Personality Profile with Crystal Knows
A podcast I have been enjoying lately, called Note To Self, recently did an episode about a company called Crystal Knows, that performs online searches on people to guess their personality type with the end goal of allowing you, as a marketer, recruiter, support technician, etc., to write a better email that will be better received by the other person. It seems a little bit like bullshit, and they are very secretive of their algorithm and just what information they use – it seems to be primarily from LinkedIn, but they claim to use Twitter as well (although I didn't specify my Twitter screen name...although that might be in my LinkedIn profile) – but, like a general horoscope that everyone thinks totally applies to them, i.e. the Barnum Effect, it seems, subjectively to confirmation-bias-suffering me, to have spit out a surprisingly accurate description of this lad named Erik on LinkedIn.
Erik is a natural problem-solver: perceptive, analytical, creative, detail-oriented, and very quickly becomes bored with routine.
Accuracy confidence: 89%
When speaking to Erik...
- Start conversations with a problem to solve
- Interrupt him if the conversation is going too long
- Use visual aids
- Provide your reasoning before you get to the bottom line
When emailing Erik...
- Send lots of extra information (like links and attachments
- Provide lots of detailed information and instructions
- Ask him something that will require a long and thoughtful response
- Use data to prove a point
When working with Erik...
- Spend time exploring new ideas
- Surprise him to get his attention
- Take time to work out logical conclusions
- Schedule meetings over food or drinks
When recruiting Erik...
- Expect him to ask lots of questions
- Use visual aids to explain your product
- Make sure you're prepared for tough questions
- Leave detailed voicemails
It comes naturally to Erik to...
- Question the authenticity of an advertisement or sales pitc
- Invent something
- Independently come up with lots of ideas
- Experiment with many solutions to a problem
It does not come naturally to Erik to...
- Act as a mediator in a group decision
- Stay loyal to trusted companies and brands
- Finish one task before starting another
- Be comfortable with a rigid structure
Creepy? Genius? Terrifying? Amazing? Yes, all of the above.