Most profiles seem to be built either on the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) system or on DISC - although it seems to me that DISC is easier for people (i.e hiring managers) to pick up and understand than MBTI. I also discovered an interesting variant on DISC that involves colors instead - so someone is a high Red instead of a high D - which is Dominant (quick , fast, get to the point type of person).
Although there is obviously no perfect profile - it is apparent that some personality trends lend themselves better to some types of SE jobs over others. Even if it as simplistic as different behaviors for strategic, big account solution-sell SE's versus transactional run-and-gun SE's.
I've settled on using DISC with the colors variant for those who are more visually driven - and my question is - are there any SE organizations out there who have profiled their teams? And would you be willing to share your results if I share the data I've gathered over the past 5 years with you?
>>transactional run-and-gun SE's>> Interesting point there. I would like you share your perspective by writing a comparative article on SE roles in Solution vs transactional selling. I feel that the SEs job is more challenging in transactional selling becuase the sales force can most times do without an SE. So how does an SE establish value in a trasactional/product sales environment (Short sales cycles, Customer mostly driven by price, sales most often tries to fit the product to customer's budget rather than focus on upsell / cross sell)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anton - that would be an interesting topic. I'll add it to my ideas list for the next few months. My initial thoughts are that SE's in these cases make a difference on the "edges" - those deals that are more competitive in nature or where the product isn't a 100% fit.
ReplyDeleteOnce you get to learn about your personality through taking DiSC profile assessments at websites like intesiresources.com, you'll definitely get to learn a lot more about yourself and get to bank on on your strengths.
ReplyDelete