87. Is there such a thing as a born salesperson?
I am sure you would not like to have open heart surgery by a "born doctor" who understands the concept of open heart surgery but has never had any training? How would you like to get on an airline flight with a "born pilot" who understood the theory of flight but never had any professional training? How would you feel about eating in a restaurant run by a "born cook" who never had any training in food safety or proper cooking procedures. What about investing with a broker who "had a feeling" for the market, but had no professional training. Most importantly, when you are buying something, how do you feel about buying from sales people who do not know anything about their product except the price?
Careful planning will result in the skills and qualities necessary for success in selling. If you took a person who has never sold before and spent an entire Saturday planning every detail of what they were going to do during the next week, you would be amazed at the results.
Everyone who has been in sales for any length of time knows how to plan, however, we need to sell ourselves on taking the time and making the commitment. Once we sharpen our planning skills our work in sales will become more profitable and more enjoyable. To be considered a "Cutting-Edge" sales professional it is not necessary to work twice as hard as the "average" sales person, we only have to work twice as smart.
After three years in sales you will begin to feel confident. After five years it is very unlikely that you will ever want to do anything else for a living. If you take a walk through any bookstore and look and the success section, many of the titles hint on the idea that your sales success is guaranteed instantly if you follow their formula. Turn on the TV and during a commercial break all of your problems can be solved within 15 seconds after taking a certain pill. The generation coming into sales has unrealistic expectations of success, and when it does not happen instantly, they quit. Ask yourself: "How long do I think it will take to become a true professional in this business?" See how close you come to three years.
Careful planning will develop patience. As a "Cutting Edge" sales person, committing to a daily schedule is of prime importance; our success or failure in this area will have a major impact on our overall performance. We always plan tomorrow the evening before. Prioritize our goals. Make a list of all the things we want to accomplish and then rank them in the order of their importance.
On Friday evening or Saturday morning, prepare not only your Monday schedule, but also your schedule for the week to come. Do not feel you have to account for every minute of every one of the next five days, just block out your scheduled appointments and meetings so you have a good solid overview of what is on the horizon. Then review and prepare for each call you are going to make.
By attending to daily scheduling matters conscientiously, and comparing your actual results with your plan, you will increase your time-effectiveness and at the end of the day you will feel great, taking very little stress home with you. You will easily outsell the so-called "born sales person."
Comments:
I love to sell against the "Natural Born Sales Person" because they take for granted that people will buy from them. They are usually unprepared. Have little or no plan and spend lots of time boosting their own egos. Those guys are fun to steal business from because they always point fingers. I am very good with people but it is only the hard work and the attention to planning that keeps me going.
Dave Ferren
There are many stories of young athletes growing up who were great as kids. They had a natural, God given talent to hit or throw a ball or move around a basketball court with almost no effort at all and with great size. But for some reason they didn’t want to play beyond the 8th grade. Why? Because they didn’t want to do the hard work to get to the next level.
I’m sure we all have examples of great talent being wasted whether it be as a musician or an artist(graffiti guys come to mind). My point is that even if you are born with a talent, you must direct your energy to getting better each day because passion or God’s giftedness will go to waste. There are many examples of people, who though they didn’t have the greatest talent, kept working at it until they became successful; Michael Jordan comes to mind.
Are we all suppose to be sales reps? No more than I am suppose to be an IT guy. But if you have a passion for people (instead of gadgets), and want to help make their lives more successful by what you have to offer, then sales may be your vehicle to help them. But whatever it is, do it the best you can. Find the best there is and do what they do. My guess is that if you take Bob’s advice, not only will you be successful, but satisfied.
Jim Ruth
Personally, I myself went from introvert to extrovert during my mid to late 30's. At various times prior to that I had been approached for different sales positions and I never saw myself as a salesperson. There are times now that I STILL don’t. I more or less forced myself into my first job after discharging from The Corps. I was an extremely persistent salesperson for myself. Looking back upon the subsequent position changes I made (climbing the ladder) it dawned on me one day that I “sold” myself for each and every one of them, including the position I am in with the company I work for today. Not just passively selling myself, throwing in an application, showing up for an interview, nothing that simple. I had to overcome objections over lack of experience, black marks in my personal life, lack of formal education and even (in a few cases) the prospective employer not really having an opening or needing to hire.
I guess I’m validating the lesson in that I wasn’t BORN to sell…I was MADE to sell.
Everyone on the planet has to sell in some aspect of their life. The lucky ones discover themselves in the process and go on to do so for a career.
Chris Chase
I think most people equate “born salesman” with confidence, charisma and gregariousness but also someone who is fast talking, loud and a back slapper. It is difficult to change your personality but through training, research and experience you can become a very successful salesperson. You may fly under the radar in comparison but your success will be built on a much firmer foundation.
Crocker Smith
The reason some people say that sales people are born is because they all share the same personality characteristics, such as the ability to accept no and keep on, and having thick skin. Some people may like the idea of selling and will try hard, but after being rejected several times, they get discouraged and feel they can’t do it. Others have the tenacity to keep going. If we prepare, practice and push forward, eventually we will feel as if we are born to sell.
Kimberly Burgess
I agree! There are no born sales people. However selling is not for everyone. Its like any sport, anyone can learn it but you have to have the desire for that sport to excel in it.
Heath Blanchard
I believe people are more outgoing because of the environment they grew up in. Born Sales Person? A true sales person is somebody who is able to make the client or whomever believe that he or she believes in the product or service.
Personally, I never thought that I would be in a sales position but a lot of other people saw the determination in me that they thought would work in sales. I believe what may put me ahead of other sales people is that “no” just doesn’t bother me. I know that what I have to offer is an excellent service, and as one the other managers said the other day. “I come with this service. You get a wonderful candidate, and you also get me.” That makes sense.
Every sales person has something that makes them different and interesting to the clients or people around them. The way to succeed to find that something about you and build on it!!
Danah Parmley
I think everyone has very special gifts and talent and I do feel that some are just born to sell, love to sell and do a great job. I don't agree every person can be good in sales. Every person can not read music and every person can not play golf well. We all have talents and gifts. One can spend years mastering golf and still be very bad and just never get it. The same with anything, playing the drums MOST people don't have a clue and never will no matter how many years of training. So I do think you can be born a natural seller. I have friends who can read music and play any instrument and sing with no lessons at all, that is a gift that not all of us share. HOWEVER! I do think everyone sells all the time they just don't know what they are doing. ( in their day to day lives) selling the kids to eat good food selling the husband to cut the grass ect. Selling mom or dad for that new MP3 player etc.
Ronda Kennesaw
I am a behaviorist by defined in the psychology world. I believe that behavior is learned. If a person is an extravert or introvert, it is because of their life’s experiences (Environment). Environment is key to the success of any individual. If you hung out with the “wrong crowd” in high school or college, there is a great chance that you did not graduate. Sales people develop over time within their environment. Some environments allow people to excel more than others. Take for instance the sales environment for Ambassador. We have some of the most professional and seasoned sales people in the industry. The seasoned sales professionals (Owner, Corp VP’s, Regional VP’s) at Ambassador all posses the same common trait. They all have put in many hours and years of perfecting their craft. Some bring certain things to the table and some bring other qualities to the table. Most importantly, I feel that all the seasoned sales professionals have a high level of empathy. They were once on that bottom rung of the corp ladder and the majority of them have not forgotten where they came from. They too were just days, months, and a year into sales.
Jeffrey Mole
I must agree that there are no “ born “ sales people. The work ethic or your make up of who you are and your attitudes towards life in general are a product of your environment, however you can change if there is enough commitment and motivation from within.
I always considered myself an excellent “ meat cutter “ “ butcher “ .Yet I was not raised in a slaughterhouse or on a farm, however I spent many a summer on my grandparents farm. I enjoyed cutting meat and the discipline of butchering. To me it became and still is a true art form if you apply yourself and practice……practice and learn and grow. I still learn new things about the art of butchering and enjoy learning about it even though I have not picked up a knife in almost 6 years, why ? It became an intricate part of me .This skill would not have be developed without sweat , commitment and sacrifice ie ( openness to learn and work )
I play guitar by ear , people I know say I am good but without practice and commitment I can never develop the ingrained talents that I apparently have. I play for the shear enjoyment, and with my life today I simply can not afford the time and commitment to consistently practice and hone my skills so the chances of me ever going on tour with Eric Clapton are very slim. However I have developed a skill level . I play considerably better that I did 10 years ago, when I got the guitar, how did that happen , practice and just doing it ……………….and enjoying the ride.
We all have various talents, skills , but with out first recognizing the talent , and constantly practicing and honing the skill and truly enjoying the process, the talent will never reach the potential that it was destined to.
Alex McQueen
"There is no such thing as a born sales person. Learn the rules of the game and then play better than the competition. Are you a born sales person? I hope not. A big mistake made by many salespeople is the assumption that selling comes naturally. These are normally the worst sales people to deal with, or even be with - all they do is talk."