PeopleSmart in Business eBook - The Platinum Rule

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Three: How Will You Know One When You Meet One?
success ratio is lower. Th ey generally fi gure that the number of successes
is more important than the percentage of successes.
Anyone involved in telemarketing or outside sales realizes that the
road to success is littered with setbacks. Direct people excel in these
arenas because they’re able to take no’s; they simply go out and fi nd
more prospects. Aware the yes’s are out there somewhere, they’re determined
to unearth them. “Th e odds are defi nitely in my favor now. I’m
due for a big hit!” Indirect people tend to take those no’s as personal rejections,
responding by examining other alternatives which don’t force
them to go out again. “Maybe if I send out a direct mail letter fi rst, then
follow up by phone, I’ll increase my chances of getting a yes.”
Direct people point, fi nger jab, or otherwise more observably express
themselves in methods ranging from open arms to forearms—literally,
a hug or a shove. Th ey are verbally intense. “Th is is the way it is,
so get used to it.” Th ey emphasize their points of view with confi dentsounding
vocal intonations and assertive body language.
Th ey speak with conviction. “Th is idiot got an advanced degree from
a diploma mill!” Fast-talking, Direct people like to tell, not ask, about
situations. If you want to know the answer, just ask them. Th ey can
even become brutally blunt— “Th at’s supposed to be a custom suit? It
looks more like it’s off the rack of a discount store.”
Impatient and quick-paced, they jump into things, so they get into
more “iff y” situations than their indirect counterparts. Just as the songs
of the sirens lured sailors to their doom, the windows of opportunity
beckon to Direct people. Entrance sometimes nets them huge results
and sometimes slaps them with dramatic disasters. Wherever inclination
takes them, their natural tendency is to do their own thing.
When the windows of opportunity crack open, the Direct types can’t
wait to tell somebody. So they seek willing listeners—usually of the
Indirect variety—and they say, “I’ve found a gray area.”