A strange story from here in Minnesota is the founder and CEO of Lifetime Fitness. The CEO has had numerous encounters with the local authorities including his latest incident – allegedly harassing a teenager at a local high school parking lot after a driving incident.
I bring this up simply for the fact that I would guess this CEO fits a specific selling style – a very high Dominance factor and a very low compliance factor. This style leads to a rebellious, quick-tempered person. This CEO takes that style to an extreme.
We have a customer who once employed a salesperson with this type of style (we assessed him). He was their top salesperson, but he infuriated as many prospects as he closed. His behavior eventually overwhelmed the internal team – to the point where he used the F-bomb on the CEO. His employment ended and the company has continued to flourish.
My point here is that the extremely high D selling style is the most dangerous style for effective selling . . . and apparently CEOs.