Are people high in agreeableness easier to sell to?

Not really. They are more likely to stay polite, which can hide doubt, so a friendly call can still end in silence. Ask directly what would make this the wrong choice, and make it easy for them to say no.

Does agreeableness predict job performance?

A meta-analysis covering five occupational groups found agreeableness was not an important predictor of job performance, even in jobs with a large social component (Barrick and Mount, 1991). It is a poor basis for a judgment about a candidate, and Tejesha is not built for that use.

Does agreeableness change over time?

A meta-analysis of 92 longitudinal samples found agreeableness changes mainly in old age, while conscientiousness and emotional stability tend to rise through young adulthood (Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006).

Big Five guide

Agreeableness: how to communicate with people high or low in it

People higher in agreeableness care about harmony and about who is affected, so be warm, cooperative and clear about what a change means for the people involved. People lower in agreeableness are direct and skeptical, so skip the small talk, bring evidence, and welcome the hard questions instead of smoothing them over.

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Definition

What agreeableness is

Agreeableness describes how much someone is oriented toward cooperation, trust and the welfare of other people. It is one of the five broad traits research converged on (Goldberg, 1990).

Lower agreeableness is not rudeness, and higher agreeableness is not weakness. A direct, skeptical person often says out loud what the rest of the buying group is thinking. A warm, cooperative one may need room and permission to raise an objection at all.

Compassion

Concern for the feelings and the welfare of others.

Politeness

Respect for others and a preference for avoiding open conflict.

Every Big Five trait divides into two aspects, and a person can sit high on one and in the middle on the other (DeYoung, Quilty and Peterson, 2007).

In one study, people higher in agreeableness rated an advertisement more highly when its message was framed around connection with family and community (Hirsh, Kang and Bodenhausen, 2012). The effect was modest, and the authors note that framing does not rescue a weak message.

At work

What agreeableness looks like day to day

Neither column is a better colleague or a better buyer. They need different things from you.

Higher agreeableness

Warm, cooperative and considerate

Looks for agreement before deciding, and consults widely
Softens disagreement, so objections arrive late and gently
Cares who is affected by a change and how it will land
Can agree to a next step out of politeness, which hides doubt

Lower agreeableness

Direct, skeptical and focused on the task

Says what they think, early and plainly
Tests claims and asks for the evidence behind them
Is comfortable with disagreement and does not take it personally
Treats warmth without substance as a warning sign

In writing

How agreeableness shows up in language

Higher agreeableness

More we and us, more words about family and friends, and more positive emotion words (Yarkoni, 2010)
Words like wonderful, together, share and glad (Yarkoni, 2010)

Lower agreeableness

More anger words and more swearing (Yarkoni, 2010)
Blunter phrasing, with fewer hedges and softeners

Agreeableness shows in language more clearly than most traits, with 110 individual words linked to it in one study of bloggers (Yarkoni, 2010). Context still decides: a carefully argued critical review is not the same as a habit of disagreement.

How Tejesha estimates traits, and how confident it is

For sellers

Adapting outreach to agreeableness

Same offer, different framing. Start here when you know roughly where someone sits.

Higher agreeableness

Make it easy to disagree. Ask what would make this a bad fit
Name everyone the change touches, and what it means for each of them
Offer a reference they can actually talk to
Reading a polite yes as a commitment
Pressure tactics and deadlines that were invented for the deal

Lower agreeableness

Get to the point in the first two lines
Bring numbers, limits, and the cases where your product is the wrong choice
Answer challenges head on, and say plainly when you do not know
Small talk and flattery
Softening bad news until it sounds evasive

For recruiters

Writing to candidates

Higher agreeableness

Describe how the team supports each other, with examples rather than adjectives
Say clearly that no is a fine answer. It builds the trust you need later
Explain who they would work with, not only what they would own

Lower agreeableness

Be direct about the hard parts of the role
Skip the culture adjectives and give them evidence
Expect sharp questions about the product, the pay and the management, and answer plainly

Use this to write better messages, never to judge a candidate. Personality estimates are not designed or validated for screening, ranking or selecting people.

Where Tejesha stops in recruiting

Questions

Questions about agreeableness

Are people high in agreeableness easier to sell to?: Not really. They are more likely to stay polite, which can hide doubt, so a friendly call can still end in silence. Ask directly what would make this the wrong choice, and make it easy for them to say no.
Does agreeableness predict job performance?: A meta-analysis covering five occupational groups found agreeableness was not an important predictor of job performance, even in jobs with a large social component (Barrick and Mount, 1991). It is a poor basis for a judgment about a candidate, and Tejesha is not built for that use. Where Tejesha stops in recruiting.
Does agreeableness change over time?: A meta-analysis of 92 longitudinal samples found agreeableness changes mainly in old age, while conscientiousness and emotional stability tend to rise through young adulthood (Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006).

Sources

Last reviewed September 15, 2026.

Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative "description of personality": The Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6), 1216-1229.
DeYoung, C. G., Quilty, L. C., & Peterson, J. B. (2007). Between facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 880-896.
Yarkoni, T. (2010). Personality in 100,000 words: A large-scale analysis of personality and word use among bloggers. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(3), 363-373.
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44(1), 1-26.
Hirsh, J. B., Kang, S. K., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2012). Personalized persuasion: Tailoring persuasive appeals to recipients' personality traits. Psychological Science, 23(6), 578-581.
Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1-25.

The other four traits

See these traits in the people you write to

Tejesha estimates the same five traits from public professional writing, with a confidence level for every trait.

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