They can be described as sensible and detail oriented and just like the skeptics, they have a strong personality. They are prone to making decisions without consulting others and make remarks that may make people alienate them hence being loners. They look for facts and accuracy in everything but rarely consider these facts while making their decisions. They tend to pass the blame when something goes wrong.
Followers
They are responsible decision makers, tend to take less risk and always seem to see things from their own perspective however, despite their cautious less, followers have been seen to spontaneous at times. They can be mistaken for skeptical since they engage in long details which they seldom use to agree or disagree on a decision. They tend to take control but once pushed, yield to pressure and agree with the majority. In order to persuade a follower, you need to prove that the decision you are making has worked elsewhere.
Skeptical
Skeptics have a strong personality just like the controllers; they are aggressive, rebellious and demanding and tend to make decisions sorely on their feelings. They see things from a personal point of view and may challenge decisions that contradict with how they generally view their world. They are always good at expressive how they feel about a decision without fear and you can always tell what they are thinking. To gain an endorsement from a skeptic, you need to be of similar character or be endorsed by someone they trust. To them, credibility must be earned through an aggressive questioning or transfer.
Thinkers.
They can be described as self-centered, impatient and logical, they are however honest with themselves on the things they don’t understand and tend to search for knowledge in order to understand them. They guard their emotions from others and they are mostly anti-social and always have a desire to retain control of situations. Thinkers are risk takers unlike the charismatics but they need to analyze data thoroughly to be sure that the decision they are making is worth taking the risk. To persuade the thinkers, you need to either present to them a low risk opportunity that will save time and money or honestly express your worries about the project.
Charismatics
They can be described as listeners, intelligent and innovative.Charismtics know what, how and when to say something. These characteristic make people to trust them and feel comfortable being around them. They always seek facts to support their decisions and can be somehow hard to convince. They tend to learn from their past mistakes and use this to make informed decisions and are result oriented. To gain the endorsement, you need to present facts and elaborate how the decision will bring in results.
Citations:
William, GA Miller, R “Change the way you persuade” Harvard Business Review 2002 May; 80(5):64-73, 133.
