Interacting with people requires a huge emotional resource from an introvert. Every telephone conversation involves pre-tuning, organizing thoughts, and setting in the right mood. It is impossible to simply take the phone, dial the number, and talk to a person. It is much easier for an introvert to write a marketing essay or a scientific article than to speak to a stranger. It's hard for them to figure out how it's so easy for extroverts.

So how can you work in sales with such criteria? Indeed, there is a widespread view that introverts are less successful in sales. Is it really so?

Introvert vs. Extrovert

Carl Gustav Jung was the first to classify people into extroverts and introverts. According to him, an introvert is a person who is turned inside himself; thinking about the action is more pleasant for him than the action itself. The extrovert, in contrast, lives by action and interaction with the world around him, which easily allows him to establish contacts with people around him.

Stereotypes about the personalities of the sales representatives

From time to time, we encounter stereotypes about "real salesmen". Usually, a "real salesman" is an extrovert who can sell anything to anyone. He enchants customers so much that they sign a contract before they know what happened. That's what drives potential customers away. No one wants to be manipulated or forced to buy.

The same image of the tricky salesman is depicted in many movies. Take "The Wolf of Wall Street", for example. It seems that only such sellers can achieve results.

At first glance, such a brief description provides grounds to say that, indeed, extroverts can be more successful in sales. Thus, an extrovert really has a better chance in "fast" sales (for example, FMCG). But the concept of sales is very broad and includes a considerable number of types. Thus, the kinds of people who will be in demand are also different. And the ability to quickly establish contact is not always the key feature that determines the success of the salesman.

For example, in sales with a long funnel, once the primary contact is established, another challenge arises — to be able to maintain it at an appropriate level of interest for an extended period while the customer makes a decision. And that's where an introvert fits perfectly. He wins the client with his thoughtfulness, the ability to understand his needs, analyzing the situation, calculating possibilities, etc.

Knowing our personal characteristics, we will always be able to consciously make an effort to "compensate" some of the inherent weaknesses. Let's review a typical behavior model for an introvert: in a situation where you need to contact someone, you can write an email instead of calling or meeting a customer as an extrovert would do.

 Another possibility is to choose such life situations that will help to show maximum efficiency without breaking the habit of being yourself.

How to become a good sales manager if you are an introvert?

Actually, it's simple. It's all about understanding your strong points. Most of the introverts are unobtrusive, have an analytical mindset, and deep involvement in the process.

An introvert acutely feels when the interlocutor starts getting tired of the communication, whether it's a personal meeting or a telephone conversation. Thus, he manages to minimize the contact before the potential client gets irritated. The main thing here is not to forget to agree on the next contact. Then, the introvert salesman will continue the process without involving the client. He will analyze the information that he has received during the personal or telephone communication, research some additional data available on the Internet, and try to find information from non-standard sources (such as social networks employees of the client). Based on this data, he will prepare a quality presentation to the customer, which will be based on a thorough correspondence with the customer's needs, and thus is more likely to lead to a deal than a baseless assertive attack of the extrovert.

All of the above is more about the B2B sales, and as for retailers, the introvert can also act according to his logic. He will simply be not far from you and to be able to control your selection process. The salesman will hear and analyze all the doubts you share with your companions (it happens that people do not go shopping alone). When the moment comes, and he realizes that you have generally decided on your choice, or can not choose from the options offered, or perhaps even decided to leave and try your luck elsewhere. The introvert will consider it necessary to contact you with a clear understanding of your needs and either alleviate your concerns, offer the product that best fits your needs and tell you about available promotions for this category.

To sum everything up, we would like to once again walk through the advantages of the introvert salesmen. They will not waste your time with useless talk or irrelevant information. They will try to ensure maximum efficiency with minimum interaction.