Are Introverts Better Salespeople?

Let’s get this out of the way. The answer is maybe. There is a lot of nuance in terms of personalities and it is impossible to predict on just one criteria like this. There is a lot more going into it.

Most of this blog is pretty stereotypical too. Everybody has both introvert and extrovert tendencies. Even Susan Cain, the author of what I consider to be the definitive book on introversion, prefers to write in a Starbucks with people around over her quiet home office.

I have always been an introvert. I prefer nights alone with video games or time alone in my workshop over parties and get togethers. I would often be the first person to “Irish Goodbye” out of a party and not return until three or four in the morning. To this day my wife needs to drag me out of the house sometimes.

The problem is when we look to hire salespeople, many managers look for the uber-extrovert. They want the person who talks to and knows everyone. I understand the idea, if they have a wide social circle they may be able to attract new customers. It make sense. But you are missing a key part of the problem, depth.

Despite what most people believe, both introverts and extroverts are socially driven. Everyone who is not a sociopath is. The key difference is that extroverts tend to have a lot more relationships that are a little shallow, while an introvert has a handful of relationships that are very deep.

Introverts actually like talking to people, but they do not like small talk. They want the relationship to be at a point where you can have real deep conversations. And introvert would love to sit on the couch and talk about things like goals, feelings, and problems. The introvert, not wanting to talk as much, asks a ton of questions and really learns what the other person is feeling.

Meanwhile extroverts tend to flit around the party saying hello to everyone. They talk about the weather and sports, but may not dive into deep conversation.

Guess which is better for the sales process.

Extroverts tend to be better that the prospecting part of the process, but not able to build the emotion needed to sell the product. Introvert however, while they are not the best at prospecting, tend to do a much better job of building and keeping relationships after the sale.

So which is better? It probably depends on what you are selling and what the process looks like. The products I sell require a deep emotional conversation in order to get people agree to change their behavior. No one changes their behavior without an emotional reason, and Introverts are better at uncovering that.

All I want you to do, if you are in charge of hiring, is to try hiring a few introverts. See how they dive deep into the customers real problems and talk to them about ways they can solve them.