Depending on the way people receive information, they are divided into three categories: visual prospect, auditory prospect, and kinesthetic prospect. Awareness of  these 3 types of people, a sales professional will learn how to communicate with them.

Characteristics of the Visual Prospect

Visual people represent approximately 55% of the population. In general:

• They are more animated and mobile.
• They relate to the world by what they see.
• They are highly affected by colors.
• They are quick to speak and have little patience.
• They think in pictures.
• They think quickly and are therefore ready for more information sooner.
• They try to get as much information as they can, as soon as they can.
• They hate to be interrupted.
• They require more attention.
• They use their hands a great deal.
• They even recall their feelings as pictures.
• They see themselves feeling good or bad as an image in their minds.
• They speak short bursts of thought, ask for the bottom line, and are very results oriented.
• They love graphs and visual data (a picture is worth a thousand words).
• They judge you by how you look. 
• They don't take notes.
• They cannot be cut off easily.

Characteristics of the Auditory Prospect

Auditory people represent approximately 20% of the population. In general:

• They tend to work in places where they have a soothing background.
• They have a terrific capacity for handling people, and therefore do well in handling prospect relations.
• They are extremely open to both sides of an argument.
• They converse with themselves internally a great deal, often moving their lips unintentionally in the process. This is because auditory people process their experiences by use of dialogue.
• They tend to dominate conversations, sometimes pushing too hard when explaining something.
• Background noise that other people pay little attention to can be a real source of discomfort to auditory people.
• They are very dependable if things are explained to them.
• They thrive on the spoken word. Tell them what you expect to be done.
• They generally like to listen to information at about the same rate they speak.
• They appreciate it when you vary your inflection, timbre, cadence, intonation, and pitch.
• They like to talk through issues.
• When auditory people sigh, you can be pretty sure they have just had some major dialogue with themselves.
• They often don't like paperwork.
• They appreciate metaphors.
• They tend to like meetings where there is considerable talking involved.

Kinesthetic Prospect

Kinesthetic people represent approximately 25% of the population. In general:

• They are brilliant business people.
• There are two types of kinesthetic people. Internal kinesthetic people measure most of their experience by how they feel internally, external kinesthetic people are predisposed to touch and take a hands-on approach to everything.
• They tend to breathe deeply and slowly and are very patient and in-tune with you while you talk.
• They tend to get the "flavor of the whole stew" when you talk with them, as opposed to keying in on auditory or visual cues.
• Kinesthetic people speak more slowly and in lower voices than others. This is one of their most obvious physical traits.
• They tend to be in better physical shape than the rest of us.
• Mood swings will be a large factor in their behavior patterns.
• Of all the representational types, kinesthetic people are the most influenced by metaphors.
• Your chances of closing will depend on your ability to describe your product or service in terms of feelings.
• Visual and auditory buyers will not have the patience level you'll find in a kinesthetic person. A kinesthetic person will give you the opportunity to sell them over and over again.
• To cause a kinesthetic person to react, you simply add emotion to whatever it is you're communicating.