Thursday, February 18, 2010

What Kind of Salesperson are You?

In Tom Hopkins' new book Selling in Tough Times he identifies 2 types of salespeople:


  1. The interesting extrovert

  2. The interested introvert

The stereotypical salesperson is #1 - the outgoing, funny, entertaining extrovert who has a story for everything and enjoys the "gift of gab." But many times the most successful salesperson is #2, the interested introvert, who listens to his buyer, offers solutions and has the patience to hang in there over time and continue providing valuable insights.

I've heard small business owners say, "I'm not a salesperson" and "I don't like sales." Maybe this is because you are the interested introvert.


1 comment:

Steve Waterhouse said...

Very interesting question. Our research shows that it is less the extroversion and more the drive that makes the successful sales person. Many technical sales reps are introverts.
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