You’re shy. You’re an introvert. You want to sell. But how?
Often, when I speak to groups about being great at selling by “thinking like a customer,” I end up mentioning how great introverts are at selling. Afterward, I’m almost always approached by people who are proud, self-proclaimed, card-carrying introverts. They wonder why they’ve had such a wrong perception about introverts and selling, as they believed an individual has to be a “born salesman” – or an extrovert – in order to be great at selling. Some even call it the “gift of gab.”
The Truth About Selling and Introverts
Great salespeople don’t need a gift for gab; they need to leverage their ability to be curious, authentic, and a great listener. That sounds a lot more like an introvert than an extrovert to me.
Fact: Every sales person I know who is making seven figures is an introvert.
Maybe that’s coming from a small sample, but I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve met a LOT of people. My experience gives me a decent baseline to start from, not only from the amount of sales people I’ve known, but from the quality of their craft. I’ve known some of the absolute best.
Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of great extroverted salespeople. I have hired them; I know them; and I love them. But the great extroverted salespeople that I know had to learn how to do what the great introverted ones do naturally.
Introverts: Don’t Ever Change. Just Change Your View of Sales.
So why do introverts think they can’t be great at sales? They have a skewed vision of what selling looks like.
To most people, salesmen are supposed to be pushy, aggressive, and sell their product/service by any means (whether you need it or not). If that’s what you think selling is, then it’s no wonder you think you’d fail at it. Ron Willingham, a brilliant thinker for selling, used to say this all the time: “If you ask 100 people to play the word association game with the word ‘sales,’ 97 percent of the responses will be negative.”
I am one hundred percent certain he was correct.
As someone who is shy, I proclaim that if you understand the right definition of selling, you will be great at selling as an introvert. Even more important is that you will have an edge over everyone else in sales.
Stay Tuned to Discuss How You Define the Word “Selling”
If you seek greatness, then selling is (without a doubt) the most important idea to explore. This applies whether you are introverted, shy, extroverted, or a natural “people person” with zero inhibitions about contacting prospects and trying to sell.
In next week’s blog, we will address the definition of selling – an eye opening explanation that will make any introvert thrilled to be in sales. We will also explore the 3 advantages an introverted person has over an extroverted person that will make them successful in sales and feel good about their career path.