How Now Me We - Part 5: The We personality

When the moment comes—you’re handed the pen and signature page on the contract—what personality surfaces? The How personality desires evidence, the Now personality acts to confirm, the Me personality seeks personal validation and the We personality looks to their team. (And remember, these four types only refer to the moment of decision-making. They’re not monoliths, or always.)

Those with a We disposition require consensus to approve ideas. They seldom operate alone, like the Now or the Me. Selling to a We personality usually means selling to a team. In this way, you can end up having to build harmony with all four types to satisfy a We leader.

The We type will be as social as the Me, but prefers to meet you in a group setting versus one-on-one (like a Me or Now). Their offices celebrate teams, group activities, and community. Where the photos in the office of a Me are often of one or two people only, the photos in the office of a We crowd each frame with faces.

But don’t assume a person surrounded by staff is a We. The preference for accord can surface through CCed emails. The We personality gets tricky to discern in the middle of a large organization with a pedigree for consensus. It might appear everyone’s a We when all are closet Nows.

An advantage to selling to a We can be the opportunity to test and build approval from the outer circle in. With a We, you can rehearse and optimize your pitch over subsequent meetings. (With other personality types, you get one shot.) The chance to return again, to refine your pitch is another useful sign you might be working with a We.

On the other hand, you’ll invest considerably more time convincing a We. The consensus approach can also disadvantage those pitching first, and favor those selling last.

If you find yourself trying to influence a We, hum the Beatles’ “All together now” in your head.