will change by next year?”.
• If the prospect says, “I need to think about it” or “I need more time” you could ask back “What is your specific concern about making this decision?” and “What’s stopping this from moving forward?”. Maybe there is something more you could do (materials to send or joining the meeting with decision-makers).

Competition

If the prospect says, “I’m already using [competitor tool]”, the good news is it means they have a need for such solutions. Now it’s your job to prove your service is a better option.

You could reply with “I’m glad you’re already working with a provider-because I’m confident we can help you with [goal 1] and [goal 2] even more than your current provider. Why did you choose their service? What is working well? What isn’t?

When the prospect is reluctant to switch, you need to show them the benefits and highlight what that means for their business.

Trust

If you’re a new company and the prospect thinks, “Your company is much smaller than [competitor]/I’ve never heard of your company”, make sure you have some testimonials ready. Buyers want to see a solid track record. Your passion for the service and helping the client is just as important.

You could answer: “We’re a [type of company] that helps [target audience] do [outcome], and DiSC so far helped [customer 1], [customer 2], and [customer 3] exceed their [another outcome].”

Overcoming sales objections isn’t impossible. In fact, sales objections open up doors to understanding your prospect more and the more you learn about a prospect, the easier it is for you to build trust and show them that your service is there to help them.

Of course, preparing for sales objections does not replace what is central to selling – one’s true enthusiasm and a thorough understanding of the solution, but it does provide a definite advantage in sales.

What kind of DiSC sales objections have you faced? How did you overcome them?

Source: text is based on Overcoming objections in sales by Pipedrive.

True cultural transformation, while ultimately the responsibility of an organization, needs a catalyst. We believe Everything DiSC® can be that catalyst. We are thrilled to share the Everything DiSC promise with all of you in the premiere of our manifesto video, DiSCOVER THE POWER OF WE™.

Certified users are free to use this video for promotional purposes.

Our workplaces are undergoing change at an unprecedented rate. We’re living in a new era of automation, disruption, and innovation, and it can be difficult to keep up. However, amid uncertainty and change, employers need to pay attention to their most valuable resource: their people.

As working life gets increasingly busy and many teams work together from distance, meetings might be the only chance we have to really “connect” with our coworkers. But the truth is, running productive meetings (both in-person and virtual) that leave people feeling clear, comfortable, and understood, can be a challenge. How to make the most of meetings in your organization through understanding everyone’s work styles?

We really liked the tips given in Dori Meinert’s article on SHRM.org, “7 Steps to Running Better Meetings.” Some of these include limiting the number of participants (fewer than eight is ideal) and making sure everyone gets a chance to participate. An HBR article with a similar topic, “Why Your Meetings Stink—and What to Do About It” by Steven G. Rogelberg, echoes Meinert’s sentiments while providing more reasoning behind the action steps you can take to give your meeting culture a 180°. “Before you hold a meeting, force yourself to make deliberate choices. First, know exactly why you’re convening and define your goals to set the stage for achieving them,” Rogelberg writes. “This process may include asking others to suggest agenda items, which not only promotes relevance but also increases ownership and engagement. If you don’t have a clear mission or a list of agenda items, you should probably cancel.”

These tips are sincerely helpful, but we think something is missing from the equation of x + y = better meetings. So how can meetings be more engaging and productive?

A personality assessment like DiSC® can help to bridge the gap between employees and optimal workplace communication, which is often put to the test in situations like team meetings. Knowing your own DiSC style, and those of your coworkers, enables you to adapt your communication style—and even your meeting structure—to work well for everyone involved. If you’re leading a meeting and know ahead of time who likes to make decisions quickly and who needs more time, you’ll have more information to plan the conversation and share information at the right time.

Knowing what we know about DiSC styles, here are some of our tips (updated for virtual working environments) for creating meetings that feel like a productive use of everyone’s time:

Of course, everyone is unique, and the above example is not suitable for all. Each DiSC profile is highly personalized, resulting in a completely authentic user experience for each individual. For example, people with blended DiSC styles, like an iD, may require a detailed agenda but love having spirited discussions with colleagues! Likewise, someone with an S-style may prioritize “action” like their D and i-style co-workers, which gives them some more assertive qualities not common of most other S-styles. This is why the DiSC assessment is so valuable: you’re able to better understand (and appreciate!) your co-workers in ways you hadn’t necessarily thought about before.

Who tends to be enthusiastic? Who’s doubtful? Who will jump in and offer their views? DiSC helps everyone understand each other’s priorities, capitalize on strengths, and minimize less useful tendencies. In the age of the rapidly changing workplace, where company culture is more important than ever before, locating pain points (oftentimes, meetings and meeting culture) can help evaluate your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Leveraging a tool like DiSC can help identify and fix these pain points, leading to a more desirable work environment for everyone.

This blog content belongs to Everything DiSC, a Wiley brand.

The way we team is more important now than ever before.

Read the latest research report from Wiley to understand the challenges teams are facing today and how The Five Behaviors® could be the solution for building truly cohesive and effective teams.

State of Teams is a great resource regarding the need for strong teamwork skills in today’s work landscape. The report covers new research from Wiley conducted in the last two months on the dynamic nature of teams in today’s workplace, based on insights from over 20,000 employees.