How small business owners can use the DISC behavioural model
No two clients are the same. It doesn’t take us long in business to figure that out! The way we work with clients follows a similar process each time but we end up adapting it slightly depending on who we are working with and what they respond best to.
What can be a bit tricky is figuring out how to adapt our working style to a client when we first start out with them. It’s a trial-and-error process. What if we could skip the uncertainty and know what our client’s preferred approach is from onboarding? That’s what the DISC behavioural model allows us to do.
DISC maps a person’s communication and behavioural preferences, showing how they like to work and what we can do to meet them where they are. It’s like starting out with a cheat sheet for how to build a strong relationship with a client. Let me show you what this would look like in practice for different types of business owners.
Examples of how DISC can help small business owners
While it’s often talked about in the context of coaches, therapists and corporate team building, DISC is also useful for anyone who works with people. When you’ve got a good picture of who you’re working with, you know how to work with them. Are they a details person? Are they a people person? Are they a goal-focused person? You can tie in their main motivations to your work together, making sure they get what they need from you.
Copywriter
As a copywriter, knowing your clients isn’t just important for communicating with them but for writing as them. DISC pinpoints where they sit on the scale of communication styles, giving you guidelines to work with when it comes to replicating their brand voice.
Photographer
Building rapport with clients so you can put them at ease during the photoshoot is an important part of your job. The better you know your clients, the easier it will be. DISC shows you how to get on the same page and tell them what they need to hear to trust you in what for some people can feel like a vulnerable moment. Plus, when you are dealing with a group for photoshoots, you can easily adapt on the differences in communication preferences within the group to ensure a smooth shoot.
Social media manager
There’s a lot of collaboration involved with being a social media manager. You pitch ideas, get feedback on content and share reports on analytics. Throughout that whole process, having good communication with your clients makes your life a lot easier, especially with decisions that need a timely response. DISC shows you how to find the balance. You'll know how to effectively report back on analytics for each client and how to use language your client relates to, for example a high I style wants to know how popular their content is, a high C will want to know the facts and figures.
Branding expert
You can use DISC to bring a brand to life. Get a clear sense of who the founder is through the DISC assessment and then use the results as cornerstones of how you describe the brand’s style. It’s unique to the founder, making the brand personable and distinctive.
VA
Your job is to keep your clients organised. Having an idea of how they react to things, how to get the information you need from them and what keeps them on track is definitely going to make things easier for you. Translate DISC reports into action plans for looking after your clients.
Website designer
There’s a difference between knowing what you want and knowing how to explain that to someone else. As the website designer, understanding your client’s communication preferences through DISC helps you to help them share their vision for their website and give feedback as you go.
Accountant
Finance isn’t everyone’s favourite subject for all sorts of reasons. That doesn’t have to get in the way of building strong client relationships. From getting the information you need in good time to retaining clients long term, having your client’s DISC profile helps you see the best approach for talking about finances.
Personal Trainers
Everyone likes to do things differently, some need all the details, some need things to be super challenging, others will be very cautious about trying something new and will need to know all the facts on why you're doing a particular exercise and others won't want to know the ins and outs as long as it's fun! Knowing which preferred style your client has, makes planning your PT sessions so much easier and lead to happy, dedicated clients who feel heard and understood.
As you can see, DISC works in all sorts of wonderful ways, whatever kind of business you have. It helps you to deliver for your clients, give them a good experience and make your life easier because you feel like you’re on the same page. What’s not to love?
The next step is to learn how to use DISC with clients and make it part of your business. Join me on one of my introduction sessions to find out more and the next steps to become a Certified DISC personality profiler. You can find out more information here
