Advisor

" Services

5 influencing styles
—and how to use
them effectively

Advisors can discover—and enhance—

their influencing style for better
communication with clients and
colleagues, according to research
published by Harvard Business Review.
Key Points

!
How good are you really at motivating people to act?
Experts find that most of us rely on one of five influencing
styles, which is inherently limiting. When you understand
all five, you have a powerful tool that can help you
motivate people in a positive way. In this article, discover
your own influencing style, how to identify the styles of
others, and when to adjust the way you communicate.

The psychology of influence

Many of us assume that communication prowess is an innate
gift. But it isn't. In Harvard Business Review, Chris
Musselwhite, CEO of Discovery Learning Inc., and Tammie
Plouffe, managing partner of Innovative Pathways, reveal that
you can improve your powers of communication once you learn
to identify and navigate what they call the five distinct styles of
influence.1

That's good news for advisors, since the ability to positively

influence others is an essential skill—one that helps you guide
clients toward wise financial decisions. Influencing skills are
also valuable for building stronger relationships with partners
and employees and when making connections with new
prospects.

Unfortunately, the research suggests that we're not as adept in

this area as we might think. Musselwhite and Plouffe warn that
in situations where we would most benefit from being flexible,
we become rigid and default to our habits: "When we are
operating unconsciously out of a preference (our style) and not
seeing the results we expect, we actually have the tendency to
intensify our preferred behavior—even when it's not working!" 2
These situations most often occur when speaking to people
who have an influencing style that is different from our own.3

Explore the five styles4 below to determine your primary mode

of influence. Then learn how to pick up on others' cues and
how to adjust your style to one that will be most appealing to
your audience.

Determine your style

Identifying your primary influencing style is a critical first step in
improving your ability to motivate people. Once you're aware of
your own style, it should become easier to notice the default
styles of others. This increased awareness can help you detect
when your approach isn't working and decide how to best
remedy the situation.

Consider the questions below. Which style sounds most like

you?

Bridging: Are you comfortable drawing on the

connections of friends and colleagues? Do you bring
people together and invite relevant stakeholders into your
conversations to build consensus?
Rationalizing: Are you analytical? Do you often use facts
and data to support your point of view?
Asserting: Are you a straight shooter? Do you use your
confidence to help motivate others to act?
Inspiring: Are you a compelling speaker? Do you use
stories and metaphors to help people understand
complex ideas, to offer encouragement, or to instill a
feeling of shared purpose?
Negotiating: Are you a strong collaborator? Do you
proactively seek ways to satisfy different interests, leave
room for all voices to be heard, and create consensus and
harmony?

Develop an expert ear

Improve your ability to determine others' styles by being an

active listener and taking note of how they communicate. Try
to:

Keep an open mind. Enter meetings without assuming

you know the problems or solutions.
Ask questions and listen carefully. Notice the tone,
the body language, and the way people structure their
ideas. What are their concerns? When are they most
animated?
Take note. Be a good listener. Write down or make a
mental note of when people say or do something that
reveals their influencing style.
Review the evidence. Based on what you've gleaned,
which BRAIN approach is most appropriate?
Match their style. Meet them with the same
communication style that they use—the one they're most
comfortable with. Practice empathy and pay close
attention to how your influence is received. Adapt as the
conversation progresses.

Turn habit into intention

When you influence from a place of habit and lean too heavily
on your primary style, you reduce your odds of being heard and
limit your ability to motivate others.5

According to Musselwhite and Plouffe, "The tactics we default

to are also the ones which we are most receptive to."6 In other
words, we often influence the way we like to be influenced.
Therefore, it's important to recognize the influencing style of
the person you're speaking to and then match it.

The examples below demonstrate how one might accomplish

this shift in style and put intentional influence into practice.

Scenario: Your
succession plan rests on
developing one particularly
talented junior advisor.
However, when you ask
him to join the advisory
board, he says he's
hesitant to take on too much at once, citing other junior
advisors who aren't participating. His referencing of peers tells
you that he might be a bridging influencer.

Bridging approach: If you are an assertive influencer, your

first impulse would be to say, "Look, this is good for your
career. You need to do this." But such a direct approach could
cause a bridging influencer to dig in his heels. Because bridging
influencers respond well to social proof, you decide to invite his
mentor to share her experience of serving on the board. After
hearing about the value it offered her, he now feels more
confident in pursuing the opportunity.

Scenario: A prospective
client wants to reorganize
his retirement portfolio,
but you feel his specific
strategy is at odds with his
long-term goals. When
questioned, he cites data
trends and all his research, which reveals that he might be a
rationalizing influencer.

Rationalizing approach: You shift to a rationalizing style,

acknowledging the thinking that went into his strategy and
asking him again what his retirement goals are. You outline the
costs and benefits of several scenarios, allowing the prospect
to follow the logic and conclude on his own that his strategy
may not be as ideal as he thought. Now he's open to other
options.

Scenario: You're speaking

with a professional
colleague to establish a
new source of referrals.
You ask about his
approach to client service,
and he says, “We work
with people who want to work with the best.” From his
confident and direct manner, you recognize he has an assertive
style.

Asserting approach: Rather than go deeply into all the

reasons why you'd make a good fit, you meet his asserting style
by congratulating him on what he's built and stating your
position succinctly. “We specialize in what your clients need.
I'm certain we're your ideal partner. Let's put this in motion and
get to work.”

Scenario: You're in an
estate-planning session
with your client and her
25-year-old son. Not long
into the meeting, you
notice the young man
looks bored because the
discussion doesn't feel relevant. He's looking for inspiration,
but he's getting a dissertation.

Inspiring approach: To make the information more relatable,

you shift to an inspiring style and tell a story about another
young client who put properties into a trust, which opened up
possibilities he hadn't considered. You explore the idea that the
young man may have kids someday and may want to take them
on adventures to his family's vacation properties. He becomes
emotionally invested in the conversation, and you've found a
way in.

Scenario: Your client is

concerned that she's not
achieving the results she
wants with her current
investment strategy. But
you're not comfortable
with the new approach she
suggests. You pick up on the fact that she isn't demanding as
much as seeking agreement—a negotiating tactic. There are
hints she might be open to changing course incrementally and
testing the waters.

Negotiating approach: Rather than try to convince her that

she's making a mistake, you look for a way to satisfy her desire
to explore something new while also protecting the long-term
strategy. You offer a complimentary portfolio audit and a
timetable for switching strategies. This way, if she doesn't see
the results she's looking for, all is not lost. She feels heard and
is pleased with this new plan.

Practice each style

As Musselwhite and Plouffe make clear, all five influencing
styles can be effective, but a single style can't address every
situation.7 Like learning a new language, mastering the
influencing styles takes work. If you practice listening with an
expert ear and communicating with intention, you can improve
your ability to guide your clients to better results, turn more
prospects into clients, and create meaningful connections with
your peers.

We hope these influencing insights help you make the most of

your ability to guide and motivate action in others, with the goal
of increasing client trust.

If you're thinking about becoming an independent advisor,

consider a custodian that invests in your success. Contact
us to learn more about the benefits of a custodial relationship
with Schwab.

Related resources
A quick guide to decoding body language

5 steps to fine-tune your EQ and improve

workplace performance

1. Chris Musselwhite and Tammie Plouffe, "What’s Your Influencing Style?," Harvard Business Review, January 13,
2012, https://hbr.org/2012/01/whats-your-influencing-style #.
2. Ibid.
3. Musselwhite and Plouffe, "When Your Influence Is Ineffective," Harvard Business Review, March 28,
2012, https://hbr.org/2012/03/when-your-influence-is-ineffective #.
4. Musselwhite and Plouffe, "What's Your Influencing Style?," Harvard Business Review, January 13, 2012.
5. Musselwhite and Plouffe, "To Have the Most Impact, Ask the Right Questions," Harvard Business Review, November 12,
2012, https://hbr.org/2012/11/to-have-the-most-impact-ask-qu #.
6. Musselwhite and Plouffe, "Whats Your Influencing Style?," Harvard Business Review, January 13, 2012.
7. Ibid.

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