Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople
9:10 AM Monday June 27, 2011
by Steve W. Martin
If you ask an extremely successful salesperson, "What makes you different from the average sales rep?" you will most likely get a less-than-accurate answer, if any answer at all. Frankly, the person may not even know the real answer because most successful salespeople are simply doing what comes naturally.
Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of interviewing thousands of top business-to-business salespeople who sell for some of the world's leading companies. I've also administered personality tests to 1,000 of them. My goal was to measure their five main personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality) to better understand the characteristics that separate them their peers.
The personality tests were given to high technology and business services salespeople as part of sales strategy workshops I was conducting. In addition, tests were administered at Presidents Club meetings (the incentive trip that top salespeople are awarded by their company for their outstanding performance). The responses were then categorized by percentage of annual quota attainment and classified into top performers, average performers, and below average performers categories.
The test results from top performers were then compared against average and below average performers. The findings indicate that key personality traits directly influence top performers' selling style and ultimately their success. Below, you will find the main key personality attributes of top salespeople and the impact of the trait on their selling style.
1. Modesty. Contrary to conventional stereotypes that successful salespeople are pushy and egotistical, 91 percent of top salespeople had medium to high scores of modesty and humility. Furthermore, the results suggest that ostentatious salespeople who are full of bravado alienate far more customers than they win over.
Selling Style Impact: Team Orientation. As opposed to establishing themselves as the focal point of the purchase decision, top salespeople position the team (presales technical engineers, consulting, and management) that will help them win the account as the centerpiece.
2. Conscientiousness. Eighty-five percent of top salespeople had high levels of conscientiousness, whereby they could be described as having a strong sense of duty and being responsible and reliable. These salespeople take their jobs very seriously and feel deeply responsible for the results.
Selling Style Impact: Account Control. The worst position for salespeople to be in is to have relinquished account control and to be operating at the direction of the customer, or worse yet, a competitor. Conversely, top salespeople take command of the sales cycle process in order to control their own destiny.
3. Achievement Orientation. Eighty-four percent of the top performers tested scored very high in achievement orientation. They are fixated on achieving goals and continuously measure their performance in comparison to their goals.
Selling Style Impact: Political Orientation. During sales cycles, top sales, performers seek to understand the politics of customer decision-making. Their goal orientation instinctively drives them to meet with key decision-makers. Therefore, they strategize about the people they are selling to and how the products they're selling fit into the organization instead of focusing on the functionality of the products themselves.
4. Curiosity. Curiosity can be described as a person's hunger for knowledge and information. Eighty-two percent of top salespeople scored extremely high curiosity levels. Top salespeople are naturally more curious than their lesser performing counterparts.
Selling Style Impact: Inquisitiveness. A high level of inquisitiveness correlates to an active presence during sales calls. An active presence drives the salesperson to ask customers difficult and uncomfortable questions in order to close gaps in information. Top salespeople want to know if they can win the business, and they want to know the truth as soon as possible.
5. Lack of Gregariousness. One of the most surprising differences between top salespeople and those ranking in the bottom one-third of performance is their level of gregariousness (preference for being with people and friendliness). Overall, top performers averaged 30 percent lower gregariousness than below average performers.
Selling Style Impact: Dominance. Dominance is the ability to gain the willing obedience of customers such that the salesperson's recommendations and advice are followed. The results indicate that overly friendly salespeople are too close to their customers and have difficulty establishing dominance.
6. Lack of Discouragement. Less than 10 percent of top salespeople were classified as having high levels of discouragement and being frequently overwhelmed with sadness. Conversely, 90 percent were categorized as experiencing infrequent or only occasional sadness.
Selling Style Impact: Competitiveness. In casual surveys I have conducted throughout the years, I have found that a very high percentage of top performers played organized sports in high school. There seems to be a correlation between sports and sales success as top performers are able to handle emotional disappointments, bounce back from losses, and mentally prepare themselves for the next opportunity to compete.
7. Lack of Self-Consciousness. Self-consciousness is the measurement of how easily someone is embarrassed. The byproduct of a high level of self-consciousness is bashfulness and inhibition. Less than five percent of top performers had high levels of self-consciousness.
Selling Style Impact: Aggressiveness. Top salespeople are comfortable fighting for their cause and are not afraid of rankling customers in the process. They are action-oriented and unafraid to call high in their accounts or courageously cold call new prospects.
Not all salespeople are successful. Given the same sales tools, level of education, and propensity to work, why do some salespeople succeed where others fail? Is one better suited to sell the product because of his or her background? Is one more charming or just luckier? The evidence suggests that the personalities of these truly great salespeople play a critical role in determining their success.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/06/the_seven_personality_traits_o.html
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kzhr 2 days ago
Active Listening.
Too many sales people like to talk to much - actually placing themselves into a unnecessary position of further explanation and/or talking so much they talk about all of the stuff their product/service "is not". Maybe they just like hearing themselves talk!
Listen - actively. Which means hear what your customer says (hear their pain and where a soluiton needs to be developed).
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Tom Weiss 2 months ago
I think the information is helpful but I have been part of these studies and have been with a company that developed a caliper test for sales people. The one attribute that is not on this list but has proven to be dramatic in importance, is the attribute of Empathy. When building trust and developing solutions, you must be able to sit in the shoes of your customer. A strong degree of empathy facilitates stronger relationships and the understanding of true needs versus perceived needs.
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Energymisers 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Empathy is not the same thing sympathy.
Empathy is the ability to feel and sense what's going on with another person. Sympathy is feeling bad for the person. As a salesperson, feeling bad for your customers will get in the way of doing business. Having a strong sense of where they're coming is useful.
I have empathy for a customer that can't make decision. I have zero sympathy.
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BlueFalconer 1 month ago in reply to Energymisers
Energymisers Huh? Customer Intimacy = Seeing the world through the eyes of the customer; only seeing it better than they do = Empathy.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Yes, empathy is important. However, less than 20% of the general population can be classified as being an "empath," someone who is highly sensitive. I believe that empathy, as a term in sales, is often confused with "Active Listening"
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TimCollins 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Steve with respect, I beg to differ.
Active Listening is a habit that can be adopted by anyone prepared to make the effort.
Empathy is a natural personality trait that is inhernet in all top saespeople I know, i.e. those that do not struggle to learn "how to".
If it is true that studies show that 20% of the population have the "Big E" I am surrprised, my personal experience would deem it to be far lower - perhaps not all Big E folk persue a specialty sales career, pity 'bout that - they have most likely missed their calling.
Still in all, your article is on the money for the 7 traits you mention. However empathy IS the key in all its nuances.
IMHO it is the primary facet that stands out in all my "natural" top salespeople peers.
And Steve, I am not "confused" At least about the issue of empathy :)
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Ast0n 1 month ago in reply to TimCollins
Top sales men, or women... I am a top salesmen, why.. because I am hungry.. I know what makes people buy, I know what to say and when to say it! You all talk like you are pro's to try sell your next book to make millions, and this is basically a product of laziness..
If you are lazy, you will never be successful at sales, whatever you do! Give up the fight and you will be on your back legs begging for a better basic! So people.. get with the times.. and remember the best sales man is one who quits before he gets fired! and to top it off, sales is all in the voice.. if you have a good voice you will sell well, be honest and know your products and you will never go wrong!
Aston Crouch
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Simonmcgee75 1 month ago in reply to Ast0n
Would you say you fall in or out of the 91% of top sales people that exhibit mdedium to high modesty scores?! ;)
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Chenka Nkhata 2 months ago in reply to TimCollins
Hi Tim. As a sales person I absolutely agree with what you are saying. Now I am not an expert in linguistics. But one thing I know for sure is that if I cannot put myself in my customer's shoes and see things and feel things from their perspective. Then it's harder to get the deal. To be clear, I am not saying I wan't to feel sorry for the customer. In most cases I don't. I am merely saying I want to understand the customer more deeply. Call it empathy or another word. Whatever it is, it makes the difference, it's important and I often battle to explain this deep seated "thing" to others.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to TimCollins
Tim,
One of a person’s most important possessions is his or her opinion. Given what you wrote, I think your opinion of the word “empathy” is different from mine. That’s what makes language so interesting! Since salespeople talk for a living (and therefore use language), I think you would enjoy reading my HBR article about Sales Linguistics titled, “Persuasion Tactics of Effective Salespeople.” The fundamental premise of sales linguistics is that each person speaks in his or her own unique language.
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Sean O'Neill 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Tim,
I really liked your article and agree most heartedly with your conclusions. How about this take on empathy..I am extremely emphatic to my prospects and often feel their pains and frustrations (even with the ones who lie to meet and misrepresent their decision making ability) but I have a strong sense of discernment for those who will never advance my sales cycle and am able to "kindly" move on to the next stakeholder or company.
Also Social Workers and Therapists have strong skills in this area, but I wouldn't want these folks anywhere near my revenue generation sources or entrust like traits to pick up the phone and fearlessly target new business.
I think sales acumen (add discernment and problem solving skills) should include these traits. However, I recently told my CEO, (that being humble, using the fact finding approach) works best! As an ex-Wall Streeter, with the take no prisoner's approach and shoot the wounded, he didn't buy it.
Sean
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Paul 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Hi
Following all these arguments, I am reminded of the age old question..... are sales people, leaders and managers for that matter born or developed? My experience has been that it is a bit of both. Also having been involved with Personality related feedback and training I have had the privililege of seeing all "perosnal styles" being succesful. What does help in building empathy is an understanding of self and how you may differ from others... leading to a deeper undersanding of others and therefore more empathy...... what sya you all about that??
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Randall 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Active listening is implied as a learned technique as opposed to empathy as a natural predisposition. I believe one who practices active listening can develop a trait of empathy if the try or care. Additionally, I don't fully agree that salespeople talk for a living - I do believe they communicate and may also persuade, but I also believe it is frequently more important to listen than it is to speak - nixing the talking.
I also suggest that there is more to sales than just the individual - just as a salesperson at "President's Club" relates they got there in a team effort, I would also suggest there are more influencing factors than personality, effort and the team. Quality, support, product, price, marketplace and prospects, competition, segmentation and resources also play a part of getting to the top of the sales pinnacle. I've been to PresClub - fun and and honor, but I had many things going for me, not just competitive spirit, team and a good voice.
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Jeremiah Stanghini 1 month ago in reply to TimCollins
"... pity 'bout that - they have most likely missed their calling."
While empathy may be an asset to salesperson, I think it would be (to some degree) a requirement for anyone going into a counseling profession (psychiatrist, counseling psychology, clinical psychology, etc.). So, maybe your lack of finding them in the sales industry is because they are busy using their skills in other "industries." I only put industries in quotes because I wince when I think of a helping profession as an industry. I understand that money exchanges (and all that jazz), but there's something so cold about the word industry that I feel mischaracterizes such an important field.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jeremiah
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Doroda 1 month ago in reply to Jeremiah Stanghini
Jeremiah,
I feel like your response shows a lack of understanding what sales really is. The "Helping Profession" is an industry and is able to help because someone sold the educational institution they received their education and degrees the curriculum they taught with. The "Helping Profession" is able to help someone because they "sell" them their services. You may find the word sales a dirty word but I do not. Human beings like to buy things that make their lives easier and more enjoyable. They don't like being manipulated (which may be what you and Ast0n believe sales is) nor do they like being ordered to do or participate in something. Every health care professional has equipment that someone has sold her or him that makes the patient's life that much better. You may believe that love makes the world go round but until you communicate that love (an essential attribute of selling) no one can feel love. Neither sales nor love always requires verbal communication. Helping one's clients live a better life through sales is an honorable profession and one that should encapsulate the 7 attributes in the article plus this very important one we've been discussing, empathy. Letting clients or prospects endure a life without the benefit of your product should bother any salesperson, or they should find something to sell that they can be proud of and passionate about. Finally, it saddens me to read that empathy is only believed to be empathetic and may explain why our culture is so addicted to entertainment that revels in criticism, sarcasm and insults.I appreciate your closing "Love and Gratitude" but believe the profession of sales requires it.
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Jeremiah Stanghini 1 month ago in reply to Doroda
Thanks Doroda for your response. I honestly enjoy it when someone like you can see through some of my underlying beliefs and assumptions. I think you've absolutely nailed it! While I may not have explicitly said so, underneath my words, I probably had an assumption that sales was a dirty word.
There's really not much I can think to say in opposition to what you've said.
I agree that a salesperson should believe that the customer would be worse off without their product (or what they're selling [service]).
Here's what I will say: I think that there are people who may have given sales a (bad name), and those who are more honest as sellers are working to change the stereotype around the word. It seems that I had fallen prey to the stereotype. Thanks again for calling me on this!
With Love and Gratitude,
Jeremiah
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olivia 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
:P
your reply is interesting......
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Smaharaj 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Hey Steve, do you have a tool to measure these 7 personality traits???
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Ben 1 month ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Understanding your client is important but far more important is what you do with this understanding. It is impossible for one person to understand the plights, challenges, shortcomings of every business model. I would go so far as to argue that as long as the client respects you as an authority their particular situation (whether you are empathetic or not) is fluid and should be adjusted accordingly based on what you bring to the table eg: advice, a product, new direction, or candidate...etc.
I would also argue that the gregariousness bullet speaks to my point directly and the notion of empathy for client is rightfully left out as it is a logical progression of one's curiosity.
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Kevin Caldwell 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
I remember an HBR article from a while back that focused on personality traits of top enterprise sales people. It concluded that it was a simple balance of ego and empathy. Enough empathy to relate to the client to understand their objectives and enough ego to get the client to do what you wanted (buy). Too much or not enough of either one and deals don't get done.
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John 1 day ago in reply to Kevin Caldwell
The HBR article you reference is "What Makes A Good Salesman", published in July-August 1964. It's old, but good.
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Avekon 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Excellent article. In regard to Empathy, one can only be empathetic if one has experienced a similar event in their life. Sympathy is understanding the issue but without having personally experienced the challenge or the effects. The way we use empathy is by being interested in the other parties issues, a true partner, which translates into building trust. There is an old saying about people but particularly salespeople, " In order to be interesting one has to be interested." We as sales people must never lose site of the fact that we walk a fine line, especially, in regard to relationship sales. Also, while your in front of the customer taking up his and your time, don't forget to sell something even if its yourself.
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Roberto 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Thanks Tom, I completely agree with you. Empathy is another key on Sales. Also, I would add "Perception" is another important attribute that deserve efforts to improve and usually differenciate succesfull sales cycles. Perception in all sense of its meaning: even at a customer meeting or reviewing stakeholders positions during a closing session.
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Christophe 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Right article.
Henceforth, everything is said.
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Msalet@hgi 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
I'm sure empathy was a top 10 attribute.
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@jstvee 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
You are so right Tom!
But he did mention Empathy in his book I recall.
Not sure how one book can be summurized in one article.
But definitely Empathy is a great asset.
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Fati - Issa Bello 2 months ago in reply to @jstvee
I have not read this book, apart from empathy, I think one of the most effective characteristics of a very successful sales man is ability to sell solution rather than product and intergrity of the solution sold.
How about relationship? which is the grand father of all sales man asset.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Fati - Issa Bello
Some final thoughts here... Sales is the process of building a relationship, turning a stranger into a friend and skeptic into a believer. As such, empathy is part of the natural process of building relationships (which I discuss in my book Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology). However, I think language is the real distinguishing factor. That's why my emphasis is on Sales Linguistics, "the study of how customers and salespeople use language during the decision making process."
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David Kaiser 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
"sales linguistics!" I love it, and would love to learn more about it. I was trained as a linguist in grad school, I am now an Executive Coach, and I use language and linguistics to help my clients understand their strengths, beliefs, and blind spots. Where can I learn more, Steve?
David Kaiser, PhD
Time Management Coach to C-level Consultants
www.DarkMatterConsulting.com
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Roberto 2 months ago in reply to Tom Weiss
Thanks Tom, I completely agree with you. Empathy is another key on Sales. Also, I would add "Perception" is another important attribute that deserve efforts to improve and usually differenciate succesfull sales cycles. Perception in all sense of its meaning: even at a customer meeting or reviewing stakeholders positions during a closing session.
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Andy 2 months ago
When I saw the headline for this on my live feed, I was intrigued, but at the same time thought I would be sure to be annoyed when reading it, as so often writers propound the opposite, vulgar traits of humans to be essential components for successful sales.
Instead, I was delighted to read that Steve Martin has extrapolated traits from his important research that, as a C-Level sales director, I have always known to be essential. Such behavioral qualities are, in fact, critical for any sales professional who wants to be successful in winning repeat, profitable business from clients who remain loyal to partnerships rather than commodities.
It is only by buying through partnerships that any purchaser can gain the lowest cost of ownership of purchases, and a long term ROI, and only through the qualities listed by Steve that any sales professional can secure such partnerships.
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Joy E Cain 2 months ago in reply to Andy
My personal belief in the sales arena.
You must have a warm composure
You must listen
You must get the intelligence of your clients way of doing business and why
You must position yourself as the answer rather than the question
You must be your clients cheerleader
you must take an interest in their gains or losses and show empathy.
You must always try to present a solution or a different angle of growth opportunities for your clients.
As in the end you want them to acheive their goals that you may reep the benifits.(BOTTOMLINE)
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Andy
Andy, thanks for the comments and I tend to think that customers make emotional decisions based upon logical rationalizations.
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Roger 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
You just blew my mind with that, dude!...
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Opsman 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Logical rationalization: I see that as a bit of a difficulty for many small business. Having studied small business I think an argument can be made based on sound game theory that small business does NOT act rationally in all too many decisions.
Take suicide pricing as an example. Nearly all small business will engage it as a strategy at some point, yet it's a stupid strategy from a purist perspective.
Even small business general pricing strategies are stupid. All to many also try to price based on competing against the low cost model, then they scratch their heads why they do not make profit. It's hard to run a high value business attacking a low cost model. Yet... They do.
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Jjbiddlecombe 2 months ago
Steve,
as a guy who has spent half his career as a salesman and the other half working to improve sales performance i, unfortunately think you are spot on.
Why unfortunately? Because i think i and my clients are all looking for some mystery X factor that truly allows us to identify and upskill people to truly achieve. Neither you, nor anyone else has identified this. we have done well in identifying what limits sales success and there are off the shelf diagnostics that highlight attributes related to differing portions of the sales cycle, but identifying true success and applicability is still elusive.
For example I used to work with a chap who was extroverted, knowledgable, charming, and pushy. He was a top salesman and what we would call 'marmite' in the UK, clients loved him or hated him. Yet he was undoubtedly successful. What's the moral of this story ... sales is complex. It depends on what you sell, who too, how desperate they are, your timing, your approach ...
I know lots of sales people who match the criteria above, they are somewhat introverted, yet curiously arrogant, client centric, introverts who believe they will be CEO. So my question still remains how do i spot the high potentials and how do i train and develop the others to be the best they can.
Also i'd be interested in knowing which personality test you ran, how you correlated it to sales success and most importantly how you selected individuals with sales success.
Now having had my rant, i go back to my first paragraph. You are spot on ... so where next?
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Jeffrey Bean 2 months ago in reply to Jjbiddlecombe
From the language used it woud appear Stve used what is called a 'Big 5' personality instrument. I am not at all surprised at the findings as they almost precisely replicate what we find applies here in the UK for that type of role.
We do not use a Big 5 test but a personality profile speciifically designed for measuring the traits that differentiate top performesr from the rest. Out of interest, it measure 8 rather than 7 traits but who's counting!
The misunderstanding between empathy and ability to think & feel the way a prospect/customer thinks & feels is understandable. To aid understanding of this matter I would describe the low empathy Steve decsribes as 'how much you care about what others think of you'. If you want toi be everyone's friend, you tend not to do thinks that you think will make them not like you (cold call, ask direct questions, ask for the order!)
And yes, as one contributor has said there was an HBR paper back in 1964 which stated that success (particularly in new business sales) is a balance between directness and empathy. The iron first in the velvet glove, as the expression goes.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Jjbiddlecombe
Personality, language and selling style are intimately related. There are certain patterns that result in more success. Yes, the chap you describe fits a certain pattern.
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Badri Radhakrishnan 2 months ago
Counter intuitive, but interesting and believable. These personality traits seem well suited for higher value, higher dollar, and technical sales. Would they be also applicable where the sale is commodity oriented, lower price point, and non-technical?
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Jason Sem 2 months ago in reply to Badri Radhakrishnan
Good point Badri. I think someone selling a widget, as opposed to customized services, may require different personality traits to be successful. Moreover, someone with these 7 personality traits wouldn't necessarily be interested in being a widget sales person.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Jason Sem
Jason and Badri,
This study was based upon my work with my clients who tend to be in "enterprise sales" selling complex solutions such as software, hardware, business services, and big ticket capital equipment. I have found the profile is different based upon type of sale; for example pharmaceutical rep profile is quite different...
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The_Emergency_Standard 2 months ago
What happen to thinking out of the box and being creative? Geezz, How can you take anything serious from a guy named Steve Martin!!! :)
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Scott Cohen 2 months ago
so this was sent to me someone I worked with years ago who indicated that I was "one of the people he learned the most about selling from". In all my years as salesperson, director of sales, VP sales, SVP Sales, EVP Sales, all sorts of titles with Business Development, President, and CEO, I consider myself "just" a sales guy. I also sent to my wife who indicated that "it fits you to a tee!". I especially agree with #5 despite what most people think.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Scott Cohen
Scott, Check out my HBR article on "How to Hire a VP of Sales." I think you will enjoy it!
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Tony Mariotti 2 months ago
I was glad to see point #5 (Lack of Gregariousness) listed as I've often seen top performers who socially play things pretty cool and instead focus their energy heavily on client strategy. There are a lot of "silent warriors" out there who regularly exceed their revenue targets.
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Dr. Herb Greenberg 1 month ago
When I read this blog, I was obviously intrigued since for the past 50 years, I have been in the business of how personality traits relate to sales success.
Author Steve Martin’s bottom line was right on track with my own experience. He states, “Given the same sales tools, level of education and propensity to work, why do some salespeople succeed where others fail?… The evidence suggests that the personalities of these truly great salespeople play a critical role in determining their success.”
Exactly.
What Martin is discovering now, we’ve known for years. In 1964, I co-authored an article for HBR entitled, “What Makes a Good Salesman?” That piece presented findings on the traits we found necessary for sales success. The results of this article were further validated in a 1980 HBR article that talked about our validation study that tested 18,000 salespeople in 12 different industries (“Job Matching for Sales Success”). The results were, in fac,t so startling that we conducted another assessment for an additional 18,000 people, which produced the same results.
The findings indicated that across industries, the job-matched individuals substantially outperformed the group that were not appropriately job matched; and the non-job-matched individuals turned over at twice the rate: annual turnover of 57%, compared to 28% .
This is actually one of the things we felt was missing from Martin’s blog. He didn’t mention just how big a part the responsibilities of the specific sales job play in determining who will succeed. Through our five decades of experience, assessing over 3.5 million professionals, we’ve found that the salespeople who are most successful have real ego-drive, the need to persuade and good empathy, which enables them to read their customers, understand and address their needs and build strong, lasting relationships. They also have ego-strength: the ability to bounce back from rejection.
Ego-drive is not egotism or even ambition; rather, it is that burning inner need to get the “Yes” as a means of getting personal gratification. The “Yes” isn’t necessarily based on commission. The “Yes” can involve:
· Yes, I will vote for your candidate and
· Yes, I will join your club
In other words, the effective salesperson takes the “Yes” on a very personal level.
I certainly agree with Steve Martin that there is a connection between sports success and sales success. Joe McIlvaine, former General Manager of the Mets, put it this way: “To paraphrase, Tony Gwynn, Hall of Famer, had a lifetime batting average over 333. This great achievement still indicated that the failed two out of three times.”
The issues became then: how did Gwynn respond to those failures? In our discussion, we agreed that sports and sales are both games of failure. The ego-strength of an individual determines how well he/she will respond to those inevitable failures – those rejections -- and bounce back for more.
Many talented baseball players fall into the trap of changing their batting stance or swing the first time they go into a slump. As a result, they disappear from the scene. The successful athlete fights through the slump, continuing to use the very skills that got them there. Similarly, the successful salesperson resists the temptation to deal with the inevitable rejection by perhaps taking a three-hour lunch. The salesperson lacking ego-strength views the rejecting sales contact as judge and jury. The salesperson with ego-strength knows rejection is part of the game, figures out what he/she did wrong and moves onto the next challenge.
Of course, that’s just looking at it from a very basic, surface level. Ego-drive, empathy and ego-strength play very important roles in sales. But the degree to which each of these is needed will vary based on the type of sales job. Also, depending on the nature of the sales job – selling tangible or intangible products, big-ticket or small-ticket, business to business or end user – other qualities need to be added to ego-drive, empathy, and ego-strength to create an effective job match.
At Caliper, we measure 20 personality traits, so these also enter into the equation when determining whether or not someone is a strong match for a specific position. We look at specific job functions in relationship to an individual’s personality traits. Viewing all of this information together paints a picture of how those traits will play out on the job.
A “top salesperson” may be great in one type of sales job and fail miserably in a different one. In dozens of individual follow-on studies, we’ve found that this data has held strong. We also found that over and over again, 55% of people trying to earn a living in sales totally lack the traits required for successful selling. Another one in four do have strong sales dynamics, but are not suited to the particular product or service they are selling. This leaves just 20-25% who possess salesmanship and are in the right environment. Result: These are the 20% who sell 80% of what is sold.
The sad truth is that in company after company, many “misemployed” salespeople have the ability to perform successfully in other positions in the same company. Just think about how much productivity and job satisfaction would increase if most people were in the jobs best suited for them. When people are in jobs that play to their natural abilities, everyone benefits.
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Vokos 2 months ago
Quite impressed by the level of intelligence in putting this togther. I agree with most of the comments as witnessed in action.Most top performers I know are actually bordeline intravert , humble and always conscientiousness . Refreshing
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Marion Kriele 2 months ago
The most surprising to me is modesty. Its not a trait that pops up when thinking about salespeople. But it sort of fits with what I'm reading about executives having to learn that they're not now-it-alls and that they can actually learn from others. So could a modesty score be a good indicator for success?
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Saurabhisbs 2 months ago in reply to Marion Kriele
modesty and Empathy fall close to each other ,in long run success can be ensured my covering all buttons
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Appleblows 2 months ago
Don't forget, they lie a lot
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Ajay Shrivastava 2 months ago in reply to Appleblows
Actually, they (or we) don't.
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Appleblows 2 months ago in reply to Ajay Shrivastava
Okay...They, YOU...Just dont disclose FULLY....all information..
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Rick 2 days ago in reply to Appleblows
I'm late to the conversation, but the article is about "Top" Salesman. These kind of condescending remarks are a pet peeve for those of us who take pride in calling our a salesman.
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x8h 1 month ago
I think that modern selling has a lot less to do with convincing someone to buy. It's about pointing out benefits that motivate the prospect to sell himself on a product or service. Nobody likes to get sold anything. Unfortunately, many old-fashioned companies still advertise for "aggressive" salespeople. Aggressive sales people is a thing of the past. 70's maybe. The word aggressive itself is a negative. I would always replace with the word "determined" and "pushy" with persuasive. Heavy hitter are 2 bad words in the world of selling. Successful sounds better. Selling is a combination of persuasion and coaching when the prospect has opened a door to listen to what you have to s(ay)ll. The worse thing a salesperson can do to himself - and his prospects and clients - is to hook up with a crappy product or service and then try to sell it as something great. The greatest sales people choose the right product or service to begin with. Others choose a crappy product and then wonder why it's so hard to meet quotas or reach certain levels of success. Traditionally, companies will always blame the salesperson for dismal results. Today, companies need to look at the their product and services and actually ask: why would anyone buy this? More honestly, "why would anyone buy this crap?"
Mismatched salespeople with products or services is also a cause of poor performance.Personality is just one part of the sales equation.
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Terri-Lynn Snow 2 months ago
As a successful sales professional for the past 15 years in Calgary, I was surprised that this article is so spot on to my own traits (today, but not 10 years ago). It made me appreciate that I really was born for sales. It's interesting though that I began my career with a big ego and I burned many bridges by stating the obvious instead of being 'politically correct' or sensitive or cautious to offending those in positions above me. Therefore I excelled with clients and blew away targets but I was never promoted. I had to leave the company 7 years later to start over with what I learned about the importance of proper internal networking.. Now, at 40, I am highly sensitive to the needs of others and posses a humility that can only be achieved through time and experience. I guess that is what now separates me from the 'junior' sales people who are often, but not always, egotistical and think they know it all... thus I became a mentor to help the youth learn patience, humility and integrity; core values of a successful sales person and quality human being...
When an employer asks me what separates me from the other sales people, I am convinced it is my ability to discern my clients disposition and almost instantly build rapport and trust. Also key is my ability to execute, which is where may sales people drop the ball, alongside follow-up and accountability AFTER the ink dries on the contract.. This has allowed me to build long-lasting relationships which become reciprocal and continuously bring me new leads.. This comes with time, diligence in doing the right things constantly, and never jeopardizing your integrity.
Lastly, I pride myself on my volunteer work with The Calgary Council for Advanced Technology. It has allowed me to become a better human being who focuses on giving rather than receiving. Karma truly does work and networking is a must to become a well-connected and efficient prospector for new opportunities to help someone else. This may be with an introduction, a LinkedIn connection, or a product or service you may or may not sell but know someone who does that you trust. The key is to establish yourself as a go-to resource... This leads to new connections, referrals, recommendations, revenue opportunities and job offers...
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Terri-Lynn Snow
Great story Terri-Lynn... I think you make a very important take away here in that Sales requires a mentor-based environment for Learning. Otherwise, the junior rep will endure a lot of hard knox via On The Job Training...
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Colinpday 2 months ago
Great article. I have managed and employed sales people for a number of year and have always had a high success rate of employing winners. I could never say why though. Which was a shame because if I knew why i could have made a lot of money from selling the secrets of my success.
Having looked back at some of my top performers I can certainly see the traits as described above in them. However, I do not believe you should go entirely on personality traits some people know how to beat the system. For me I can usually tell within one minute of someone walking into the room whether or not they have it. That of course gets them to the second minute of the interview!
Anyway as I have said a great article with pointers to help us successfully recruit the best. I will keep this article to ensure that when I am hiring a new sales person I remember this research.
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Matt Dunn 2 months ago
Great article. Having been in a number of customer facing "sales roles" myself I try to be as genuine, curious and thoughtful a possible. Its only through building relationships with clients that you will see long term benefits. I would add that believing in what you sell/offer is also important.
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Muraliarangil 1 month ago
Personal Selling is generally viewed as an act of salesman's selfishness, that is looking for profit out of the relationship. No customer would entertain attitude this willingly. People deal with you not because of your product or your knowledge. They deal with you because they are comfortable with you. To create such a situation we have to focus more one the customer's liking rather than product. That is to sell ourselves first. Once the customer started liking you naturally he will start showing interest in what you have with you as a product. This is the time we can just highlight the benefits what he gets out of our product. Don't try to sell the product. Let the customer buy it.
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Mtalaba 2 months ago
Steve: I was reading the comments, and stopped dead when I reached your response that the 'Bar-B-Q' test is your ultimate test for hiring. That's perhaps the best advice of all!
In any group of people who have all the right personality traits to be a top salesperson, or a team leader, there will always be a few who are missing something that's very important, but isn't readily measurable. Keenly observing (or envisioning) a person's behavior in a social setting can pick up on the 'extras' (or the 'missing pieces') that do not show up in a quantitative assessment. So, because you rely on 'behavioral testing' in addition to personality metrics, I think you will be interested to know that The Gabriel Institute has created completely new technology that was designed to predict how a person will behave when working with others to benefit their group, overcome a challenge, or achieve a common goal. This technology -- Role-Based Assessment -- can identify a positive, constructive orientation to team collaboration, as well as the ideal 'fit' between a set of job responsibilities and a person's natural 'Role.' It's not claimed to replace personality testing, but 'RBA' can objectively, and reliably, measure what would otherwise be a gut-level decision.
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Casey 2 months ago
I am a sales recruiter and I have been in this profession my whole career. Humans can be complex, but for the sake of bulleted points these are dead on. I feel a lot of people associate sales people negatively because some sales people what you call in this article “the under performers” demonstrate some of the bad traits especially the lack of modesty. People don't even realize a lot of the times when they are being sold because great sales people don't represent themselves how one would think "SALES people" should act and often think of them as someone that is helping them. It’s unfortunate when I reach out to recent college graduates who I know have great sales potential and they say they don't want to be a sales person because they have that perception. I think being a sales person is one of the most exciting and fulfilling professions out there. Maybe I am biased because I feel like I am a sales person in a recruiter role or maybe because I get to interact and attract the people who have everything listed above. :)
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Casey
Everyone is in sales! We are all selling our ideas, ourselves and trying to convince others to follow our lead. I'll argue that salespeople are the most important individuals within any organization because they are responsible for recruiting and maintaining the company's most important asset... Customers.
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Manish 2 months ago
Be it B2B or B2C sales, some rules remain same, some fine tuning is ofcourse needed, for example the way you talk to a Medical Doctor is different from the way you talk to a customer in Retail outlet...
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Manish
Exactly! The language is completely different... I wrote about this in another HBR article titled "The Persuasion Tactics of Effective Salespeople"
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Jason Sem 2 months ago
Great article Steve. I can't tell you how many times people have been surprised to learn that I was in sales. They say, "you don't seem to be the sale person type," but your article demonstrates that my personality is perfectly suited for sales. Your research reinforces the notion that those who listen, are empathetic, reliable and modest are the most successful. I've often drawn a comparison of this type of sales approach to social media best practices as I'm now in business for myself as a corporate social strategist. Thanks for the reinforcement.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Jason Sem
I use the term "Heavy Hitter" to describe this profile...
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Stacey Hylen 2 months ago
Great article Steve, what is the test you would suggest using when hiring sales people?
Chet Holmes in the book , The Ultimate Sales Machine talks about the best sales people need a mixture of ego and empathy. The ego so they have the drive and the ability to handle rejection and empathy so they can relate to their prospects and develop relationships.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Stacey Hylen
The Bar-B-Q Test is the one I always use... Would you invite the person you are planning to hire to a Sunday afternoon Bar-B-Q at your house where all your loved ones and closest friends would attend? If the answer is no or maybe, then don't hire!
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Tom O'Neill 4 weeks ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Steve,
Your article was a very good read. I have always had a gut feel that strong emotional intelligence was a good predictor of a good sales candidate. My issue is finding a good test to identify high emotional intelligence. Can you recommend a test? I agree with you BarBQ concept, but have you found an effective personality profile exam that can narrow the field for me?
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Opsman 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Under this test, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would be un-hirable. Anyone with Aspergers would not be hired and those with NPD would also not be hired, despite their strengths that is, including the strengths that grew their companies (read sales) into multi-billion dollar organizations.
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Mark Riley 2 months ago
If we look at this from the customer side who would you rather have as your sales person? Using the recent NBA finals as a near term event to pull from, would you want Dirk as your rep or Lebron? The data suggests that Dirk is the better choice...interesting contrast.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Mark Riley
Yes, the results suggest this...
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GURBA, JR RONALD 1 month ago
NOBODY on here is more gregarious than I. My latest client decided not to pay in "4 easy installments," but 9. Not in 4 months, but 7. Not in full checks, but the amount he decides. Yes, one of his other vendors called to get product from me because he has a job from the client, so the client is using the money he owes me to pay this other vendor!
As a standup comic for fun, since all the world is a stage and I find you people funny (C-level notwithstanding) and you really give me too much easy info to work with, I am being forced (by money, time, effort, profit, etc) to "tone it down a bit." No matter what business environment I enter, I turn out to be the nail that the Chinese proverb says "gets it first!"
As I type this, perhaps the better thought process for us "boring challenged" would be for us to redirect our humor. As my girlfriend says when I decide to joke with her, "Hey, point that thing over there, OK?" Everybody wants to hear my humor, but for some strange reason, they don't want it directed their way.
As for teaching the younger salesmen, tell them to write down their selling technique, you write down yours, then both try to sell using them. Then show the "gregarious" (they ARE younger, right?) the differences. Oh, if the younger guy sold and you didn't, that doesn't mean you aren't a good salesman, it just means you are old. (Told you I was gregarious!!!)
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Biff 1 month ago
i'd like to understand the data and survey questions (myers/briggs type) that we're used to support these findings... what was your sample size? over what period of time (every year for past 5, 10, or 20 years)? how are you defining top sales people and detemine their rank (personal income (W2), customer satisfaction,reputation, etc)? what were the universe of attributes that we're initially considered and ultimatley not supported? was there any consideration in to the type of product or service? i.e. the way you sell commodities (products) is very different than how you sell solutions.....
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idkboB 1 month ago
There is no such thing as a "Top Sales" person. I just left a sales org. that condoned some sales people to lie and decieve customers and those salespersons that got away were deemed top salespeople. The designation of territories will determine who brings in more revenue and the assignment of a specific client group will deem who gets to go to the "awards " breakfast/lunch or outing. The incentive plan(how will you understand how to manipulate) and the distribution of leads are variables that will dtermine your outcome. I have always felt that the current way Americans sell is not effective due to many changes (i.e do not call lists, caller id, ect) The separation of marketing department from the sales unit as well as the disconnection of customer service keeps the sales process stuck in the 20th century. There has to be a better way-
Everyone is a salesperson. The authors traits are common attributes that we all need in order to influence a decisionmaker; but the idea of a "top" salesperson is a myth.
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Peter Ricci 1 month ago
Is one of the 7 traits having a photo with your hand under your chin like the author has? I always think it is a sure sign the person thinks they are more important than they are :)))))
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Steve_Martin 1 month ago in reply to Peter Ricci
Yes, definately! My wife can attest to it!
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Dkbaer 1 month ago
I agree that empathy is a part of the process. But the real goal is to find the real customer need or motivation. And then work to tie that to the solution you can provide. When you make that connection apparent to the customer, it becomes almost impossible to fail. On both sides.
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Jennifer Bonapace 2 months ago
I enjoyed this article as well as the commentary. A question on that is why is it not listed in order of the time posted? I am seeing the comments in a random order unless they are nested as replies. I see one that was posted 9 hours ago above one posted 4 hours ago and then there is one that was 33 minutes ago listed after one posted 1 day ago. It is all very confusing.
I wanted to clarify the way I am perceiving number 5 which is Lack of Gregariousness.
In this sense in the article, an introverted person one who is more reserved will end up being a better sales person. This I agree with. IF you define introvert as one who is shy then I do not agree with this statement. To me these are related yet almost contradictory terms. Shy implies being uncomfortable with others whereas reserved is someone who knows when to speak and when to go out and be social. I think seeing an introvert as someone who is reserved and knows when to speak and when to go out and be social versus someone who is an extrovert and has tendenceis toward extroversion "or being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self" (also meaning that they are addicted to society) then I can see the introvert being the better sales person. Here this article makes an introverted personality more attractive. This intrigues me because it is opposite of what we generally perceive and what I have been acquainted with in college.
I think though it is interesting that the definition of gregariousness 'the quality or state of being social' seems very mild compared to my personal connotation of gregariousness which I always thought of as overly friendly and exuberant in relationships and personality. I always saw gregariousness as more of a peacock, a brightly colored, loud word choice versus other word choices for friendliness like amicability, or neighborliness. But also the thesaurus lists other near synonyms like forwardness, brashness, and immodesty which align better with my perception of gregariousness. SO in this sense I see why lacking this trait can be beneficial but it is again opposite of what I have observed or been taught. Usually gregariousness is often seen as a "good" trait but because of the perceptions that I have and the synonyms related to the word it can actually be more undesirable in this line of work because it is too much and too over the top. it is the opposite of modesty which was the first trait on the list.
So to summarize, I see that not having to be (extroverted) addicted to society and things outside of the self which causes (gregariousness) a lack of modesty and attributes to over the top, exuberant overly friendliness is a desirable trait.
Am I correct in my understanding? Is this the way you have perceived teh word gregariousness before? Did you think of it as a positive or negative trait? What was your perosnal connotation? Mine was not positive as described above. It was too loud but often I was lead to believe it was a good thing. How were you taught?
Thanks
Jennifer
I am using these definitions:
Gregariousness-the quality or state of being social
Introvert:a shy or reserved personextroversion: the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self
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Penny Price 2 months ago
I don't thing "gregarious" was the right term. I think "self managed" might have been better. Lots of salesfolks go down in flames and smoke because of drugs and alcohol, infidelity, or other similar destructive tendancies....coming down to the issue of self control. The person I am thinking of's mantra might include "work hard, play harder".
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Brian Zimmerman 2 months ago
Great article, These 7 traits are very important.
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Andrew 2 months ago
Slightly confusing listing discouragement and self-consciousness when it means the lack of both... but otherwise interesting and thought-provoking. As an introvert consultant selling highvalue services, it resonated with me...
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Dawn Block 2 months ago in reply to Andrew
i don't disagree with the traits you've listed, but in my practice of searching for executive level sales talent, i find a broad array of "success attributes" & styles. boy, i wish i could find the types you profile above - it would be a more pleasant recruiting experience for me! dawn.block@comcast.net
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eric_hellweg 2 months ago in reply to Andrew
That's a good point, Andrew. I'll add "Lack of" before those traits.
Thanks
Eric
Eric Hellweg
Editor, HBR.org
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Ragsrajeev 13 hours ago
I agree with teh views and I strongly believe that most significant trait is the determination. The more determined a person is the more qualities will emerge from within and that will make the difference.
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Female Sales Rep 1 day ago
Lots of testostrone going around in these comments! :)
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Santosh Nair 2 days ago
Do the same traits apply for all sales related personnel, like Sales Management & Account Managers? It'll be good to know and understand.
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CarmenNunez 2 days ago
The 7 traits you describe make me feel much better, except for one 'Lack of Discouragement'. Having avoided competitive sports as much as I could in high school, I still think I have learned how to manage disappointments and pick myself up.
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Guest 2 days ago
I think the most important trait is the willingness to understand the customer's problem and try the best to solve that problem by gaining customer's trust.
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Jonyaq 2 days ago
In other factors, there are three main points:
1.integrity/attractive to talk with, having human personal values, personal gestures
2.knwoledgeable of products to be sold/representated at public,
3.confidence in knowledge, negotiation and artificial tips to attract people
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Lisa Sperow 2 days ago
I love that you mention #5-- lack of gregariousness. I think that in most people's stereotypical descriptions of sales reps, gregariousness is believed to be one of the common traits. Being "gregarious" is not, however, to be confused with being friendly, likeable, attentive to details (curious, as you mention), or persuasive. It's also not a substitute for being genuinely passionate, enthusiastic, and energetic about your product or services along with having a genuine desire to help the company solve their problems (with your offerings IF they are a good fit).
As you mention, not all sales reps are successful. In fact, one study shows that 55% of sales reps SHOULD NOT EVEN BE IN SALES!!! Of the remaining 45%, 25% of them are selling the wrong product / working for the wrong company, and the other 20% are rocking it out as top performers at their respective companies, which shows -- to your point -- that yes, some are better suited to certain sales roles as opposed to others based on their backgrounds and interests.
Enjoyed the article, Steve!
Lisa
www.CloneMyTopSalesReps.com
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tightywidey 1 month ago
I love it - we salesfolk all have something to say. And so often its the same thing the guy just before me said, except I put it in my own words and think its different or that much better. I have been guilty of trying to persuade others my presentation was better and vice-versa. I especially love the banter about empathy and/or active listening. OK, let's just add that as #8 and everyone will feel good at the end of the day. We all have the same basic message, just our own individual style. One consistency in all the comments is that we all agree that, as top perfomers, these character traits match our own. No go out and sell.
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Scott 1 month ago
Versatility is the key! That is the ability to work with each customer in way (strategy, pace, approach, risk, professional motives, and tension) that works for the each customer.
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TheDude who said something.. 1 month ago
I really love myself. Does that make me a bad sales person.
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Scotthudson 1 month ago
Steve--what assessment did you use? also, how did the low performing sales people score on these items?
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Coach Abid 1 month ago
Hi Steve,
Very interesting piece with seriously valuable insights.
It would have been great if you could link sales success with Character strengths and values as in positive psychology...what you think about that?
Cheers,
Coach Abid
.com
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Steve_Martin 1 month ago in reply to Coach Abid
Yes, I think there are several different potential follow up articles that would be most interesting...
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Rob Hawthorn 1 month ago
Great article, was going to buy the book but how can it be £17 (Amazon.co.uk) and $16 (Amazon.com).......that's not good!
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Imran Kiani 1 month ago
steve its really worth reading .very informative article .
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Kathy8185 1 month ago
Excellent list. I usually do not see curiosity on a list. I am glad it is there. I remember early on in my career a prospect commented on my curiosity. He said it felt like I truly wanted to understand his issues and problems so I could help him solve his problems. I got his business. I never forgot that lesson
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Peter Ricci 1 month ago
Fail: Removing a comment for having a friendly dig at your photo :)
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Opsman 1 month ago
Except personality tests are nearly uniformly inaccurate. Try to get reliable, validated results on any personality and you will usually see little efficiency.
Same for GRE and SAT. Both very poor metrics. If you are gauging a person on personality tests I have yet to see one that is both reliable and validated. Witchdoctors could do as good as any personality test I've been privy to.
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witchdoctor 1 month ago in reply to Opsman
Well thank god you have everything figured out then.
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Opsman 1 month ago in reply to witchdoctor
It's not about having it all figured out. If one wants to write for the Harvard Business Review then one should be ready to have a reasonable open discusion about the merits of the argument.
There is a book called Mental Measurements Yearbook, read it a bit, then post back to me what you find about personality tests - most of which are run using strong research, yet correlations are still poor.
What control was used for this research? What methods of correlation?
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Ben 1 month ago in reply to Opsman
Personality tests as a measure of an individual are difficult to accurately qualify as the questions lend themselves to subjective answers; this is true.
However statistical analysis of a large sample, in this case 1000 people yield results that are either significant or not. The larger the sample the more accurate findings. (Your perusing of PsycINFO articles should tell you this.)
If you'd care to point a confounding variable specifically, eg: The humility bullet may be inaccurate because people who are being interviewed are typically in a position of lesser power and dont want to be viewed as over-confident~ Thats fine, good point... and worthy of a discussion. BUT to dismiss all standardized tests as irrelevant is too dismiss the analysis of information altogether.
Do all geniuses ace the SAT's? Not necessarily but I wonder how many "stupid people" ace them?
Incidentally the very same measure you're attempting to use to dismiss personality tests is the measure you are advocating oh so universally.
It is known as the P value. Steve's findings are not predictive but they are interesting and mathematically speaking they are certainly statistically significant (but only according to science.)
All the best,
I hope you are enjoying the equivocating world of bedside manner... ;-)
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Nh363 1 month ago
Every sales organization is always looking for the magic formula. It does not exist. Markets and buying behavior change so fast that what works today won't work next year. Best sales people are simply smart, and adapt to the environment they find themselves in.
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Mina A 1 month ago
Very good and interesting!thx!
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the real bucket boy 1 month ago
interesting, i had an experience with a "one percenter" and the only trait he has that is listed is curiosity.
Not nice, sincere, caring, or honest at all, in fact quite dumb once you assess via retrospect.
he is successful because he is a fake it till you make it kind of guy, who doesn't sleep much and works 100+ hours a week.
i think this article should focus on top traits of really really successful people that are actually undercover bad guys, may help some of us out that are quite gullible like me.
d
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Steve_Martin 1 month ago in reply to the real bucket boy
I like to think of it this way... These seven traits represent general tendencies that result in sales success for complex enterprise sales where there is multiple customer interactions over an extended period of time (typically months). There are specific combinations of personality factors that fall outside these traits that also enjoy sales success depending upon the specific sales circumstance (type of sales, industry, company position in marketspace, product competitiveness, etc).
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Heather C 1 month ago
This information is very interesting and provides great insight. I would be interested to know what outcomes sales people with these personality characteristics produce that set them apart. At the end of the day the outcomes they produce and how these outcomes support business results is what really matters. Understanding what these top performers produce will also help companies design a hiring profile and develop other solutions to help shift the performance standard of their entire workforce to the level of these top performers.
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Bernadette Duffy 1 month ago
Really liked this article.
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Steve Nguyen 1 month ago
Great post, definitely this will help me to review my career sales on past 7 years, and also to scan for the best potential candidates in sales team. !
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Loraine Antrim 2 months ago
Traits of top sellers? From what I've seen as an executive coach for over a decade, one trait that is glossed over is humanity. Sellers who are human beings first and salespeople second create intimate bonds with clients that are deep and sometimes lasting beyond the selling event. The key is how that humanity is communicated. An authentic and genuine style is the key from what I've seen. Loraine Antrim http://twitter.com/#!/lorainea...
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Chris Allen 1 month ago in reply to Loraine Antrim
I love Steve's research-based article, the insights he drew from the research, and the conversation it has generated! Loraine, I especially like your comment about the importance of humanity and how it is communicated coming first in the sales person's traits. In my 30+ years of sales experience, including the past 17 as consistent top seller with a global usability consulting firm, I find that seeing my customer as a fellow human being whom I want to treat as I would wish to be treated myself is a key that goes a long way to outstanding success. This theme runs parallel to the ones about empathy and linguistics. Ultimately, the sales person who has a strong sense of self-worth, directly experiences his or her connection with humanity and life as a whole, and sees him or her self in the customer is the one who will develop whatever traits they need to succeed in their own unique way. Chris Allen http://twitter.com/salesmystic
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Mathew Tharme 2 months ago
These traits are required for any Sales Professional looking to sell on value rather than "cut a deal". So market sector and cycles will define whether these traits rule.
However, from experience I would say that these seven traits do point to individuals who have better longevity within an organisation and who provide real return on the investment made in recruiting and developing them. The danger is that the organisation does not have the patience for the pay-off. How do you manage that expectation?
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Rodolfo Moraca 2 months ago
Great blog. Great insights.
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Jack Smith 2 months ago
Steve,
#5 is surprising to see in writing but supports a gut feeling that I've had. Many gregarious people fall under the "expressive" personality type, which is one that tends to be more inclined to talking than listening. These types than may miss what a prospect is saying in terms of their needs/wants/concerns. The bottom line in relationship building is that people want to be heard/understood, and want to be made to feel important. Salesmen that recognize this are often better at establishing trust with another party. Bridging the trust gap is a big factor in closing a sale.
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Dsmith013 2 months ago
Wow. Just HAD to comment...all of these years thinking I was some kind of 'broken toy' because I was much less gregarious than fellow sales men and women. I thought I was missing something integral, some key component that I kept seeing in popular literature - that I was succeeding in spite of its absence. I have certainly watched the gregarious sales types with a mixture of curiousity and incomprehension (and, yes, I have immaturely rubbed my hands together when they failed to hit targets).
You have changed my perceptions and you have changed my life.
Pretty powerful stuff - 1000 words that changes people.
I am shocked, and have to say it is in the best possible way! What a relief to have found your research. Thank you for the great service you have done us all
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Pmoses 2 months ago
Ron Willingham, author of Integrity Selling has focused on the balance of empathy and ego for over 20 years. Notwithstanding pedigree, this ratio is my fundamental measure when assessing sales talent; it is worthwhile to consider these traits in all customer facing positions, it will encourage a customer centric focus throughout the organization.
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Gerry 2 months ago
I would agree on being genuinely curious. With the right questions and taking a vested interest allows the great salesperson to dig into the business/personal pain/challenges and layer questioning. My take is that this type of person knows how to build relationship building extra's allowing them to relate with the prospects/ clients.
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Enochja 2 months ago
Hi Steve,
Can I post this article to my Blog with your reference? It would be great if you permit ! :)
Thanks,
Enoch
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Lewis Knibbs 2 months ago
As someone who has recently entered into a sales position, what advice can you offer to improve on these five topics. there are many articles discussing what it takes to be a top performer. As i am always eager to learn and reserch such topics i can never find resources that will help me on my path to success that relate to such topics.
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Jack Smith 2 months ago in reply to Lewis Knibbs
Read "The Secrets of Question Based Selling" and "How to Win Friends and Influence People". Both of these teach great lessons on relationship building in sales. Other than that, become an expert in your field, set goals, stay focused, budget and spend wisely, and hone your sales leverage (associations, systems and tools). Thats my two cents.
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Justin Williams 2 months ago
haha yes, I have found most of these traits to be true with myself. Great insight on the traits ;)
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Pvsmith23 2 months ago
As a very successful salesperson, president club recipient, honors and highly compensated you're missing a key element; ability to build personal relationships. People buy from people they like, relationship selling, rapport building and likability trumps price and competitive advantages.
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Mike Schmidtmann 2 months ago
These types of assessments are always interesting, but often contradictory. Why? Because "Sales" is not one profession at all, it's a wide field that encompasses countless subcategories of people and roles, To make an extreme example, the woman at the perfume counter at JC Penney's has a different job than the person who sells F-16s to the Defense Department. Even a specialized sales role such as Enterprise B2B Sales will find a wide variety of success profiles. I bet you won't find many modest Bond Traders on Wall Street.
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Opsman 1 month ago in reply to Mike Schmidtmann
Yes, exactly. Personailty tests are the domain of witchdoctors. Try to run multivariate tests on these and you'll find probably darn near no correlation or so much variance you can't possibly make heads or tails of the issue.
Even a test as simple as the SAT makes for poor correlation. I just have a hard time believing one could assess a trait such as "salesmanship" and have the data turn out in a manner that is reliable and validate able.
There are libraries of cognitive research that prove that hypothesis.
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GUEST 2 months ago
HBR - I DON'T WANT 100 PAGES of COMMENTS WHEN I WANT TO PRINT AN ARTICLE OF YOURS!
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eric_hellweg 2 months ago in reply to GUEST
Good point. I'll put in a ticket to change the print template to not include comments.
Thanks
Eric
Eric Hellweg
Editor, HBR.org
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Laurie Hall 2 months ago
Very interesting article and I like Steve's scientifically rigourous approach to figuring out what really makes great salespeople tick. This is more reliable and valid than most other sales advice out there, which is ususally very subjective. I have written an article about my own simliar study whose conclusions support much of what Steve has found. Let me know what you think. http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/...
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Eastsidewa 2 months ago
Steve: I worked for a major software company for 9 1/2 yrs. Where I took a territory and increased the annual sales from $27M/yr to $52M/yr. while all along maintaining the highest customer satisfaction results for the entire company. I agree w/ most of your points but I need to include PASSION as #8 and VISION (vision for the customer, the company and the market) as #9. Thanks. Jerry V
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Janryll Fernandez 2 months ago
Hi Mr. Martin. I edit our local internal employee newsletter here at Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines in Manila. May I reprint your article. Thought it was insightful. Janryll Fernandez
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Janryll Fernandez
Janryll, yes you have my permission as long as the article is properly referenced and includes my web site address www.heavyhitterwisdom.com
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Gopal Bhutani 2 months ago
Steve Thanks - for taking the effort and sharing the findings. No wonder there is so much spontaneous endorsement.
Gopal
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Peter Urey 2 months ago
Fantastic post
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Sunil Gandhi 2 months ago
Genuine interest in the prospects is also the KEY. Mostly trust is missing and focus is quick transaction only. Absolute expertise of the product plus Tom Peters 25 points of Sales People is also a nice read.
http://aanekant.blogspot.com/2...
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J. Ongmeyers 2 months ago
Thanks Steve - nice name btw :) After perusing, I found this to be useful and thought-provoking. I am sure I will learn from it when I reread it more closely including the many comments shared.
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Ya Boy 2 months ago
This is an excellent article!!!!!!!
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Dan Erwin,PhD 2 months ago
Before reading your blog, I made the assumption that it would be more useless sales baloney. After reading, I found myself 100% wrong. Your test results correlate with my training experiences and the systematic stuff on "nice-guyness." The research finds that nice-guys without competence are eventually distrusted, and competent guys without warmth/niceness are eventually avoided. (http://bit.ly/172Vwl) As a listening specialist I'm also certain--with you--that empathy is about listening.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Dan Erwin,PhD
Dan, thanks for the kind words...
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@jstvee 2 months ago
Steve if you had to rank those personality "traits" as the most important ones to close a deal, what would be the ranking?
For me during an interview: curiosity comes first as well as the ability ask the right question..
I am curious to have your insight.
@jstvee
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to @jstvee
Not a trait... It's the ability to establish "Dominance" --please pay attention to my definition of this word-- "the ability to gain the willing obedience of others."
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Zippy 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Your condescending reply to an innocuous question is a perfect example of attempting to establish "Dominance." I'm sold!
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Zippy 1 month ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Sounds like Cesar Milan would make an excellent salesman.
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Adrian Wood 2 months ago
Great article Steve! We've also seen that beyond personality, behaviors and habits are critical to assess. After all, personality tells us only what sales people are 'like' (which is a piece of the puzzle of course). Behaviors tell us what a sales person will 'do'. We also found that the behaviors of the top performers are unique to each specific location and environment making it very challenging to use a single profile across a distributed sales team.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Adrian Wood
Yes, I understand and as I like to say, "Nature does not yield her secrets easily." I actually think "sales linguistics" is better way to model top performers. See my other article about it on HBR or visit my web site/blog for additional reading...
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Daryl Tanner 2 months ago
Funny that this list came to me from a customer from years ago. He said he thought I should pay attention to # 7 and that when I cold called their CFO how upset he was with me but today he is the CFO and understands why I did it now and actually learned a lot from that experience.
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Kelly Kerr 2 months ago
Thank you for writing and researching this, Steve.
Very insightful and empowering for those of us in consultative high-end and customized services sales. It seems too often the difference between this consultative sale is confused with the widget sale, and it is somewhat demoralizing and contradictory as a result.
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DYates- Dallas 2 months ago
I have read that some people added certain things that must be done to capture the audience, listen to needs or play the numbers, etc... Don't forget, these are personality traits, not sales knowledge... We can all learn how to be better at what questions, when to ask, and when to shut up with your pen at the paper with it pointed slightly to the buyer to take... But it does take a certain personality first.. My wife sent this to me because she thought it was me as well.. I think young people carry these traits as well as us old dogs, but they tend to be more agressive in their approach. Not a bad thing in certain platforms, but not for the strong relationship building roles. I truly believe that if you have these traits, and truly believe in the product (at least not being against your values), you can sell it. The reason is that you will be able to find the customer it will take to buy it and help them understand its benefits!! I wish I could train young salesmen and women as a director....
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Darren Bristow 2 months ago
Interesting post Steve. Like several others who have commented on here I too have worked in a business development capacity most of my career (I am now 43) Over the years I have been fortunate to receive a variety of training adding a host of skills to my sales toolkit.
Empathy or the ability to empathise has been mentioned several times as a valuable asset. I wholeheartedly agree with this (2 ears : one mouth and all that) but can you teach this to a young salesperson or is it something that comes with age and experience? It would be interesting to know if you identified any trends in your research relating to age of the interviewees. Totally un PC i know but nonetheless potentially revealing.
Many thanks
Darren
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Darren Bristow
Darren, you might find this blog article I wrote interesting....google
The Truth About Older (50+) Salespeople
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Nshet5 2 months ago
a great article for a sales guys,,,
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IP Gray 2 months ago
This is a very interesting outcome. The factor 5 - lack of gregariousness - suggests that the best sales people have an 'introversion' score - they get their energy internally. This being the case, it is not surprising that so many 'extroverted' sales people burn out!
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Rb 2 months ago
Interesting article. I am suprised one factor is not mentioned:
- Capability to listen
good sales people don't speak much. They listen.
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Abhishekshah 2 months ago
http://www.slideshare.net/abhi...
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Subbu Iyer 2 months ago
Absolutely Tom, you have hit it right on the head. Empathy indeed is the greatest asset of a sales person and this make him / her most valuable.
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Jeffdore 2 months ago
It's still a numbers game. Salespeople with a competitive sporting background will generally try their best to win.
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George 2 months ago
True. Awareness of thy is not easy.
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Sandeep Saxena 2 months ago
Wonderful information and seems will be very helpfull for interviews
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Deepak Garg 2 months ago
A very well structured article. While it address some very basics, it also breaks certains myths like modesty, gregariousness and most importantly, active probe/challenging the customer to get a better handle of handle.
I would also like to highlight, the importance of the ability to un-earth customers unstated needs. What is driving the need, like I want to a turbine, laptop, software? If we can identify this need behind the need with political orinetation and as Tom mentioned earlier, Empathise, the probability of success is significantly improved.
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Ankit Suri 2 months ago
Well, Agree with the author of the Article in terms of key qualities observed in the best salesman category... As a personal experience in sales, i think you need two essential or basic things to be a good salesman
1. Presence of Mind
2. Good sense of humour
I would like Andrew to look at these two parameters in next study he conducts......
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Basharat 2 months ago
An excellent piece. However, what do you think about the conventional wisdom e.g. "people buy people, first" (and then they buy the product).
Bash
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Arun Kumar 2 months ago
I was a sales person prior to my currrnt role and my experience says building relationships is key to any successful sales person. The above study is great as it addressed some of the important facts, but a sales person should build strong relationships with customers to get new leads and stay 'alive' in the market.
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Srini 2 months ago
Nice article. I especially agree points 5,6 & 7 brought out by Steve. I saw Tom Weiss mentioning about Empathy and thats very true. Also I think one of the most important attributes for a sales guy is to 'study' the customer/prospect. At the end of the day how fast you are able to close a deal depends on how well you know your customer. By study I mean how well you have understood what the customer has told and what he has not told.....(read body language). Especially when you are trying to figure out if the prospect is real or not and how fast you are able to figure that out detrmines the success of the sales person.
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Resoundecho 2 months ago
It is interesting to read about Lack of Gregariousness. It is a very fine line between having strong empathy skills and ability to direct selling cycle!
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Victor Baglio 2 months ago
Ive enjoyed the book and the two meetings I had with Steve. I highly reccomend his book for anyone in Sales or Marketing that would like to begin to communicate with their business partners much more effectively.
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affintus 2 months ago
Interesting info that should be useful to many managers / companies. There's about 50 years of research to support the idea that certain personality traits are better matches for certain jobs than others, and sales is no exception. Pre-hiring assessments can be very useful in helping HR and hiring managers identify whether candidates have a strong match between the position and the candidate's personality preferences. Candidates who are a strong match will be 10-50% more productive. Wouldn't you want to hire those on your sales team?
Paula Soileau
affintus - predictive job matching
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Tlee 2 months ago
Great article. How do you recommend that I select for these traits? You mention personality testting. What testing would you recommend for a small company to use? And, what about interview questions? Any suggestions?
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Jeremy gustafson 2 months ago
Thanks for sharing the data and the insights. While perhaps not technically a personality trait and likely quite obvious, there is no substitute for intelligence. The primary key to success that you have pointed out is actually figuring our what the customer wants and needs (in addition to how the product and service fits into an organization as you point out) as opposed to selling them on the service or product and its features.
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John Davison 2 months ago
Interesting elements of these attributes, you are basically describing good leaders. is it a surprise that a good sales person is in many way also a good leader of the firm they are selling into?
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to John Davison
John, salespeople are leaders who running their own businesses in my mind.
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Boris Fowler 2 months ago
I was also pleasantly surprised with this article. I think this is one of the more inclusive lists I have read and I think it accurately depicts what a successful salesperson acts like.
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Robert Nolan 2 months ago
Steve:
Thanks for a great
article and the research fits with what I've done over a 40 year sales career.
I would like to know as others have, what assessments were used if that's
something you can share. Traits and Type Preferences, DISC and MBTI when used
in discussing personalities is always a bit tricky. Do you consider one to be a
behavioral trait and the other a preference or are they both considered as one
in the test?
I think it's an excellent
article as I said and it certainly opens the door to re-thinking of those in
sales positions. Thanks, Bob
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Robert Nolan
Robert, I actually consider the most interesting part of my studies how personality is related to language use which is intimately connected to selling style. My next book coming out in November titled "Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics" explains this in detail...
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Alana Carroll 2 months ago
what a refreshing article
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Lynne Marmulstein 2 months ago
Steve,
Thank you for sharing your research with us; very interesting and refreshing! Having been in sales and sales management most of my adult life I think many of the traits you describe are spot on.
I would be curious about the time management/organizational component; as it has always been a challenge for sales teams.
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Margaret Molloy 2 months ago
Steve: Excellent article. Since Sales and Marketing alignment is such a huge area, I'd be keen to see the version for Marketers. @MargaretMolloy
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Margaret Molloy
Margaret, I actually have some results for marketing and product managers... Maybe in another article?
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Chris Herbert of Mi6 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Steve, +1 for me on writing an article for marketing and product managers.
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Cenielson 2 months ago
A Great Article.... A question I have is somehow using the information in perhaps hiring a salesperson for my business or just using the 7 key strengths in another way.
It is good to know these key traits....so how might one use them in hiring a sales person. Do you want all the traits? It was mentioned that many salespeople do not know what traits they have that make them successful. How to avoid not hiring a salesperson who may not have enough of these traits...and thus most probably not be successful?
It got me thinking how to use this information in improving the closing of new sales.
Charlie Nielson
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JEBworks 2 months ago
Sends mixed signals. Based on these traits, I'd be a better salesman than I actually am!
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Sanjay Mohan 2 months ago
Agree with Badri, being a solution sales guy myself I can see the finer points of this article however as Badri pointed out there may be contrasts in different kinds of sales. For one thing before B to B solution sales I ve been in direct sales, concept sales etc, for example in the face to face concept sales like club membership sales you actually entice the prospect to buy by challenging their ego sometimes even embarrassing them, the salesguy literally oozes snootyness and arrogance, more of a psychological gameplay , so Eric will request you to add contextual contrasts in form of a matrix for this study, Regards,Sanjay Mohan Dubey
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Peter Twombly - Boston 2 months ago
Fits me to a T as well - Well Done Steve.
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P. Hanekamp 2 months ago
Really liked your article. Do you have more info, for example outcomes of regression analysis you performed? Which of the seven personality attributes had the highest relative score? Is there an academic journal version of this text?
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Lisasperow 2 months ago
As Badri commented above, yes --- the traits certainly can vary from rep to rep once you start considering industry, geography and products sold. As with any job, there's no one magic formula for success across the board.
Lisa
www.CloneMyTopSalesReps.com
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Peyton, arlie 2 months ago
#5 was not a surprise to me (gregariousness). As a sales team trainer for countless sales teams, at the end of the day our medical clients cared about two things: we had their best (and unique) interests in mind, and we delivered on our projections. Being highly likable was a bonus. But when you take a Dr or clinic from making $4M to $9M in revenue in a short span of time, the salesperson/consultant can be total jerk! So it was a pleasant bonus that our consultants were gregarious AND effective. ~ Arlie PEYTON
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Perry Woodworth 2 months ago
I am in agreement. Looking back over my sales and
sales management experience and observations of working with a number of
salespeople, the seven personality traits that you discussed can certainly act
as positive differentiators among salesmen.
I posted a link to your article on my LinkedIn Network Updates.
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Steve Smith 2 months ago
I really enjoyed your perspective on the suggestive correlations between personality and performance in highly successful salespeople.
From personal experience with commodity sellers, I believe that you would find no significant difference between the typical personalities of achievers in this study and the top performers who sell advertising, pork bellies, smartphones or municipal bonds.
I'm interested in getting your take on a related and sort of controversial subject. I wrote a piece on Quora recently arguing that great salespeople are trained not born. For whatever it's worth, here's the link to my post on the issue:
http://www.quora.com/Sales/Are...
What side would you take in this debate Steve?
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Steve Smith
Steve, I'll firmly take both sides, because I personally experienced both as sales manager and sales trainer...
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Mbadial21 2 months ago
Wonderful information and very helpful in the process of recruiting performers inot ones vision.
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Obdurodon 2 months ago
Seriously, honesty wasn't one of the traits measured? No, I'm not saying all salespeople are dishonest, but it seems like your definition of "conscientiousness" actively counts consideration of the customer's long-term interest as a negative and a lack of self-consciousness is pretty close to a lack of conscience (both are aspects of introspection). Whether you accept the stereotype or want to bury it, it seems like measuring the correlation between honesty and success could yield very interesting results.
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Appleblows 2 months ago in reply to Obdurodon
Okay..how about they dont always let on to full truth....They let the buyer figure that on their own. I have dated 3 sales women. Not at the same time of course...But I have watched them work, They dont tell the FULL truth....and in some cases they even tell "White lies" I found they did this even in our personal life. I would have to ask the question in a VERY literal sense, And wen they gave me a answer that could go either way, I had to tell them to be more specific. ....Personally, They are all weasels, maybe thats why some of them run for Senate.....Obama and BP come to mind..... LOL
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Obdurodon 2 months ago in reply to Appleblows
Glad to hear you weren't dating three women at once, Ab. ;) I'm not trying to judge here. I just find the idea of correlating dis/honesty with actual job performance very interesting from a purely results-oriented perspective According to Steve, honesty doesn't seem to be a strong predictor of sales success either way. That's good information to have. It would be interesting to do the same sorts of measurements in other professions, including my own, and see how the results compare.
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Steve_Martin 2 months ago in reply to Obdurodon
Actually, 36 differnt personality factors were measured including Trust, Straightforwardness, and Alturism. This article is based upon the top 7 major differences between top and bottom performers.
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Louie Bernstein 2 months ago in reply to Steve_Martin
Very good article Steve.
After 22+ successful selling and sales leadership years, I was a little surprised. But, when I looked at myself, I (thankfully) found most of the traits were there. Two questions:
1. Is your test for sale?
2. Would you like a pro to sell it for you?
Louie
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lou...
posted by AcrosticGuy @ 2:06 PM
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