What About the Introverts?

In the world of sales and marketing, introverts are not usually the top performers.

Introverts make up roughly one-third to one-half of the average company’s leadership and staff yet their contributions often go unnoticed in favor of easy-going extroverts. The experts say that’s just not good business.

The power in introverts is demonstrated by some highly successful introverted leaders today, including Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, to name just a few.

Quiet Revolution, a consultancy and advocate of the “power of introverts” co-founded by speaker, author and consultant Susan Cain, provides services to industries looking to improve team efforts including harnessing the power of the hidden introvert. Surveys by Quiet Revolution show that the majority of people believe their organization fails to harness the unique strengths of their introvert workforce, Cain told Carrier Management in a recent article. This means roughly half of a company’s genius ideas are not being voiced.

The widely accepted assumption that extroverts make the best salespeople is “an incorrect dynamic,” said Catherine Theroux, assistant vice president and director of public relations for LIMRA and LOMA in Windsor, Conn.

No example can top that of the late Joe Gandolfo, a self-proclaimed introvert, philanthropist and legendary life insurance agent from Lakeland, Fla. He remains the only salesperson to sell a billion dollars’ worth of life insurance in a single year. His 10-year average annual production was about $800 million.

Introverted and extroverted people do operate differently and knowing that could make a huge difference in the sales success rate of an introverted employee.

Patricia Weber, an internationally known introvert authority in print, radio and online offers three tips for the introverted sales leader:

Be yourself. For introverts to sell effectively, be your thoughtful, reflective and inquisitive self. This builds trust, and when others trust you, they will buy.

Focus on your listening. Introverts can make better listeners. By being a quieter, more reflective type, they have more opportunity to practice listening. The real key in sales is understanding another person’s needs and knowing why your products or services can help those needs.

Use your planning tendency for good. To help your success rate, be sure to take advantage of your natural ability to prepare. Make notes about what you want to ask, and plan out objections and responses.

To read the full article, Introverts in the Workplace, visit: CarrierManagement.com.