An Introvert Sales Success Story
I wrote my book, Successful Selling for Introverts, to help salespeople to succeed by utilizing their own unique personalities instead of trying to imitate what might have worked for someone else. To show how powerful a genuine, warm personality can be, let me tell you about a printing salesman I had the excellent fortune to know. Working as a corporate advertising coordinator and new to buying printing, I nevertheless bought a fantastic number of four-color printing jobs. Understandably, printing salesmen were always calling on me: adequate ones, less-than-adequate ones, and most somehwere in between. The person who rose above the others and received the majority of my business was Bob.
Bob was basically a silent man. He spoke softly. He didn’t play golf at a country club and never had a skybox to a baseball or football game. He never slapped me on the back or offered an off-color joke. If he ever closed on me, I was never aware of it. And while he always dressed appropriately, he never tried to impress me with expensive suits and jewelry. He drove a decent but not too garish car. Lunch with Bob was more likely to be Denny’s than a well loved bar.
But what he did do was to deal with every printing need I ever had. He knew printing backward and forwards. Sometimes, if his firm could not compete on a particular job, he would hlep me find another company who could. I never was never worried about when my order would be finished. And when there was a complication, as there always is in any business relationship, he took total responsibility and answered my concerns quickly. As you might expect, Bob was successful not only with me, but also with many other satisfied clients. You can imagine why.
Let’s look at him from a customer’s perspective. He was not silent; he was a excellent listener. He was not just studious; his product knowledge outshone any of his competitors. He did obsess over details but his dedication saved me many an embarrassing moment.
Now there may be some skeptics out there. who say “of course handling accounts can be the introvert’s domain, but what about new business? Don’t you have to be overly aggressive to get bonus business?”
Obviously you do. But there are varying ways to be competitive. Bob was consistently the leading salesman for his printing company and he never made a cold call. That’s because he had a sales force of hundreds of customers like me singing his praises and making new business for him. He was aggressive and competitive at being excellent.
Was Bob an introvert? Probably. Was he a success? He was very successful at being himself and serving his customers.
Bob was always a role model for me and he should be for you too.
Excerpted from Successful Selling for Introverts by Tom Murphy.
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