Understanding & Adapting the 4 Communication Styles to Win With Anyone and Everyone

Mo Bunnell breaks down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument and reveals the key insights into how you can tailor your communication to win with anyone and everyone. Learn about the one thing that analytical thinkers care about more than anything, why the top priority of relational thinkers is safety, how to build and convey trust with relational thinkers, and what makes experimental thinkers say yes. 

Breaking Down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument to Understand 4 Communication Styles

• How the brain is wired is an emerging science. What we learned in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s no longer applies.
• Research has shown that the brain has a hub and spoke model and is very elastic and flexible. This is the way that the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument views the brain and explains how we communicate.
• The four hubs of how the brain operates act in opposing pairs.
• Analytical/Blue thinking is all about logic, running the number, and making sure everything makes sense. The opposite hub is Relational/Red. That’s where you think about others and the people on your team and is more emotive.
• The other pair is Experimental/Yellow and Practical/Green. When we think experimentally, we think in big visions and very intuitively. Practical thinking is about coming up with the details of getting something done.
• When you put the stats together, 95% of people have more than one strong preference. The vast majority of people have two, three, or all four ways of thinking.
• Avoid the trap of communicating in the way you would purchase something because you aren’t going to connect with them as well as you could if you can flex into their way of communicating.
• Listen for the clues and identify what the other side prioritizes, then adapt your communication to that.

4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Analytical Thinkers

• When you’re dealing with a high analytical thinker, you should get to the point. To know someone is an analytical thinker, they are often brief and to the point and focus more on the numbers.
• Make it clear that your solution is the highest ROI option available. You may not know what else they are looking at but you can make it very clear about how much money they will save or how much value they will get, and present your price with confidence.
• Make it clear to talk about outcomes and pricing and have a great ROI, and you will win.
• In terms of flexing into this space, it’s not about being ridiculously precise. It’s more about the way you talk than the exact numbers.
• Discuss things in numbers, KPIs, outcomes, and fee structures. As long as you’re discussing logic and numbers with analytical thinkers, you’re going to win the day.

4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Practical Thinkers

• Practical thinkers want details and all their questions drive around one thing: making a safe choice.
• Give them everything they need to make you the safe choice, whether that’s timelines, hours invested, or the list of things that can go wrong and what you will do when that happens.
• Be early on everything. Arrive to meetings early, and deliver work ahead of schedule. If you’re doing things early, you’re sending a message that you are the safe choice.
• Avoid the trap of skipping over the details. Engage on the details and dive into them to reassure the other person that you are the safe and correct choice. This doesn’t always have to be done by you as long as the person who’s responsible for the client communicates that.

4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Relational Thinkers

• For high Relational/Red thinkers, you’re going to hear a lot of questions around trust and connectivity.
• Relational decision-makers are looking for answers to three questions: Do I trust you personally? Do I trust your team is going to make my team better? Do I trust that you are going to deliver an amazing result for everyone involved?
• Prioritize showing and building trust in those three ways.
• Do things that are trustworthy. Share what you’re not good at or what you won’t do as part of the project if someone else would be better, and guide them to the right investment.
• Play the long game at every turn and communicate to them that you have their back, and you will help them achieve their goals.
• The biggest opportunities to build trust are when there is not something to purchase.
• Stay in touch in the off-season and invest in the relationship even when there is no commercial opportunity. If you can do that and be helpful all the time, not just when you’re being paid, you are going to always be the first consideration.

4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Experimental Thinkers

• Experimental thinkers are looking for the big picture. You’re going to see clues around themes, outcomes, brand, and vision.
• They are looking for the right strategic fit. For the work that needs to be done, are you known for that thing?
• Once you find that you’re talking to an Experimental thinker, talk about a clear vision around what you’re known for, and the high-level future state of what you can provide them. Doing things in a fresh, new, or innovative way will get you some bonus points.
• A clever way or alliteration to describe what you do appeals directly to the way Experimental people think.
• Leave things at a high level but let them know that your team will take care of the details.
• Strive for simplicity when you are talking to an Experimental thinker and it will go a long way.
• Avoid the trap of letting them zig and zag too much. Give them the flexibility to change the order but also try to bring them back in.
• Offer new ideas and approaches and always tie the work back into the strategic fit with clever and crisp messaging.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Karim Nehdi on Whole Brain Business Development – What You Need To Succeed - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528586505

How to Use Whole Brain Business Development to Create and Close More Opportunities, with Karim Nehdi - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528709233

Brian Caffarelli's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000554179371

Mark Harris' Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000553415818 

Henning Streubel's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000558839387