Succeeding in sales is a science and an art, and most salespeople are attracted to the art side of things. Energetic, extroverted, and intuitive, they go into sales because they love sales. They flourish in an industry that celebrates personality-driven desire.
This attribute also means that most salespeople struggle with the process and technical side of things (the “science” side). In a job where intuition, relationship-building, and in-person chemistry lead to success, it’s not instinctive for salespeople to prioritize analyzing historical data to inform future processes.
- However, there is another valuable sales personality out there that can help.
- The truth is, each organization has a different personality for sales, depending on what you’re selling.
- Do you want your sales team to win more opportunities?
- Sales Personality types FAQ
- How To Sell to the 4 Types of Sales Personalities
- What Are the Seven Personality Traits of a Salesperson?
However, there is another valuable sales personality out there that can help.
Some sales professionals go into sales not because they love sales, but because they love what your business is selling, whether that’s an engineering solution, software, a valuable service, or your compelling products. These personality types tend to be rational, analytical, and information-driven.
These salespeople may not be as natural at building relationships with potential customers who want to be won over. However, they thrive with customers who are more logical and analytical themselves – these are the salespeople who can win customers over by being immensely knowledgeable and informative about the details, going above and beyond to respond to your customers’ technical needs and improve what you sell.
So which sales personality type is “better” to have in your company?
The truth is, each organization has a different personality for sales, depending on what you’re selling.
Usually these two personalities are present in any sales team, and this is a good thing! It makes for a more dynamic team who can serve different customer personalities. However, it also makes processes, communication, and organization more difficult because no one process works for everyone.
For example, your more outgoing, intuitive sales personalities may be more reluctant to track communications and interactions, and less comfortable or interested in looking at sales data that might suggest another strategy might work better. But, they may have a higher quantity of sales interactions. They need processes that are really quick and easy.
Meanwhile, your more logical sales personality traits may be better at tracking communications and interactions, rely on process more, and be more engaged with analytics and strategy. However, they might need support with uncovering customer needs and building intuitive relationships. They need to be able to make relationship-building a process of their own to succeed.
This means that when it comes to CRM, winning at sales, closing deals, getting more new business and giving your sales reps what they need to succeed, it’s important to offer a platform that is simple, customizable, flexible, and that can provide data you need – one that works for everyone and their sales environment.
At Evolved Metrics, we offer the CRM (science) and the consulting support (art) to create a sales team that wins together no matter what your company’s sales approach is. If this feels like a direction you want to take your sales team, check us out!
Do you want your sales team to win more opportunities?
Book a complimentary consultation with us! We help small and medium-sized businesses achieve clarity between individuals and teams, implement processes that support a healthy work culture & foster understanding and collaboration.
It’s time to grow your sales.
Sales Personality types FAQ
The 4 Sales Personalities
If you are in business, sales are a crucial part of the process, so you will want to get comfortable when selling! You will need to sell to your leads, current clients, and possibly even investors if you are trying to pitch your business. One of the factors in sales is something called the four sales personalities. This can be used to describe the salesperson or the consumer who is being sold to.
Read on to learn more about the four sales personalities, and how they can affect the sales success and sales strategy within your company.
What Are the Four Sales Personalities?
There are four main sales personalities which form an image of the person doing the selling– and they can also be used to describe the person that a salesperson is selling to. Take a look below to get a description of each four sales personalities. It is important to note that a person who is a good salesperson usually has a few qualities from each sales personality.
Assertive
The assertive personality type is someone who is competitive, decisive, and goal oriented. A sales rep with this personality type is also loud and likely to speak in sentences, rather than in questions.
Amiable
Someone with the amiable personality type is friendly, patient, and open to challenges. They are more informal and are typically good listeners who ask lots of questions and seek out strong personal relationships, too. They are calmer than some of the other personality types.
Expressive
If a person has the expressive personality type, then they are colourful, people-pleasing, and intuitive. Expressive persons can be outgoing, enthusiastic, and spontaneous, too. This personality type is more likely to speak in sentences, rather than questions, similar to those who have an assertive personality type.
Analytic
Someone with an analytic personality type is more fact-driven and impersonal. They also interact more formally and are serious, direct, and patient. A person with an analytic personality type is very likely to ask lots of questions and does not seek personal sales relationships.
How To Sell to the 4 Types of Sales Personalities
Each of the four personality types will react differently to sales pitches and selling styles, so you should try to personalize your approach based on this. Below, we will go over the ways that you can sell to each personality type.
Assertive
If you are selling to an assertive personality type, be professional and show up prepared. You should also give examples of the benefits of the product or service, and make shorter statements so that you can get to the point faster.
Amiable
When selling to an amiable personality type, be sure that you are pitching a vision, rather than just the product itself. You should also do what you can to build rapport before you actually begin pitching. Personal guarantees like refund policies are also important if you are selling to amiable personality types.
Expressive
If you are selling to an expressive personality type, then you should lead with fact and data-based information. Case studies can also be helpful. You should try to build rapport and work towards a strong sales relationship, too, because expressive personality types respond well to this approach. They want to buy from someone that they trust.
Analytic
If you sell to an analytic sales personality type, then you will need to be patient. This person has probably done their own research ahead of time, so they may ask a lot of questions. Stick to data and facts, rather than vast claims that are hard to prove.
What Are the Seven Personality Traits of a Salesperson?
There are seven top personality traits that make a great salesperson. We will go over these in more detail below!
Modesty
The first personality trait is modesty. Top salespeople are humble and modest, which does not necessarily match the stereotypes of a salesperson! This is because modesty and humility are attractive traits, while salespeople who are arrogant or pushy can easily alienate potential sales leads. Modest salespeople will also talk up the teams involved in the product, instead of making themselves the focus of the buying decision.
Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness is also a big factor in a successful salesperson’s personality. They have a strong sense of duty and are known to be responsible and reliable. If a salesperson is conscientious, they take their role very seriously and feel deeply responsible for any results.
Achievement Orientation
If a person has a strong achievement orientation, then they are very focused on the results that they achieve. In order to achieve these goals, people with this trait often check in and measure their performance in comparison to these goals. They may end up being more strategic with sales and with their approach than others are.
Curiosity
Curiosity is another great trait for a salesperson to have in order to succeed. This is their desire or hunger for information and can have to do with a more active presence when on sales calls. They may ask more difficult questions of customers to get a better idea of what they are working with, for instance.
Lack of Gregariousness
A lack of gregariousness means that a salesperson is less concerned with building a friendly rapport and is more business focused with customers. Surprisingly, this actually works for them, not against them, in terms of success as a salesperson!
Lack of Discouragement
If a person is not discouraged as easily, they will be a better salesperson. This is because of the nature of the field of sales. Sales can be difficult and discouraging, so if someone is able to bounce back quicker, they will end up being more successful as a salesperson in the long run.
Your sales skills are not just about the product, most successful salespeople use other sales tools to connect with people and not just sell a product. Staying mentally and emotionally strong in the face of rejection is a sales tool just like providing exceptional customer service and creative solutions.
Lack of Self Consciousness
The last trait of a successful salesperson is a lack of self-consciousness. Sales and the sales process is a very customer-facing job, so it requires someone who is confident and comfortable in their own skin. Sales professionals should not be afraid to annoy potential customers, and should not get embarrassed easily.
Great salespeople are often put in uncomfortable social situations where they need to be able to interact and building rapport with all different kinds of people, and they do it well. Your sales career will definitely not only be about your sales skills to close deals, but also your ability to navigate these social situations. Successful salespeople not only thrive on these but are able to have an ongoing relationship with people structured around non-linear circumstances.
