Hiring an Online Sales Counselor (OSC) is like finding a unicorn that can juggle fire while smiling at strangers and analyzing a spreadsheet—all at the same time. No one person is going to nail every skill on the wishlist: people skills, task management, analytical thinking, adaptability, emotional stability, and the drive to perform. That’s why tools like the DiSC assessment can be incredibly helpful—not as a crystal ball, but as a flashlight to illuminate learning styles, communication patterns, and potential red flags.

Over the years, I’ve seen wildly different DiSC profiles succeed—and fail—as OSCs. There is no one-size-fits-all “perfect” DiSC pattern. What matters most is understanding everyone’s natural wiring and giving them the right tools, support, and coaching to help them grow into the role.

Below, I’m sharing insights from ten OSCs—five of whom were national award-winning producers, and five who didn’t make it in the role. To keep it fun and anonymous, I’ve given each one a nickname.

The High-Performers

The Steady Anchor
Profile: High Steadiness (S) – She was categorized as the Agent
Calm, reliable, and team-oriented, The Steady Anchor excelled at consistency and loyalty. She helped create and drive a new program.  She showed up every day ready to serve prospects and build relationships. Her challenges included giving up control. As her workload increased, she pushed herself harder and harder, and continued to put out strong numbers. Her high I followed closely behind her high S allowing her to build trust, influence. She was unique and sometimes she was the loudest in the room. She was able to create and grow a program even though she sometimes had trouble giving up control.

The Strategic Analyst
Profile: High Conscientiousness (C) – She was categorized as the Creative
A perfectionist with a methodical mind, The Strategic Analyst brought accuracy, systemization, and analytical strength. She was great at tracking KPIs, CRM hygiene, and email marketing. But she struggled at times with being overly critical of herself and others and hesitated in gray areas. She needed a list and a set of goals and objectives. With that she outperformed any expectations.  She thrived when given clear processes, feedback, and measurable goals. Her high C was followed by a high D. Her profile could almost be seen as a CD. As the driver she also wanted to be in control of everything. She was seen as an expert by her peers, and this drove her high conversions.

The Driver
Profile: High Dominance (D) – She was categorized as Results-Oriented
The Driver was the go-getter, result-oriented, driven, decisive, and forceful but with her next highest I and C she was able to bring charm, confidence, and high standards to everything she did. She tackled problems fast, wanted autonomy, and was laser-focused on outcomes. She’s definitely been described as a bit of a control freak.  Given the autonomy to craft the program, she was unstoppable. She brought analytical qualities together with confidence and conviction, along with her inquisitive mind to become a high performing online sales counselor.

The Charismatic Connector
Profile: High Influence (i) – He was categorized as the Persuader
Energetic and persuasive, The Charismatic Connector could talk to anyone, anytime, about anything. He thrived in conversations and built rapport fast. His challenge? Follow-through and detail tracking. He needed structure, accountability, and clear deadlines to balance his natural flair with task completion. This was result of a much lower S and C compared with some of the other high producing OSCs.

The Sparkplug
Profile: High Dominance (D) + High Influence (i) – She was categorized as Inspirational
This OSC brought energy, ambition, and people skills in equal measure. A natural leader and motivator, she was the face everyone wanted to meet. She appreciated the freedom to move fast and make fast decisions. But the Sparkplug had to learn to slow down, track her performance, and listen more intentionally. With a good CRM coach and clear boundaries, she rocked the role.

The Struggles

The Over-Talker
Profile: High Influence (i) – She was categorized as a Promoter
While her enthusiasm and friendliness were real strengths, The Over-Talker lacked follow-through, prioritization, and consistency.  She often assumed she knew information and was not accurate in her presentation, didn’t have a desire to learn and correct or self and quickly dismissed people without finding out their true why.  Conversations happened—but conversions didn’t. Without strong self-management and system support, the role overwhelmed her.

The Wandering Talker
Profile: High Influence (i) – He was categorized as a Promoter
Similar to The Over-Talker, he was well-liked but easily distracted and not task-oriented. Charisma got his foot in the door, but once their impulsiveness put his foot in his mouth and was the fastest firing in history. While he showed promise with very middle ground DSC qualities, He flamed out fast with his lack of ability to censor himself and read the room.

The Overthinker
Profile: High Influence (i) She was categorized as an Appraiser
She started strong but froze when the role required adaptability or ambiguity. Without a rigid process, she couldn’t execute. A perfectionist streak mixed with people-pleasing tendencies made it hard for her to manage expectations and move fast. Add to that, she had problems connecting with her team. Her emotional side in her high I was at odds with her critical side of a lower C. While this OSC could have been effective, a climate of micromanagement and lack of confidence from peers, continued to contribute to a fear of failure that ultimately became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Paralyzed Analyst
Profile: High i + High C – She was categorized as an Appraiser
She wanted both connection and perfection—but that duality created inner conflict. She was often overwhelmed by the pressure to be both social and precise. She over-planned, under-executed and blamed every outside circumstance and person except herself. With one of the most evenly distributed personalities across all 4 areas, she fell to some of the most detrimental behaviors within each of her DiSC dimensions.  The fear when hiring her was that she would want to be far more than an OSC due to her past experience. This played out quickly and resulted in conflicts with leadership and her ultimate demise.

The Isolated Idealist
Profile: High Conscientiousness (C) – She was categorized as a Perfectionist
The Isolated Idealist was smart, accurate, and process-oriented—but disengaged from people. She didn’t enjoy the human interaction side of the job, which is 80% of an OSC’s day. Add to that she was thrown into a chaotic time with little to no training, and poorly designed systems. When someone this high in C and S is tasked with working inside a broken system this is a recipe for failure. Without emotional stamina and relational drive and lacking the leeway to make changes to the system and being too timid to reach out with ideas for change, she quickly fizzled out.

DiSC isn’t a Pass/Fail Test

While DiSC can be a window into how someone is likely to behave under stress, in a team, and when learning new things. It is not the full picture of whether someone will succeed or fail.  It’s important to look at other factors that impact who they are from past jobs, education, and other factors that can be gleaned from a thorough interview process.

There are other dynamics outside of an OSC’s control that can contribute to success or failure. Builders need to take responsibility for current company culture, proper training and onboarding, structuring a program for success, team support and trust, and so much more.

The best OSCs are rarely perfect.  But they are aware of their blind spots and open to growing past them. If you’re hiring an OSC, look for someone who is coachable. Then, position the tools, CRM, and training around their natural strengths.

DiSC helps you see where the hurdles might be. But it’s the human behind the profile who either clears them—or trips.