January - March 2017 •
The Lion King
• 45
Can You handle the six types of
people you meet daily?
1
3
2
6
5
4
By Judith Umunna
A
ccording to psychologists, based
on temperaments, there are four
kinds of people on earth. But
when behaviours and characters are
in play, you can meet a thousand and
one different kinds, all in one day.
I walked into a restaurant one day and
met the waitress crying, when I asked
her why, she said a customer came in
and placed an order and she mixed it
up, he got angry, refused to pay, asked
that she pay and be sacked as well.
Now I don’t know the man’s previous
experience with her but I’d always had
excellent service from her so I decided
to pay.
Personally and professionally, you need
to recognise that people/customers
are the backbone of your life/business
and knowing and understanding them
is the overarching rule of successful
individuals/companies.
But just how much do you know about
people and your customers? To get the
best answer to this question, we need to
break down categories of people you’ll
meet into 6 types:
THE FRIENDLY AND LOYAL:
We all want to meet them; they
are the customers we want to
have. They are nice no matter
the type of service you offer.
They are patient, kind and believe
in you and your brand. They
promote more sales
and profit as they are
the ones that are
completely satisfied.
Advice:
You should
keep them at all
costs.
THE IMPULSIVE/INDECISIVE:
With them, you may never know where
you stand. They are difficult to convince
as customers as they want to do business
in urge or caprice. They have no product
in mind and just want to buy what they find
good and productive at the time. There’s a high
probability of getting huge sales from this group.
Advice:
You need patience and a very good
knowledge of your products.
THE AGGRESSIVE/IRRITABLE:
They may be really stressed or
just have an aggressive/irritable
personality. They are reasonably
choosy about everything. They
want you to talk, act and behave in
a certain way when addressing them.
They are quite loyal and consistent
and can give you good business if you
consistently prove your worth to them.
Advice:
Bepatientandknowledgeable
because a few mistakes will send them
packing.
THE WANDERERS:
They wander from
p l a c e - t o - p l a c e
and
can
have
mischievous motives.
Advice:
If you are asked
a weird question like “Do
you have a security alarm
here?” My dear, find a way
to discharge them!
Remember perception is
everything. Never underrate
anyone. Always smile!
THE ONESWHO KNOW
AND TALK A LOT:
They know and say
a lot. They can keep
you talking for hours.
Advice:
Never start an
argument with them; subtly
steer the conversation to what
they came to do.
THE DETACHED/INDIFFERENT:
They lack loyalty. They see you as
someone who can sometimes
help them. As Customers, they are
reasonably happy but have no buy-in.
Advice:
You have to work hard to build on the
relationship they have created.
Feature
