On a recent MLSP conference call with Cedrick Harris, there was an excellent discussion of the four main personality types.  Cedrick’s main point was that the main product in your business is people.  If you’re like most people, you will do business only with people you like and therefore need to become a chameleon in order to appeal to their specific likes and dislikes.

1.  Fire personality people are motivated by results and challenge, including  lifestyle, action and money.  These people are decisive and goal oriented.  They are motivated by challenges and hate wasting time.  They are great at initiating communications and giving directions.  They are not good at listening.  They make quick decisions with the goal or end result already in mind.  They need very few facts to make a decision.  If you talk to them about all the facts you’re boring them.  In a pressure situation, they will take control and become dominant.  Their greatest need is to see results and face new challenges.  They like money, promotion, being on stage and being the life of the party.  Their ultimate desires are freedom and opportunities for material possessions.  They are natural born leaders and love confrontation.  They like expensive designer brands and getting things done quickly.  They have a microwave magic type attitude.  They don’t like watching what others do and following.  They don’t like losing or showing a lot of emotion in public.  Show them the big picture and give them options.

2.  Wind personality people are extremely enthusiastic, dramatic, and fun loving.  They have many friends on Facebook and are social butterflies.  Their weakness is that they are unrealistic and may join your business with very high initial expectations.  For example, one guy on Cedrick’s team expressed a vision of flying his G5 Hummer to meetings in a corporate jet.  These people are motivated by recognition vs. money.  They are extremely disorganized and want only to have fun.  They have a tendency to rush to the next exciting thing and have probably been in 19 network marketing businesses.  They tend to talk rather than listen, but can inspire many people to join them in what they do.  They attract people because of their energy, which is contagious.  They make spontaneous decisions and don’t need a lot of facts, but are more interested in the party you’re going to have at convention.  They are attracted to social activities.  You would not want a Wind personality as your assistant, since they are not organized.  They want to be the center of attention and have fun while living in the moment.  They are focused on “today.”  When talking to a Wind personality, you need to be enthusiastic.  These people are great at connecting but terrible at follow-up.  They usually arrive 15 minutes late for meetings.  Focus on immediate cash vs. residual long term potential.  Make sure to have fun with them.

3.  Water personality people are very reliable and people-oriented.  They “hate” confrontation and only want harmony in life.  “Can’t we just get along?”  They hold grudges and fear change.  They are slow-paced and have a strong nurturing tendency.  They love to help other people and are motivated by a desire for good relationships.  They are great listeners, make slow decisions, but easily influenced by others.  They will give in to the ideas, opinions and desires of others.  Their needs include a friendly, relaxed environment and don’t like to be managed.  Their whole being is quality relationships and focus on team. They are extremely loyal, dedicated, and patient.  They love animals and love to spend time with their kids.   They like to market products that truly make a difference in other people’s lives and to help people.  They don’t like pushy, materialistic loud people and are very soft-spoken.  Showing them your checks have no effect.  They love testimonials from people who have great results.

4.  Ice personality people are analytical, accurate and detail-oriented.  Their homes are in perfect order and can tell you what is happening nine months from now.  They “never ” miss an appointment.  They are hard on themselves and critical of others.  They spot imperfections in you.  They are overly cautious and need an abundance of facts in order to make a decision.  They are slow-paced and accurate.  They take their time and go through all the training in the system before “going live.”  They will not make a spontaneous decision and not motivated by money.  Their priority is having all the facts and suffer from paralysis of analysis.  They are extremely suspicious of people.  They speak slowly and softly and don’t see the point of “small talk.”  They don’t need to have 4,000 friends on Facebook.  They like saving money.  They “hate” sloppy, unorganized people.  If you’re going to drive them somewhere, you might want to clean it first.  They will be on-time or early for events and do not like flashy, frivolous people.  If they are a multi-millionaire, they will NOT drive a Lamborghini.  They are conservative and professionally dressed and have a firm handshake.

Important points to note include the fact that only one personality type is motivated by money.  So why are you emphasizing the compensation plan with everyone?  Oftentimes, the personality types can be easily identified visually.  In any case, the effective network marketer should always be aware of the personality types that they are working with in prospects and team members.  Network marketing is the business of working with people and requires a mastery of personalities.