When we talk about trading techniques, there is a strong association with sales and customer acquisition strategies. This possibility is indeed one of the applications of persuasive techniques, but not the only one.
Trading and persuasion are two characteristics pointed out by the World Economic Forum that tend to be more valued by recruiters from large companies in the coming years. According to experts, 54% of the global workforce will need to upgrade their skills of trading so that they can stay fit for work by 2022.
This means that human skills that involve trading will also be increasingly useful (and appreciated) within the corporate environment in general, not just with a focus on sales, for example. Therefore, our content today brings some situations where the trading skill can be a great ally of the professionals of the future.
What can we understand by trading?
The Michaelis dictionary defines trading as a “conversation that takes place between two or more people, to reach an agreement on any matter; adjustment.”. We can add this definition to the elucidation of the World Economic Forum, which points to the act of trading as “gathering people trying to reconcile differences”.
If we were to analyze only these two brief sentences explaining what trading is, it would be possible to reach two conclusions about the use of this skill in corporate environments:
Provide general subject resolution: function, salary, benefits, hours, activities;
Manage possible behavior adjustments: disagreement between employees, undisciplined collaborators, and more.
The types of traders
There are several strands of thinkers and scholars classifying the types of traders and their main characteristics. According to the scholar, there are 4 styles of trading:
Catalyst
The catalytic negotiator profile manages to be extremely creative, enthusiastic, and innovative. Sometimes it can be seen as superficial and unreal in its decisions and actions. Oriented to ideas, he needs recognition of his skills by others and, in terms of trust, he shows more sincerity and less credibility.
The catalytic negotiator appears to be very dynamic, persuasive, stimulating, convincing, quick, and at times he also seems fickle, superficial, exclusive, impulsive, and manipulative. For support, he uses social skills and persuades, but under tension, he speaks loudly, quickly, can be agitated, and explode.
Supporter
The supportive style negotiator considers human beings more important than any other type of work. Therefore, this profile appreciates working in teams and seeks to please others. Sometimes it can be seen as unable to meet deadlines or develop projects, for example. His decisions may be slow, but he always tries not to resent the other party. Oriented towards relationships, it needs acceptance by the community and shows more receptivity or acceptance and less coherence.
It highly values the attention received and being accepted by people, needing to learn to have more self-determination and set goals. The supportive negotiator usually presents himself as someone kind, spontaneous, docile, understanding, cooperative, helpful, sensitive, a good listener, someone who plays for the team.
Often, he seems pretended, disorganized, unwilling, subservient, inefficient, and easy to be taken into the conversation. To get support, he seeks to make friends by working for the group and seeking peace and harmony. Under tension, he pretends to agree, but sabotages, does not manifest.
Controller
The controller is the profile of the negotiator who makes quick decisions, is always concerned with the use of time and cost reduction, for example. In the discussions, he doesn’t get around, goes straight to the point, is organized, concise, objective, his basic goal is to achieve results. Result-oriented, he needs personal fulfillment, the achievement of his financial independence and needs to learn to listen more to others and to be humble.
Sometimes he thinks more of himself and doesn’t care about other people, who only consider resources to carry out the tasks. Simplifying and rational, he also has difficulties in accepting and living with individual differences, making pre-judgments. Sometimes he is selfish, impatient, insensitive, demanding, rude, critical, and authoritarian. To get the support you rely on efficiency, good work is done, and delivery on time. Under tension, it can offer a threat, impose itself, and even become tyrannical.
Analytical
Finally, the negotiator with an analytical profile is the typical style of those who love to ask questions to get the most information, collect all available data, always worrying about knowing all the details before starting any task or making any decision, without dividing relevant information with others.
The analytical negotiator is typical of a procedure-oriented, detail-oriented person who needs security. You value safety, greater assurance, and need to learn to take more risks and make faster decisions.
