The Introvert's Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone

by Matthew Pollard, Derek Lewis Narrated by Jamie Jackson

Overview

BookAuthority Best Sales Audiobooks of All Time * BookAuthority Best Introvert AudioBooks of All Time

An introvert? Great at sales? YES. Sales is a skill anyone can learn and master - and introverts are especially good at it once they learn how to leverage their natural strengths. Introverts aren't comfortable with traditional tactics like aggressively pushing a product or talking over a customer's objections. That's the beauty of The Introvert's Edge: it doesn't focus on the sale itself but on a sales system that helps introverts feel sincere instead of sales-y. Powerful and practical, the book reveals how to: - Find natural confidence - Prepare for every situation - Present your value so that customers want to buy - Sidestep objections - Judge when the customer's ready to buy - Ask for the sale - without asking - Continually adapt and improve - Profit from a process that doesn't rely on personality - Enjoy sales - With stories of introverted entrepreneurs, salespeople, and business owners who went from stagnant to success, The Introvert's Edge shows you how to succeed in sales - without changing who you are.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

11/27/2017
Pollard, an entrepreneur and self-avowed introvert, delivers a helpful guide for other introverts looking to leverage their particular personality traits for sales. He begins by lamenting a persistent myth that successful selling requires a specific personality: charismatic, outgoing, and good at schmoozing. Pollard observes that introverts trying to fit this mold have a rough time. Often uneasy with small talk, they can come off as rude during sales calls and enter a vicious cycle where failure leads to desperation—and desperation in a salesperson is all too obvious. But in truth, Pollard convincingly argues, anyone can learn to sell, and introverts have traits that make them better at it, such as thoughtfulness, empathy, and the ability to listen closely. Unable to fall back on sheer force of personality, they instead tend to use a well-rehearsed, thought-out process, which Pollard views as essential to effective sales. In a series of concrete how-tos, he breaks down the process into manageable chunks: establishing trust, asking good questions, building a narrative, and getting past a “no.” Any introverted aspiring salesperson will be relieved to find this cogent guide. Agent: Cynthia Zigmund, Second City Publishing Services. (Jan.)

From the Publisher

'Pollard convincingly argues, anyone can learn to sell, and introverts have traits that make them better at it. Any introverted aspiring salesperson will be relieved to find this cogent guide.' - Publishers Weekly

'With stories of introverted entrepreneurs, salespeople, and business owners who went from stagnant to success, The Introvert's Edge shows you how to succeed in sales—without changing who you are. -Top Sales World

Instead of focusing on how to make good salespeople better, Pollard's book shows you how to transform your worst salespeople into your best. This book is a must-read for sales managers, sales teams, solopreneurs, and anyone who wants to reliably and authentically improve their sales results. -Selling Power Magazine

Matthew Pollard's new book, The Introvert's Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone, offers myth-busting insights to help you excel at sales — without being that salesperson we all want to dodge. - Psychology Today

Pollard has written a persuasive and engaging selling guide for the 'quiet and shy' of his subtitle — although one can venture that any salesperson would benefit from the experiences and insight of someone who has so thoroughly lived the challenges of the introvert salesperson. -Soundview

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171315276
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	01/04/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

THE MYTH OF THE SALESMAN

Looking back, though, I can easily see now why John failed. He simply wasn't a salesman. He was a typical engineer: an introverted, analytical problem solver. Nothing he learned could have possibly prepared him for selling real estate services to homeowners. Going out to meet new people and drumming up business was simply not in his nature.

It's not that he wasn't smart; obviously, he was. He wasn't lazy. But rather than focus on sales, he focused on doing things he was already good at. You could say that he was trying to save money by doing the work himself, but the truth was he hid from doing something that made him uncomfortable. Instead, he did what we all tend to do: gravitated to what he knew well. What's more, for introverts, the thought of selling their services isn't just unpleasant; it can be downright terrifying. Many of the introverts I work with can relate. They like doing what they're good at, and they hate doing what makes them uncomfortable (as do most people).

So, they concentrate on the work. Business owners often go into business for themselves because they're great at their functional skill. Lawyers start their own firms because they know the law. Electricians start their own electrical contracting companies because they're good electricians. IT professionals start their own consultancy business because they're proficient with a specific platform.

But just because you're good at something—or even great at it—doesn't mean that customers will automatically show up at your door. Even if you pour money into advertising (usually not the best solution to your sales problem), you still have to speak to people when they walk in or call you up. Marketing may turn up an interested prospect, but there's still a gap between the customer knowing what you do and actually wanting to buy from you. You still have to sell.

Of course, the problem is that lawyers, electricians, and consultants aren't salespeople; they're lawyers, electricians, and consultants. To them, sales is something done by salespeople.

These smart people can learn how to balance the books (like a bookkeeper would), how to hire and train employees (like a human resources professional would), and how to address customer complaints (like a customer service representative would). But for some reason, these same brilliant business owners don't think they can be taught how to sell (like a salesperson would).

That's because they believe that learning the law or electrical maintenance is a skill, whereas sales is a personality type. To be successful at sales, you have to be charismatic. You have to be outgoing. You have to know how to schmooze and how to work a room. You have to be likable. Sales is something where "you either have it or you don't."

That's the myth so many introverts buy into. They give up on sales before they even begin. They think that because of their personality, they're not good at selling. So instead of learning how, they plow their time and effort into getting better at their functional skill and pour money into advertising, hoping those two things will somehow magically close the gap. "Build it and they will come" may work in the movies, but if that's your strategy in business, you're just counting the days till you close your doors.

Here's another myth. What's the number one problem small businesses cite time and time again? They'll tell you it's finding customers. However, after working directly with so many entrepreneurs and professionals, in industries from writing to real estate to personal training, what I've discovered is that finding customers isn't really the problem. Business owners often have their head in the sand: They don't want to meet people, to network, to attend events, to get on the phone, or to set up meetings. They don't see the value in contacting past clients for referrals. And they have trouble qualifying leads and recognizing the ones with the most potential.

It doesn't matter if you're the best voice coach on the Eastern seaboard. If no one knows it, how can you expect to sell to them? These small-business owners and entrepreneurs climb most of the mountain, only to let their dreams die a few feet from the peak.

The problem is sales—but it's so easy to fix!

Working directly with thousands of business owners, salespeople, entrepreneurs, and professionals has taught me three truths:

1. Sales is a skill anyone can learn.

2. Anyone can create a sales process.

3. Armed with these two facts, introverts make the best salespeople.

Excerpted from THE INTROVERT'S EDGE: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone by Matthew Pollard with Derek Lewis. Copyright © 2018 Matthew Pollard and Rapid Growth LLC. Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission.

All rights reserved.

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