1. How to Use the DISC Test to Help You Hire Your
“A”Team!
by
Richard Smith
Chief Strategist
When building your real estate or mortgage business, one of the most challenging
tasks is hiring a great employee! One of the reasons that it's challenging is because
hiring someone is not a typical skill we've learned! It's simply not taught in school
even though it's invaluable in our businesses! Because of this, it leads many Realtors
and loan officers to make these typical costly hiring mistakes
Hiring in haste just to fill the spot.
Hiring family and/or friends who are not qualified.
Incurring needless job advertising costs.
Taking too much time to train a new employee.
Being quick to hire and slow to fire.
Being afraid of hiring the wrong person (this hinders you from hiring
essential employees for building your business).
Well, there's a powerful hiring tool to help you find a great assistant or any other
type of employee and avoid making all the mistakes listed above!
It's called the DISC Test, and it's powerful because it helps you find the right person
for the right position. Let's look at what the test is and how it can help you build
your business in the most effective way possible when it comes to hiring.
Our thanks to Richard Smith for explaining what the DISC test is and how to
implement it on a practical basis in a mortgage business!
“Business is a team sport. The average small business owner loses because they do
not have a team.” Robert Kiyosaki
What Is the DISC Test?
DISC is a quadrant behavior model based on the work of Dr. William Marston. It
examines the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific
situation. Here's what the quadrant looks like:
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2. As you can see in the above graphic, there are four quadrants that tend to describe a
person along a continuum of "Outgoing...People Oriented...Reserved" and "Task
Oriented." Each of the quadrants describes a style or set of specific behaviors a
person is likely to exhibit in your business:
Dominance - results, direct, competitive
Influence - enthusiasm, friendly, optimistic
Steadiness - accurate, cautious, contemplative
Compliance - sincerity, patient, modest
Key Point:Remember, everyone is a mixture of all the above styles, but tend to
prefer a specific one. It's your task to find the person whose dominant style best fits
the position you want to fill.
Below, let's look at some examples so you can see how a quadrant defines a
potential assistant or other employee.
Dominant Assistant
When you have an assistant with a “D” style, they:
* Like to work independently.
* Are very self-sufficient; that is, they get the job done with minimal direction.
* Don't like to be micro managed. (Talk to them in a clear concise manner for best
results!)
* Are very good at problem solving.
Influencing Assistant
When you have an assistant with an "I" style, they are:
Very sociable because they're friendly and approachable.
Good at working with customers
Great at being able to get things done because of the relationships they
create. Successful Title Reps are a good examples of this personality style.
Very good at handling sales calls and setting up your initial appointments or
going out in the field to help with promotional work.
Steadiness Assistant
When you have an assistant with an "S" style, they:
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Are great with customers as well but more reserved.
Are very loyal.
Prefer consistency and stability.
Avoid confrontation and are good at following directions.
Compliance Assistant
When you have an assistant with an "C" style, they:
Are perfectionists.
Are the ones (as team members) who know compliance, rules, and
regulations.
Are great at detail and will map out procedures step by step.
Have desks that are very neat and organized.
Will help you get and stay organized as they prefer order
Are great at creating systems.
There are several short You Tube videos that can give you a more in-depth view of
the history and the basics of understanding the “DISC Profile. Here are two links to
those videos:
http://pinterest.com/pin/379850549791047858/ - Titled “People are Different”
http://pinterest.com/pin/55380270390547532/ - Titled “ Disc Assessment”
Now let's look at the steps to take in order to put the DISC Profile into action within
your business!
Step 1
Its best if you take the test first so you can get a feel for how it works - and also to
find out what your style is! That way, you can hire assistants or other employees
who complement your specific style. In essence, you'll be filling in any gaps in skills
and knowledge you might have so you can assemble a fully functioning team.
Here are a few websites where you can take the DISC Test for FREE or for a small
fee:
http://www.tonyrobbins.com/ue/disc-profile.php (free)
www.budurl.com/yourdisc
http://www.internalchange.com/default.htm(fee)
And here's an example of a DISC graph showing the natural style of a person:
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4. In this case, the individual has a natural style tending toward dominance as shown
by the red bar.
Key Point: Remember, an individual may have a natural style, but that doesn't mean
it's the end-all be-all; everyone can adapt their style to specific circumstances.
Overall, human beings are pretty darned flexible in their behavior!
Step 2
In order to use DISC effectively, the next step is to clarify the job description and
tasks for an assistant or other team member. To do this, you first need to ask
yourself two questions:
What part of the sales process do I enjoy?
What tasks can Idelegate to an assistant that I either don’t like or don’t do
well?
Here's an example to illustrate this step: When hiring anassistant, you may want
that person to take over the following tasks so you can focus on creating more sales:
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Manage loan approval conditions.
Manage the escrow timelines and inform clients.
Manage your schedule and emails.
Confirm appointments the day before.
Manage your client database, etc.
A good candidate who fits these job parameterswill have a moderately high"C" and
"S" from their DISC Profile. In other words, this assistant would be dependable,
consistent, and be good with your clients, and their DISC Profile would look similar
to this:
Now, let's consider a different position to see what kind of DISC profile you'd be
looking for: Assume you're seeking a Jr. Loan Officer to help you with Pre Quals or
taking apps. In this case, the tasks you might want them to manage would be:
Take all potential buyer calls.
Set up appointments.
Manage the Pre Qual appointments.
Attend open houses.
Manage the buyer database.
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5. In this case, a good candidate's DISC test would show a moderately high "I" or "D"
and a moderate "S" and "C." But, someone with a high "D" could be in competition
with your business in the future!
Conclusion
The DISC Profile is a powerful tool that can help you increase your chances of hiring
a good team member, and you should definitely make use of it. However, remember
that it's not the only tool you should use in the selection process. Definitely
incorporate other tools in order to ensure that you’ve hired the right person!
Bottom line: first, know the needs of your business and select potential employees
who you think can meet those needs. Then, as part of the overall selection process,
use the DISC test to find the best fit for a particular position!
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