Do you think you would buy anything from the salesperson described in this online ad:

Are you willing to do anything to make a sale? Do you want to be in on the ground floor with a company that plans to make sure no one looks at google the same way again? Or, do you want sit at home and watch another episode of The View? If the latter applies to you do not even bother reading the rest of the ad we DON’T want you! Can you sell a car to your own bed ridden grandma, or maybe siding to your own neighbors in your apartment building? If that is you then we want you. If you can prove to us you can make the sales we need in 3-4 days you have found a new job! Preference will be made to anyone who has SEM, PPC, Facebook, SEO sales experience. Email your resume & references to us. Salary and wage to be determined when and if your hired!

No wonder sales has a bad reputation. Just remember, there is always a place for the introvert salesperson using the right script for their personality.

I have had some folks come up to me and say how much they hate salespeople and they are glad I wrote a book about how obnoxious they find salesmen. They think I would agree because of the title of my book and how it speaks to those without natural selling skills.

No. No. No.

My point is that if you have a job where you need to sell products, ideas, services or anything else to other people, the best way to do it is by being yourself and using your personality to be successful. If you are an introvert as I am, then you can use some of the strategies I outline for introverts. If you are an extrovert and a “natural people person” that’s great too. Use your personality to its utmost. And some of my selling tips are useful in doing so.

I think anyone can be successful if they work hard, know themselves, and use appropriate strategies. Just because a person is an extrovert doesn’t make them a good salesperson anymore than being an introvert means they can never sell.

I was reminded of this not too long ago when I heard from a salesperson that had worked with me previously. He is an instinctive people person, never having a problem picking up the phone or talking to a stranger. But he always is a natural. He doesn’t speak from an internal script. He likes people, gets to know them and shows a real empathy for others. But I don’t begrudge him his personality. I think it is great and he is successful as a result.

In fact, I think the stereotype of the obnoxious salesperson is tied more to individuals trying to not be themselves than it is to their natural personalities. Both an extrovert and an introvert might try too hard to portray themselves as something they are not.

So my basic message is “Use what you got” and don’t try to be something else.

“Tom, we have a problem.” It was the voice of my best customer. He was standing in an empty warehouse, surrounded by metal racks and wire shelving(oru product) that didn’t fit the racks. Over $100,000 worth of wire shelving that didn’t fit the racks and was probably useless.

My customer was surprisingly calm considering his customer, the warehouse owner, was standing next to him when he made the call. My voice may have sounded calm, but inside I my stomach was churning. I made a quick trip to the warehouse to size up the situation and begin thinking about a solution. My boss was with me and her serene countenance helped keep us focused on fixing the problem rather than on the amount of money involved.

What made this situation even more difficult was that we had a product drawing approved by our customer. If we wanted, we could have said, “Sorry, you signed off on it and it is yours.” Instead, we thought of the big picture and the future orders we would be losing if we took a “you signed off, it’s yours” position.

We finally figured out a solution that involved making additional supports for our decks at a cost of $15,000 or so. Our customer would bear the cost of installing the supports, also about $15,000. But in order to show both our customer and the warehouse owner how this solution would work, I had to drive from Portland to Vancouver, BC to pick up a part air freighted from China overnight. It was a 6 hour dirve each way, but I wasn’t going to let my customer down.

I drove to Vancouver on Sunday and had the new part ready for a meeting Monday morning. We showed our solution to the warehouse owner and received approval to move ahead with production. Our customer was very happy and his customer was also happy. As a result, we continued to get business from this customer and, in fact, saw a marked increase in purchases from his company.

This story reinforces the introvert trait of laser-like focus on customer service. A slick sales pitch can get a sale but a commitment to the customer on a long-term basis can build business that will continue for many years.

I just wanted to make a quick post about my new venture, Silver Sol Geeks. My friend and tech whiz Jim Knox and I are putting our marketing, sales and technical expertise into the site Silver Sol Geeks to provide access to a wonderful new product, Silver Sol. It kills bacteria, virus and fungus, and is the closest thing to a miracle I’ve found. The manufacturer has done a great number of studies and research projects to prove that it is not only safe but helpful in treating a great number of maladies. Take a look soon. Thanks.

Tom

The troubling disappearance of salesmen and how it helps explain America’s economic woes.

From Slate

By James Ledbetter

Maybe Willy Loman was a little ahead of his time. His demise in Arthur Miller’s 1949 play Death of a Salesman wasn’t intended to predict the downfall of an iconic American profession. But surveying today’s scarred employment landscape, one fact stands out starkly: America has stopped creating sales jobs at the frantic pace it once did. And whether you like dealing with salespeople or not, their economic health is critical to the health of the American economy as a whole.

From 1950 to 1980, sales represented one of the fastest-growing occupations in the country. In the 1980s, sales was by far the largest job-growth category, increasing 54 percent. That growth slowed in the 1990s, and by 2007, the number of sales job was shrinking. No other job category has experienced a drop this sharp in the same time period.

It’s important to keep this in perspective. Sales jobs have not disappeared altogether. The most recent census survey indicates that there are more than 16 million jobs in America classified primarily as sales, representing a little more than 11 percent of the workforce, the same percentage as in 2000. Still, there’s no getting around the fact that the category has stopped its once-mighty expansion.

So why have we stopped generating so many sales jobs? The answer varies from sector to sector. Motor vehicle sales have been flat or down for some time, but until Detroit completely collapsed in 2008, the number of car dealerships in America was kept artificially high by state franchising laws that made them difficult to shut down. Even so, the number of new-car dealerships has been slowly dropping since 1989 and currently stands at 18,460, the lowest figure in decades. Fewer than 1 million Americans now make a living working for a car dealership, a drop of more than 10 percent in less than a decade.

In other fields, such as pharmaceuticals, legislative and cultural changes have taken their toll on sales jobs. Congress became concerned that drug companies had developed relationships with doctors that were too cozy, and in part because of new restrictions, Big Pharma firms have been shedding sales reps. A study by the consulting group ZS Associates indicates that pharmaceutical sales forces peaked in 2007 with 102,000 reps and projects that number will fall to 75,000 by 2012.

But the biggest culprit in killing off sales jobs is right in front of you: the Internet. There was a lot of talk in the dot-com era, mostly positive, about “disintermediation,” or creating direct connections between consumers and suppliers. Think of all the purchases you make today online that once would have been accompanied by a salesperson: a sweater, a book, a “compact disc,” a small appliance or piece of electronic equipment, shares of a stock or mutual fund, airline tickets, etc. Even in my own industry—media supported by advertising—some ad space can be booked online, as Slate writer Seth Stevenson demonstrated in a video earlier this year. The precise impact of Internet selling on sales jobs is hard to quantify, but it’s a big contributor and it’s irreversible.

Why does any of this matter? One could look at the data and conclude that there was simply a surplus of sales jobs and the market is adjusting to new realities. In addition, companies that sell directly to consumers might well be more productive, which at least theoretically frees up some room to hire non-sales employees. And on one level, that’s true. But it’s also true that the salesman is a quintessentially American figure, which helps account for the popularity of the Miller play. In his classic 1976 book The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, Daniel Bell discussed how sales—and its close cousin, advertising—were at the heart of the cultural changes of 20th-century America. For better or worse, mass consumption became the engine that powered not only the American economy but also its value system and psyche. Getting people to spend their money became a kind of secular religion that was necessary to overthrow an older Puritan order. “Selling became the most striking activity of contemporary America,” Bell wrote. “Against frugality, selling emphasized prodigality; against asceticism, the lavish display.”

We might be better off without that extravagance. But it’s still the case that for much of recent American history, sales jobs functioned as a pillar of the middle class. Over the last few decades, the American economy has generated a large number of high-skill, high-paying jobs, and a large number of low-skilled, low-paying jobs. The middle, however, is being “hollowed out,” in the phrase David Autor used in an economic paper published in April, and sales is a major component of that shrinking middle. The strength of sales jobs is that they can be reasonably high-paying but typically don’t require technical training or other specialized skills. When those jobs disappear, the people who hold them will often be pushed down the wage ladder or even out of the workforce. Sixty years after Willy Loman, that is our tragedy.

Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

James Ledbetter covers business and finance for Slate.

Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC

With the unbelievably difficult jobs market situation confronting Americans today, many introverts might be facing the situation of taking any sales job in order to make ends meet. In reviewing the current openings on Monster and Craigslist in my home area, I see a great many commission-only sales jobs looking for “closers, aggressive types, winners and people not afraid to use the phone.”

If you have read my book or consider yourself an introvert, I would caution you from pursuing these type jobs out of desperation and resignation. Believe me, I have tried it and found it frustrating and ultimately useless. Here’s why:

Cold calling is, as they say, a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more your chances of making a sale. I like to put it another way. When an introvert takes a cold calling job it is a race between the inevitable success of the cold calling by making thousands of calls and the introverts ability to withstand rejection, humiliation and most likely self-loathing. It is simply against an introverts nature to make call after call waiting for the one person who might be open to your sale. I am not saying it can’t be done, but that it can’t be done by a true introvert.

Your employer has no investment in you other than a few hours (if that) of perfunctory training. In most of these jobs, if you don’t make a sale you don’t get paid any money. Why should the employer care about you or anyone else manning the phones when you can be replaced tomorrow with someone who is more aggressive, a better closer.

As I said in the book, with cold calling you rarely get an opportunity to show your assets of knowledge and empathy that might lead to long-term sales in other situations.

So what do you do? You need a job and some income. At least try to find sales jobs with these characteristics:

A minimum salary for making calls. This gives your employer at least some stake in your success.

A business-to-business product. At work people are much more likely to at least listen to your pitch.

An opportunity to write your own script. We don’t all speak alike and forcing a sales person to read exactly from a script is a warning sign that the employer doesn’t trust you or is trying to conceal something from the potential customer.

Good luck finding a sales job that works for you. They are out there and will be increasing as our economy comes back.

At first glance, the network marketing or Multi-level Marketing business would appear to be anathema to more introverted individuals. After all, historically the business was thought to be all about herding relatives and acquaintances into a questionable scheme of selling useless to non-existent products. But just as that negative perception of network marketing has been replaced by recognition of its legitimacy and unlimited potential, so too the factors that made it an unattractive option for introverts are a thing of the past.

Today’s introvert marketer can use the internet to find and recruit new team members from among the millions of people looking for their own business opportunities. Rather than relying on cold calls or annoying neighbors, budding business people have a wide variety of solutions to the problem of finding interested individuals to talk to and recruit. Hundreds if not thousands of programs are available to help internet entrepreneurs whether they are new to the internet or savvy online marketers.

Full disclosure – This introvert is part of a network marketing opportunity. Take a look if you are interested Here.

But even after potential partners have raised their hands to indicate their interest in network marketing, introverts can use the ever-expanding capabilities of e-mail to continue the on-line conversation and move the sales effort forward. As a result, marketers can spend more time sharpening their writing skills and less time trying to perfect their phone capabilities and making presentations to large groups. In other words, in the new world of network marketing you don’t necessarily have to be a born salesperson to be successful.

The growing number of sophisticated products being sold through network marketing can also be a positive for introverts. In the stereotypical MLM business of the past, the product may have been incidental to the program and no more than a prop in the building of a downline. Any fast talker could recruit others into the business and prosper. The new paradigm makes the product a central focus of the opportunity and gives the serious marketer plenty of features and benefits with which to convince others to join his team. This also plays into the growing use of more technical e-mails being used to explain the products and opportunities available through network marketing today.

Does network marketing still require good old salesmanship skills? Of course. Every individual should use their skills to their best advantage. But in today’s new and improved network marketing industry, people with more introverted personalities have many opportunities to use tactics that are more in line with their respective skill sets.
Being successful in network marketing still takes hard work and a good business sense no matter what your personality. That probably will never change.

At first glance, a trade show would seem to be an introvert’s worst nightmare: thousands of people, crowded into small aisles, all trying to sell something to someone. But attending a trade show can be a great way to gather information, find new prospects and even find a job. But if you are an introvert going to a trade show try following these 5 tips to make the most of the show.

1. Never Eat by Yourself. The food may be awful, but food courts at trade shows are great places to meet other attendees in a less stressful situation. In most cases the seating arrangements consists of large tables seating 10 or 12 people. They are all wearing nametags, usually with a company name and a location. Just sit down with a group of other people, start looking for information and when you find someone you want to talk to simply introduce yourself. Or if you aren’t comfortable introducing yourself just comment on the lousy food. It always works.

2. Don’t go during peak hours on the first 2 days. The opening hours of a trade show are a unique occasion. All the top executives from the exhibiting companies make their appearance while the sales management people jockey to show off their selling skills in front of the bosses. It’s more of a “look who I know” time rather than a serious attempt to sell and communicate. If you aren’t a “live one” that can buy large amounts of product, you won’t get the time of day. Wait till the later afternoon hours of the first two days when the executives have gone leaving the booth to the sales and technical folk that can answer your questions.

3. Let other people start the conversation. One of the good parts of a trade show is that people are anxious to talk to you and will strike up a conversation. When you go into a booth simply look for the products or displays that interest you. If the booth personnel are alert they will come over and ask if you have any questions. If they are good they will start telling you about all the features and benefits of the item in front of you. In either case, you now have an opening to ask questions, make comments or discuss the show, even if it is usually hard for you to strike up conversations.

4. Have a question in mind. It’s best to be ready with a question when the exhibitor folks come over to you. That way you have quick entry into a conversation. Let’s face it, if you don’t have a buyer’s badge the booth people will quickly lose interest. However, if you have a legitimate question and seem to know what you are talking about you will be much more likely to hold their attention until you can gather what information you need for your purposes.

5. Seek out your peers. While it may seem that only salespeople man exhibitors’ booths, there are always a number of tech, customer service and others that get hauled off to the shows. Some may even be introverts. So before you go into a booth, stand back and look for people you might be interested in talking to; that might be able to give you information or a demonstration that the salespeople in the booth might find a waste of time. Especially on the last day or two of the show, you will find the booth personnel more than eager to talk to anyone who will help them pass the hours till the show closes.

Attending a trade show doesn’t have to be a terrible task for an introvert if you plan ahead and keep the above tips in mind. You might even come to appreciate the great opportunities trade shows present.

As you can see by this blog, I am focusing on web marketing at this point in my career. Even with an on-line business, your unique personality can make a great difference in your success. I received this great e-mail from Scot and he was kind enough to allow me to pass it along. Visit him at NicheADay.com
Tom

Hi Nichers:
With all the buzz about self-branding, viral marketing and
social networking, it can seem like being highly visible is
the way to go, no matter what you may prefer. That’s where
a hard look at your core competence and goals will help you
decide if you want to follow the pack or keep a low profile
in the IM marketplace. There are advantages and
disadvantages to both approaches, depending on your
personal style and preferred method of working.

Folks who are solitary by nature, don’t need a great deal
of social interaction and prefer staying out of the
limelight can use “low visibility” to their advantage. By
being hard to get and booked in advance, you will create a
perception of your value that will keep you in as much work
as you desire. Getting started may take time and effort
beyond that of someone else who has a much higher profile.
As long as the quality and value of your work is high,
you’ll get more loyal customers that won’t stray. You’ll be
the big fish in a small pond. Making the move into other
areas of the IM marketplace can be easier if you are not
highly identified with one, particular niche, too.

Social butterflies, who thrive on interacting with others,
will get more out of being “high profile” businesses. Aside
from the emotional satisfaction of connecting with a large
body of customers and contacts, the potential for large
returns is often easier to achieve with broad exposure.
Becoming widely known and highly visible will help
jumpstart a new business into profitability much sooner
than the quiet approach. The problem with such a method of
marketing is becoming “typecast” or pigeonholed into a
particular niche that may become less profitable in time.

The decision to go with either approach begins with a
serious look at yourself. In some cases, it will be easy to
see which type you are by nature. For many, it will take
some reflection and a willingness to ask for help. Self
knowledge can be the toughest knowledge to acquire. If
you’re stuck, ask friends or acquaintances to volunteer
their opinion about you. Don’t be put off if what they tell
you doesn’t fit in with your expectations. Planning to be
high profile, when you’re really better suited to flying
under the radar, will lead to long term dissatisfaction and
stress. Trying to be a “best kept secret”, when you are a
social animal, will stifle your growth and starve you,
emotionally.

A very few people are destined to be very high profile: the
biggest fish in the biggest pond. They have a constellation
of personal characteristics that make them ideally suited
to being leaders. Generally, they know it, too. These
natural born leaders balance the need to build a successful
business with being a part of the larger, social
environment of their marketplace. These so-called “gurus”
don’t just make a name for themselves. They have a vision
or dream that they build every day, in a way that is meant
to turn a profit and make the world a better place.

No matter what your calling in life may be, make sure you
remain true to who you are, inside. Take the time to find
out what your real needs are and make your business an
extension of your inner self. There’s nothing tougher than
playing a role you don’t believe in. There’s nothing better
than creating a business model that lets you be the best
you can be. Make sure your choice in marketing and
“branding” is the best fit for your future.

Yours in profits,

Scot Standke – Founder
www.NicheADay.com