Are you the “Relationship Guy/Gal” or the “Closer”?

To bring in the big paydays you need two types of personalities in your sales department – if you’re a one man/gal show you may realize that multiple personalities are a blessing or you can assess where your personality type naturally sits and then develop strategies to maximize your close ratio.
What is the personality type of the sales people in your business? The two main personality types are “relationship types/schmoozer” and “closers”.
Being a great relationship/schmoozer type is effective for gaining attention to your company. With this personality you can open doors. People are naturally attracted to this wonderful, warm personality, but this type of person rarely closes business or when he does it takes him forever to close the deal. The fact is, when prospects are asked why the sale did not close, in over 90% of the cases it was because the relationship/schmoozer talked too much, missed asking important closing criteria questions or simply didn’t get down to business and ask for the sale.
On the other hand, the closer personality type is the backbone of a company, as long as he doesn’t come across as too aggressive and scare off the prospect. This personality type has a laser focus on closing the sale. They get down to business and can be extremely effective when the relationship/schmoozer type hands over the prospect (who is now bonded with the company).
I have several clients who provide presentations to their prospects prior to going through the sales process. In this situation, it is highly effective when the relationship/schmoozer is your presenter because he will build trust and credibility with your company. The closer can then step in during the sales process to convert the prospect to a paying customer.
The most effective sales personality type for business has a combination of both skills. In larger organizations, it is convenient to have both skill sets in separate positions. Think of it as a “Hunter and Farmer” role – one gets the business while the other one grows and nurtures it. If you’re in business for yourself, consider contracting in what you lack to help you grow your business.
And if you’re in business for yourself, don’t worry. You will always have one trait that is more predominant than the other. For example, you may find home base for you is a relationship role and feel awkward asking for the sale. It doesn’t mean you can’t close. It means you need a plan. Know the steps to take to develop your closing ability and ask specific questions that move the prospect to becoming a customer. If you don’t know how to sell yourself, then talk to your current paying customers about why they decided to do business with you. If you’re struggling, remember that people buy outcomes and results. They buy what they imagine is the bliss that you will provide when they do business with you.
Here’s something to watch out for in your organization. We teach a program called “Connecting with Different Personality Types”. It teaches you how to connect positively with any personality type within 30 seconds – yes, even those people who make the hair on the back of your neck stand up! Since we sell to all types of people it’s essential to find a better way to connect!
When I teach this program, the group divides themselves up into 4 different, predominant personality types by choosing which personality type best fits them. Can you imagine the result – 99% of the time over 75% of the group falls into one personality type – it’s the same personality type of the person who hired them. Why? Because people like people who are like who? People like people who are like themselves. There is a common bond: like likes like.
One client invited me to work with a large sales team who simply weren’t closing. It looked like a great team to me, very professional, interactive and excellent at rapport building…however nobody on the team was a closer. Question answered.
So the question is what are you – what is your team?