Selling to a Red
Reds are decisive, sharp, business-minded and fair. You only get a few chances to impress these people, though.
Click the (+) sections below to read what to do and not to do when selling to a Red
What to do and not to do
A Red’s priorities when making buying decisions
Red’s are pragmatic decision makers. They will have very definite ideas as to whether they need what you are proposing to enhance their overall plan. These are systems oriented people, and they are adept at understanding who in their organisations they should call on to help assess your proposal.
If you are serious about selling to a Red, you had best find out who they will reference and make sure you are convincing those people as well. In the case of a Red, you can just ask them straight up who else they will reference. They will appreciate your candour, and will probably tell you. They would also appreciate you saving them time by meeting those individuals outside of your time with the Red.
A Red will negotiate hard on the price, but that is just a smoke screen, and because they can. Don’t be fooled, though. They aren’t going to buy from you because you are the cheapest. In fact, dropping your pricing will probably diminish your standing in a Red’s eyes. They really are much more intent on ensuring that you, and your organisation and your solution would be a reliable fit within their overall requirement. You may as well be upfront with your company’s financial standing. You can be sure that they will already have recent figures about you at their fingertips.
Typical occupations of Reds
CEOs of companies, directors, sports coaches, consultants, lawyers, senior management, HR directors, financial management, legal sector, corporate sector, armed forces. (It is important to mention that you will rarely find Reds working in junior positions, unless they are very young and are only at the start of their career. Their drive and ambition typically takes them to the top of the career ladder, regardless of what industry they are in.)
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Reds can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Below are others who the Red may be referencing:
Selling to a Yellow
Yellow personas are deal-makers. The higher the prestige of an opportunity the more likely they’d be involved.
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What to do and what not to do
A Yellow’s priorities when making buying decisions
Yellow personas are driven go-getters. They are ambitious people who know how to get people on their side. If they are leaders they are likely to be leading from the front. They may not have the same restraint as some of the other driven personas, so they can often make decisions on their own without having referenced others. This can be a good thing for you if you are selling to them, but it can also introduce a lot of risk into your sale.
A yellow might be telling you they have absolute authority to sanction a purchase, but until the contract is signed or a downpayment in your bank, you can never be sure that another person in the organisation won’t veto the purchase.
Even if you do make the sale, your implementation might be rather difficult as there might be key people in the customer organisation that had other solutions in mind. There are no easy answers on how to get around this dilemma.
Yellows are the most autonomous personas on our chart, they are used to getting there own way, and they are skilled at working around people who block them. Besides wealth, prestige is their highest motivation. So if a potential supplier would be asking questions like ‘who else should be involved in this decision’, the Yellow might be offended, or take exception to your line of questioning.
Typical occupations of Yellows
Sales directors, advertising, PR, entrepreneurs, public speakers, facilitators, negotiators, politicians, actors
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Yellows can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Below are others who the Yellow may be depending on for support:
Selling to an Orange persona
Driven, well informed, charming and formidable trial blazers.
Click the (+) sections below to read what to do and not to do when selling to an Orange
What to do and what not to do
An Orange persona’s priorities when making buying decisions
Orange personas are ambitious and want to be part of winning teams. To facilitate this, they will be well versed with as much detail and context as is available about the proposal that you are putting forward.
They are good communicators and good negotiators, so your proposal will need to be watertight to tick the right boxes for the Orange. What you are presenting needs to be as professional as possible. Poor aesthetics, poor presentation, and incorrect use of language are all things that can put an Orange off your proposal, even if your proposition is sound. This is not to say that your numbers, or your technical proposal, or the state of your business can be lacking. That those need to be in good order goes with saying.
On the other hand, make a good impression with an Orange on a buying team, and you will be rewarded with a strong and influential voice that will persuade others in your favour.
One aspect that can swing an Orange in your favour is if your solution can be delivered rapidly. Orange personas want progress and they want it quickly. But do not promise what you cannot deliver. If you let an Orange down you will rarely get a second chance at their support.
Typical occupations of Orange personas
Entrepreneurs, directors, coaches, consultants, business coaches, personal trainers, marketing, advertising, PR, performing/creative arts.
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Oranges can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Below are others who the Orange may be harnessing in their team:
Selling to a White persona
Practical, solution-oriented problem solvers. Connectors of people.
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What to do and what not to do
A White’s priorities when making buying decisions
White personas are likeable, and they like to be liked. This does not mean they are people pleasers, but they will be willing to give you the time of day when you need to do a pitch into a team or organisation. Whites are often well informed, well connected, and influential.
Whites have the ability to stand back and consider the bigger picture as well as to get close and personal with some of the more technical detail. They are creative problem solvers and will relish the role of being the ones who think up practical solutions to profound problems.
A White who likes you and believes in your solution and trusts your company can be invaluable to the success of your sale or proposal. The way to foster a great relationship with a White client is to engage them in the formulation of your solution. Keep them involved, educate them, enable them and equip them.
The closer a White can get to your solution, the more they will sell your concepts on your behalf. The knowledge that a White carries of the organisation that you are selling into, and of their technical structures, can be a tremendous asset to your efforts in selling to their organisation.
Typical occupations of White personas
Coaches, consultants, marketing, advertising, PR, hospitality industry (senior positions), musicians, artists, trainers and facilitators, entrepreneurs, inventors
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Whites can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Whites are collaborators and influencers, meet their team:
Selling to a Mint
Practical, personable and willing organisers of people and tasks.
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What to do and what not to do
A Mint’s priorities when making buying decisions
There are three non-negotiables when it comes to what a Mint wants from someone proposing something into their context.
Firstly, people who are vain, brash, overly confrontative, or those who talk about others unfairly, will be written off by a Mint persona and they will drag their feet in order to not support you. In fact, they will sabotage you if they can. So be pleasant and polite around Mints.
Secondly, they pride themselves on being able to implement things in an orderly fashion, on time and on budget. Whether they are project managers or not is beside the point. We are talking about how they operate in all spheres. Honour this by delivering what you’ve committed to on time, without cancellations or delays, and you will earn a Mints respect.
Thirdly, they are practical people who do like a technical challenge. They value knowledge and know-how. If you involve them from an early stage, enabling them and arming them with valuable skills, tools or knowledge, they will enjoy working with you. A mint who is on your side is a strong ally, as many other colour personas will trust their Mint colleagues to have sound judgement.
Typical occupations of Mints
Accountants, project managers, finance, IT specialists, tradesmen, musicians, artists, engineering, banking, insurance, hospitality, healthcare, teaching/education.
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Mints can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Mints are team players, hardly likely to buy without cooperation from this team:
Selling to a Purple persona
Hugely capable people that can fit into many roles. Hard to satisfy. Hard to read.
Click the (+) sections below to read what to do and not to do when selling to a Purple
What to do or not to do
A Purple’s priorities when making buying decisions
Purples can vary their focus between systems, people and technology. If they happen to be tasked with operational management, you would need to satisfy them that your proposals are sound in terms of underlying systems and processes.
This is a very different focus from a typically technical focus. They will be looking to you to prove that your systems are operationally secure.
Purples also operate comfortably in the role of consultants, analysts or specialists. If this is the focus of the Purple you need to keep on board, you would need to uncover what it is that would satisfy them, and then furnish them with data to prove the worth of your proposals.
Purples aren’t open books, they are not easy to read, and even if you ask them direct questions they may only give you as much as they think you need to know. Purples will more easily give you time with them than a Red would, but they will be harder to work out.
Typical occupations of Purple personas
Program directors, project directors, HR directors, office managers, mid to senior level management, facilitators, coaches, mentors, software developers, IT, engineering, community projects, social/youth workers, organisers in charities or local schools or community projects.
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Purples can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Below are others who the Purple may be referencing:
Selling to a Green
Greens are intensely focussed on the detail. There is no working around these personas so it is far better cooperating with them.
Click the (+) sections below to read what to do and not to do when selling to a Green
What to do and what not to do
A Green’s priorities when making buying decisions
Green personas are likely to fill the role of technical influencer on any team. Their focus may be the financial aspects of a proposal, or they may be referenced as technical experts. Greens will want all the technical detail that they can get from you.
It will be efficient to identify these influencers and to target them directly. If you can win them over offline they are less likely to slow your meetings with the wider team right down to the pace they require. You are also less likely to suffer the embarrassment that only a Green can inflict when they identify the flaws in your proposal.
Greens are well respected for being extremely technically adept. Greens will know this, and they will play their cards close to their chests until they have enough information to thoroughly sink you. Greens have very little desire or need to impress or to be liked. Their focus is on correctness. It would be a mistake to try and pull the wool over the eyes of a Green or to try to circumvent them.
Even if, on occasion, you are successful in securing a project because of your price or timing, your teams will meet the same Green in the implementation phase, only now the Green might have a chip on their shoulders. The best way to work with a Green is to get your most technically astute people to work with them to overcome all of their objections satisfactorily.
Typical occupations of Greens
Engineers, doctors, accountants, lawyers, software specialists, military, government careers, teaching/education.
Note: This is not to label anyone and neither is it an exhaustive list. It is presented to give you a flavour of how Greens can apply themselves. This also does not mean a person from another persona can’t be in the careers mentioned.
Below are others who the Green may need to reference:
Selling to a Blue
The most helpful and pleasant person on our chart. But take care because they may not give you the whole picture.
Click the (+) sections below to read what to do and not to do when selling to a Blue
What to do and what not to do
A Blue’s priorities when making buying decisions
Blues are the least confrontational personas on the chart. They would not want to hurt your feelings, so if there is bad news about your sale that you would rather know about than not, a Blue is most likely to conceal this from you.
Blues are hard working, loyal, and trusted people. The one thing that you might extract more easily from a Blue than you would from anyone else is information. Blues don’t easily take risks or jump into something that they don’t understand. In order to overcome this ‘fear’, they are likely to research things well and keep things documented. That kind of information might be helpful to you.
Most of all Blues are concerned for the wellbeing of people. If a project that you are introducing will result in or require some job losses, don’t expect the Blue persona to be a willing party to your quest. If the word is out that this is on the cards a Blue will clam up and become unhelpful. Lastly, if you do need a Blue to agree to a course of action, you must give them enough time to consider their options, at least overnight. They may also want time to refer to others.
Often, in meetings, because Blues aren’t confrontational in nature, they may take a back seat. That does not mean they don’t want a say in decisions. If they are overlooked or overruled by the majority, they will return tomorrow with their objections better quantified. If they are still overwritten, they may drag their feet during implementation, or even sabotage your project, albeit subtly.
Typical occupations of Blues
Blues value memorable experiences and life skills more than physical assets. For this reason, they aren’t necessarily very ambitious and it is hard for them to set and pursue concrete goals. Their career choices may often reflect their desire to serve others.
Teaching/education, banking, insurance, charities, medical care, social workers, counsellors, youth workers, horticulture.
The most helpful and pleasant person on our chart. But take care because they may not give you the whole picture.