When personality traits of salespeople are being discussed, introvert or shy people wonder if they could ever enter the sales world. The answer is yes: some of the best salespeople are introverts. In fact, in some cases, introverts make much better salespeople than extroverts.
There is absolutely no reason why shy people can’t be successful salespeople. It just depends on what role you play in the “sales ocean”, as you put it.
To be good at cold-calling or walking up to decision-makers at networking events, as an introvert you would have to work at it to be as good as naturally extroverted sales professionals. It’s not impossible – it just means you have to really want it and work towards it because you are starting from a step below.
If you want to be managing a high-value account and are looking to up-sell/cross-sell, it’s a bit of a toss-up. Being more extroverted might help you push clients to add-on services, as you won’t be as hesitant to suggest new ideas. Being introverted, anyway, might help you listen and understand to your customer’s problems better, and sell specific value-adds that would benefit them.
Finally, if you wish to be good at closing qualified leads, an introvert has a much better chance of being great at it, especially if you know your offering like the back of your hand. People value authority figures and want to believe that the person they are interacting with knows what they’re talking about.
Sales are about communicating information to people you’ve connected with and delivering time appropriate information to that person or persons. Theoretically, this process doesn’t take an outgoing extroverted type individual, yet that’s largely the perception. Here are some of the main qualities of introverts that explain why they fit good in sales, too.
Introverts are excellent listeners
I always say this, but sales are not only about talking. It never was and it never will be. In sales, it is most important if you listen well. And introverts have this ability. They listen before they speak. And they make sure that they are confident with what they will say.
People will be amazed by how much you can sense/ notice about them during first seconds of meeting. A shy person’s attention is usually focused on the other person. This can be your trick how to overcome shyness. The social anxiety is acquired, no one is born with it. Babies are born only with two fears- a fear of loud noises and height. A shy person wishes to take the last grain of attention from himself and focus it on others. You don’t want to blow it up, so you are attentive like “normal people” are not.
Do not force extroverted behaviours. The beautiful thing about introversion is that you can comfortably let buyers do the talking, which is what many of them want to do. Listen to your buyer and be thoughtful when recommending products. Some people need to be handed a contract and told to sign; others need to be listened to, heard and guided through the process (my strategy). You’re a phenomenal listener and you’re detail oriented, which makes many people feel secure.
Introverts are good observers.
Introverts tend to watch from the sidelines. They can notice the changes in their environment. And that’s also important in sales. Introverts can identify subtle clues and signs coming from their prospects or customers.
Your struggle with shyness may become your unfair advantage. Shy people tend to observe everyone around carefully and to notice tiny details that are hidden for most people. Thanks to this “hack”, you could connect with people relatively quickly and on a deeper level.
The training that is needed to eliminate shyness teach you the things that are necessary for connection and conversation: a proper appearance and attitude at the beginning, noticing, observing and registering people’s behaviors, look and facts about them; beginning an interaction with a positive attitude and a hefty dose of determination; a genuine need for connection.
Introverts are laser-focused.
One of the best traits of introverts? The ability to concentrate and focus. If you have laser-focus in sales, then you have an advantage over the others. There are a lot of distractions in the sales world. And it is a must that salespeople have the ability to concentrate on achieving their goals.
So if you’re shy, don’t think that there’s no future for you in sales. There is a future for any individual in the sales field.
Many extroverted salespeople overcompensate with their ability to build relationships quickly and don’t do enough of the research and product work necessary to get a sale. The type of salesperson you need will depend on the product.
Most relationship salespeople are really good at selling things where the relationship trumps everything else. These people are generally selling a commodity product that many other people have (like selling media to agencies, real estate brokers, corporate lawyers, private wealth managers, etc.). In sales, where the dominant reason to win a sale is the strength of the relationship, then more extroverted people are generally better at quickly building relationships.
While building relationships with people is always important, products that are complicated need a more technically oriented salesperson. This person needs to really understand the product and to be super competitive, but this person does not need to be an extrovert.
One of the ways to get past the social shyness is to focus on the technical challenge at hand. Imagine the prospect is your teammate. You have a problem to solve together, and you are going to get to the finish line. Try and talk to them as your equal (both intellectually and as a potential business partner) and give them your best information, analysis, and problem-solving skills.
You won’t need to be a social butterfly if you don’t fancy going golfing with people to close deals. You can make my intentions clear from the beginning: you want to do business with them, and you want to earn that business by adding more value than anyone else.
People will work with you because you synthesize a ton of information about technology, and find practical ways to use it. An introvert salesperson usually prepares for meetings thoroughly, adds a ton of value, and usually closes deals quickly. Forget “outgoingness” and quit trying to be something you’re not. Your secret sauce can actually be knowledge & synthesis.
At the end of it all, anyone can be good at sales – it really depends on what you want to achieve, and how much effort you want to put in it. Have a clear understanding of your goal, and outline what you need to do to get there – it’ll give you a better idea of the value you can bring, and where you fit best in the process.
Selling something you believe in and have a passion for will be easier, too, so try and find yourself in a role where you either are comfortable with before the job or while training and you truly love the product or service. Enthusiasm is contagious and the person on the other line can tell you believe in what you are saying. They may not buy, but they will probably give you a chance to explain why they should.
