Can Introverts Succeed in Sales?

What do Isaac Newton, Mahatma Gandhi, Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Johnny Carson, and Eleanor Roosevelt have in common?

All of them are introverts.

So are Taylor Swift (painfully shy), Elvis Presley (terribly nervous before going on stage), Abraham Lincoln, Meryl Streep and Winston Churchill.

Clearly introverts can be extremely successful in many lines of work. The question is, can they be successful in sales

Absolutely! But, before making the case for them, a little background:

The idea was introduced into psychology by Carl Jung and has since been used in many personality models like Myers-Briggs.

Jung postulated introversion and extroversion as a continuum and that all of us are somewhere on that continuum. In general, introverts’ behavior is more reflective and reserved whereas extroverts usually display more outgoing, talkative and energetic behavior.

And, a lot of us are introverts. Studies show that it’s anywhere from 33 – 50% of the US population. Myers-Briggs sampled their users and found 50.7% of them were on the more introverted side of the continuum.

So, in making the case for introverts, here are some of the things that come more naturally for them and will serve them well in sales:

• Introverts think before speaking. Which means they’re less likely to wing it.
  
  
• They’re observant. They’re able to see others’ mistakes and learn from them.
  
  
• They like independence and don’t need constant attention.
  
  
• They like concentrating on a single activity and value deep experience and expertise. So, skill mastery and creative account strategy can become real strengths for them.
  
  
• Introverts also self-monitor. Meaning, if they are in a situation calling for uncomfortable behavior (e.g. presenting to a large crowd) they learn what is expected to do well in that situation, make effort to do so, and are often aware how well they’re doing.
  
  
• They’re cautious, creative, persistent, and are wired for deep thought.
  
  
• There’s still a desire to connect with people. But, they enjoy deeper conversations rather than small talk and tend to conserve their energy for those interactions.

Those are a lot of strengths to bring to a sales position, especially complex, large, enterprise sales.

Another reason I’m pro introvert in sales is because even though we’re all born with a certain personality type, we have the capability to change our innate behaviors at least temporarily. Johnny Carson was a great example.

Johnny turned on his extroverted charm 5 nights a week and then retreated back to his private sanctuary to recharge his batteries. It didn’t come naturally. He had to make the effort. But he also knew he had mastered his craft and that gave him the self-confidence to do it.

Introverts in sales can do the same thing. They just have to silence the voice inside that urges caution in order to succeed. They just need the discipline and confidence to take on the activities that don’t come naturally and with which they’re uncomfortable.

But, so do extroverts. Extroverts who like to talk a lot have to learn to zip it and listen. They have to get more comfortable going deep when problem solving. They have to learn to slow it down with prospects who want detail and analysis. And so on.

No matter our preferred style, all salespeople deal with discomfort in our jobs. All have to be able to adapt to different people and situations. Introverts and extroverts.

Until next time...

Bob