Selling for Introverts: To Succeed, First Sell Yourself To Your Toughest Critic!

Yes, you read the subject line correctly.  In order to succeed in selling, or anything for that matter, you must first sell you to you.  In the context of selling, this means you must answer with an affirmative yes, with complete honesty, the following 3 questions:

• Do you see yourself selling, and that too what you're selling and to whom?
• Do you believe in yourself and your selling abilities?  If not completely, are you absolutely committed to working on yourself and doing whatever it takes to improve?
• Do you see how your selling will help you live the life you want to live?

You see, when I failed in my first sales job with the oil company that I talked about the other day, truth be told, there was nothing wrong with the organization, nor the job.  Rather the problem was me.  At the time, I just didn't see myself in selling, I lacked self-confidence, and I doubted my selling abilities.  In addition, that was my first job out of college and at the time I was a 5'5"125 lbs skinny little dude (why I share this will make sense as you read the next paragraph).  More then my size, I was just immature, plain and simple. 

And yet I was calling on bunch of rough and tough contractors who were much bigger than me, they had seen life in ways I hadn't, and in many ways they grew up in a different world than I had.  Given my immaturity and lack of self-confidence, I not only felt intimidated by them, I felt I didn't fit in.  Thus the foundation on which I was trying to do my work was weak at best.  I had gone into something, while I had the intellectual capacity, in many other ways I just wasn't ready at that time. 

This is a realization that occurred to me much later in life as I gained professional and life experience. And it took me even longer to accept and verbalize what I just shared. Thus, given my experience and lessons learned, I can say with complete certainty that if you're about to enter sales, or are having a tough time in your current sales role, I would urge you to reflect on the above questions and answer them with complete honesty.  Then from your answers you'll know what you need to do next in order to succeed.

So again, if you're going to succeed in selling, remember that you must first face and sell yourself to your toughest critic, your toughest prospect. And that is first you must sell you to you. Once you do that, and do it with absolute conviction, you will then have a strong foundation on which to build your sales career and achieve lasting success.

Selling for Introverts: Quiet Persistence Breaks Down Resistance

In my post From Dog Food to Filet Mignon, I share my selling journey as an introvert and how I went from failure to success.  In this post, I want to continue and share some additional lessons from my selling journey.

When I returned to selling the second time, 10 years after having failed the first time, I still hadn't really learned how to sell, nor about target marketing, defining a niche, speaking, writing, serving on committees, and so on--elements I talk about in my post From Dog Food to Filet Mignon.  These elements came much later in my selling journey, as I gained experience and learned more about selling.

When I went back into sales, I began by selling door to door, calling on local businesses.  I didn't know any other way.  And I figured that I have to start somewhere and at the time door to door method seemed as good as any.  So I mustered up my inner strength, grabbed my bag and off I went.

I would begin each day visiting high rise office buildings. In each building, starting with the top floor, I would visit each company on each floor asking the receptionist who buys their printing.  If he/she gave me a name, I would leave a handwritten note for that person letting them know I stopped by and that I would call them later to request a meeting.  Then when I returned to the office, I would type out letters and mail 'em out to these folks, reintroducing myself.   Then few days later I would follow-up with a phone call to request the meeting.  Of course, I heard the usual objections and faced numerous rejections.  Still, along the way I also got some meetings, by following this system day after day.

In those cases where the receptionists didn't give me the name of the buyers during my initial visits, I would call them back at lunch hour. At that time usually a temp was covering the desk.  These temps were more than happy to talk and would freely give out information.  So that would get me what I needed to start with within those companies and I would be back in the game.

Given I was selling door to door, and that many buildings had "No Soliciting" signs, there were also times I would be escorted out the buildings by security guards.  But hey, buildings are permanent, security guards are not.  In those situations, I would simply go back some time later and often there would be new guards who wouldn't recognize me.

In addition to above, if I didn't get a meeting, I would keep revisiting the offices and over time that too would lead to some opening.  Either they felt sorry for me, just got tired of seeing me, or whatever.  It didn't matter. I eventually got my foot into many doors this way in many places, and that's what mattered.  It frequently started with a small job. Then as relationships strengthened, larger sized and repetitive orders followed.

So what's my point in this post?  Their are several and they are:

1. Don't let anyone ever tell you that introverts can't sell.  We can, we do, and we do it very well, in the right environment. 
2. Don't ever tell yourself that you can't do something.  That's hiding behind "That's how I am".  No you're not.  Those are stories we tell ourselves and they don't serve us.  Look, I am introvert. Even though the above was uncomfortable, tough to do, and very unnatural for me, once mind was put to it, it got done.  It was simply a matter of will.  In addition, failure was not an option.  I had resigned from my well-paying secure government job to go into business and there was no turning back. I had to succeed. Plus, truth be told, I hate to lose.
3. When you're feeling stuck, unsure what step to take, just do something. Some action is better then no action.
4. Don't strive for perfection but rather continuous improvements.  Many introverts are notorious for perfecting and they'll do something only after it's perfect.  And since it's never perfect, no action is ever taken. And that results in no results.  Therefore, strive instead for improving. As long as what you do today is better then yesterday, and what you do tomorrow is better then today, you're doing great.
5. Follow a sales process, a system.  It'll keep you focused and on track.
6. Don't let anyone defeat you.  The only person who can defeat you is you.  If you decide to succeed, you will.  It may not necessarily happen on your time frame. But if you hang in there long enough, keep showing up, consistently keep doing what you need to do, success will follow. 
7. Be creative, be persistence.  If you can't get in the front door, try the back door.  If the back door doesn't work, try the window.  If the window doesn't work, try the attic.  If that doesn't work, dig a tunnel.  Look, where there is a will, there is a way.

Bottom line is that persistence is a key element of selling.  And we introverts have this natural talent where we can focus and stick to something for a long time.  So leverage this natural strength of yours and quietly persist my introverted friends.  Then success is simply a matter of time.  Guaranteed.

From Dog Food to Filet Mignon: My Selling Journey As An Introvert

Are you a highly educated introverted professional who is required to sell your services and meet revenue goals, as part of your job?  Do you ever doubt yourself and your abilities to sell?  Do you feel uncomfortable with the idea of selling, and being viewed as a sales person? When it comes to selling, many introverts doubt their abilities to sell.  I used to be one of them.

My very first job out of college was as a Sales Engineer for a major oil company.  Landing on the job, after receiving some initial product training, I was given a car, a territory, a map, and told go at it.  I was to call on contractors selling commodity items that included fuels and lubricants for heavy machinery.  While I was thrilled to have a company car, it was not exactly what I expected the job to be. It was frankly a pure selling role. Never figured out at the time where the engineer part was that was also part of the job title.

In any event, thinking sales people are supposed to be outgoing and that it's about fast talking, back slapping, shooting the breeze, I tried to do all that.  I even grew a mustache so I would look older than I did at the time, so people would take me seriously.  In hind site, I must have looked awfully stupid because as an introvert, such behavior is so counter to who I am.

Nearly every day frankly in that job was a misery, and I hated it.  While I loved the part about learning and meeting people, I just couldn't get used to idea of me selling.  And frankly I hadn't gone to college and studied Chemical Engineering only to then become a salesman.  But I loved the car and I was finally making some money, and so was too hesitant to quit.  Finally, much to my relief, my employer kicked my behind out the door.  While it hurt my ego, I said to myself "Thank God".  And I wowed never to go into sales again.  (Though I failed at the time, it would be decades later I would come to see this part of my career as a gift.  That's a topic for another time however.)

Well, as they say, never say never. Ten years later, I was back doing Business-to-Business sales, and it is here I came to see that in the right place with the right offerings, we introverts can really sell and do it very well.  In this new role, I decided to just be myself, and it worked.  As a result of some steps, which I learned through many trials and errors, I ended up enjoying numerous referrals, highest margins, strong client retention, and remained top producer for a long time. 

How did I succeed in sales the second time?  Here it is:

• Gained Expertise: Having a passion for learning, I spent countless hours learning about all aspects of the business. I become an expert in the business, in what we were selling, and to whom I was selling.  I learned the ins and outs of what I sold, how it was produced, and how our offerings benefited our customers.  This also meant I made the time to understand who our ideal customers were, what challenges they were facing, how our offerings helped them, and what made us different-unique from our competitors.

• Freely Shared Expertise:  As I enjoy writing and sharing knowledge, I wrote articles, participated actively in various electronic discussion groups, developed and delivered training courses.  These writings led to my being invited to serve on various committees and speak at conferences.  In the process I came to know many people within my target market, and more importantly they came to know me.  All this contributed to my establishing visibility, credibility, and trust.

• Asked for Face-2-Face Meetings:  This is one area I had to push myself out of my comfort zone.  Given people within my target market were coming to know me through above mentioned activities, getting meetings became easier, over time.  Still, I had to make conscious effort to reach out and ask for meetings, for business, for opportunities to serve.  Initially this was very uncomfortable and over time with practice it became easier.  

• Helped Solve Problems:  I enjoy helping people solve problems.  Therefore, in meetings, I never tried to sell.  Frankly I couldn't do it even if I tried.  Instead I asked numerous questions, took time to probe to understand clients' needs and challenges. Then when it made sense I helped them understand how what we offered could help them.  In other words, selling happened when it made sense and this naturally led to business.  Of course there were many times I had to still ask for the business. But when the value was clear, it really wasn't very difficult to do.

• Built Strong Relationships:  As I like people, many of my clients in time also became my close friends. Though I am no longer in that business, some remain close friends to this day.  Building such relationships made business more enjoyable and led to much more business too, from both existing clients and their colleagues who were referred to me.

• Went Deep, Went Wide: As client relationships became stronger, I was given opportunities to help them solve more and more problems they were facing across various departments.  This led to my taking more of my offerings deeper into my clients' organizations.  This not only helped them, it also led to relationships becoming more "sticky", i.e. making me less likely to be displaced by a competitor.

• Remained Curious, Constantly Asked Questions:  By on-goingly asking clients questions such as "how am I doing?" and "what more can I do for you?", they gave me lots of feedback, which we used to make improvements and develop additional offerings. They told me what's important to them, what they need, what made us stand out from the competition, and so on. In essence, customers told me how to sell to them and what to sell.  Doesn't get any better then this.

Bottom line is that introverts can and do absolutely succeed in selling.  So if you're an introverted professional who is required to sell and generate revenue as part of your role, fear not.  If I can do it, you can too.  Just be yourself, and just do it.  Leverage your natural strengths, take types of steps I shared above, and success will follow in due time.  I can guarantee it.

An Introvert's 5-Step Process to Becoming A Better Listener!

I was recently asked, "How do I become a better listener?"  Given that I find many who are so busy running their mouths and pushing to get their points heard, I wonder at times if talking is a national sport that I don't know about.

Becoming a great listener is really a very simple process, yet one that's not always so easy to follow.  It's a process many introverts are naturally great at and with practice, even talkative ones can master it, if they choose to. Here it is:

1. Stop doing what you're doing
2. Make gentle eye contact (not stare)
3. Open your ears
4. Shut your mouth, and keep it shut. Do not interrupt.
5. When the person finishes saying what they want to say, before responding, pause for a few moments. Similarly, after you ask a question, remain silent giving the other person time they need to formulate their thoughts and respond.  Silence is a very powerful force that's very much a critical part of being a great listener.

Now you may ask what do you do when you're in the middle of something that you absolutely must attend to right then, and someone comes into your office and starts talking.  I can totally relate to this for at times I am in the middle of a deep thought and someone just walks in and starts talking without first asking me if I have a moments to chat.  It really bugs me.

For such moments, when I really am not able to give undivided attention, or don't want to get away from what I am focused on, I have learned to say something like: "I really want to hear what you have to say.  If it can wait just a bit, may I please finish this and then I'll be able to provide you my undivided attention."  I find people appreciate and respect this.  Plus, it's a better option then trying to do what you're doing and at the same trying to listen.  Just not possible and no one feels satisfied in such an exchange. You end up feeling stressed and the other person generally ends up thinking you're insensitive (or some other choice words they use for such instances) for your not paying attention to them. 

(I must come clean here though and admit that I have been there, trying to do both, and in the process having been labeled as such.  Just ask my wife and my kids, who are my 3 biggest supporters and also my biggest critics. Trust me, they don't mince words.)

On the flip side, this also means that when you have something to say, before going right into your spiel, ask the other person first if they have a few moments. Only if they say yes, then go into what you want to say.  If they say no, not right now, respect their space and come back to them at another time.

Go ahead, give it a try.

Introverts: Do You Ever Feel Like Something is Wrong With You?

Back in January 2010, I wrote a post entitled "Workplace Challenges Being an Introvert". In response, one of my blog readers recently shared:

"I'm such an introvert, and recently was told by my brother that I'm "wrong" for not talking to my relatives the way he does...I'm just not talkative, but of course that comes off as "bitchy"..I've been criticized for being quiet for a decade (I'm 21), and it's terrible to have to go through that, feeling like something is "wrong with you"...when actually, I'm a nice, friendly person with deep, meaningful thoughts...sometimes I don't know what to do with myself."

First of all, if you're an introvert, I am sure this resonates.  If it does, rest assured that there is nothing wrong with you.  Unfortunately, given how we introverts are wired, we often come off as such to those who don't understand us.  What varies are the choice of words used to describe us. Yet underlying messages are similar. And in each instance we feel misjudged.

Having said that, we have a choice.  Do we want to continue to go through life being misjudged, defending how we are,while remaining silent and "hiding" behind "that's how we are?"  Or do we want to do something about it?  If you choose the later, here's something for you to think about, and then do.

Next time someone misjudges you, why not first thank them for they have given you invaluable feedback.  Secondly, ask them "What's the one thing you could say or do differently, so that you don't come off as...bitchy...aloof...arrogant...disengaged...?  If you genuinely ask for guidance, people will provide it to you, from a good place.

By doing so you will gain valuable actionable guidance, and then you can accordingly adjust your behavior as needed for the given situation.  And you can do this in a way that doesn't negate who you are while at the same time communicating to others the real authentic caring nice person that you are on the inside.

Now, if you were to choose this path, which you can for many things in life are acts of will, and therefore doable once you put your mind to it, what would your relationships, personal and professional, look like?  What obstacles would be removed?  What opportunities would become available to you?  In a nutshell, what would become possible for you?

So, with this said, which path do you choose? 

5 Reasons God Made Introverts!

Being a quiet type, growing up I used to think something is wrong with me.  At gatherings it appeared talkative ones were the popular ones.  As for me, I would mostly sit quietly observing and listening as others chatted away.  So many times I used to wish I had the gift of the gab as those who could make small talk at the drop of a hat had.  While my brain would be active, listening with curiosity.  While I can focus intensely and think deeply, when it comes to making small talk, I seem to blank out.  All the while I would sit there feeling self-imposed internal pressure that I should also be saying something but then wouldn't know what to say.  Somehow talking for the sake of talking still doesn't come naturally to me, and frankly superficial conversations don't interest me either.

Then it occurred to me that at the very basic level, God created two kinds of people.  There are those who are mainly talkers, and then there are the listeners. Why is that you ask?  Imagine for a moment if we all were talkers.  Then who would we talk to?  On the flip side, if we had mainly listeners, then who would we listen to?  With this realization, I accepted that I am the listening type and others are the talker types.  And we both need each other.

In our society, broadly speaking, talkers are thought of as extroverts and listeners as introvert. With this said, I wondered, while we introverts don't talk much, what do we do that makes us special?  Why did God make us for He doesn't make anything without a purpose?  As I reflected on these questions, 5 overarching reasons came to my mind. They are:

• Natural Listeners: Have you ever wanted, needed to talk to someone who would give you undivided attention, really listen to what you have to say without interrupting or cutting you off, patiently take the time to understand you and your views?  This is one of the areas where introverts really shine because since they are not talkers, they are naturally great at listening, both to what you say and also to what you don't say.

• Discoverers and Problem Solvers: When I think about many of the scientists, researchers, engineers, mathematicians, technology types, I find many of them are introverts.  They have immense patience to quietly persist, focus intensely, think in depth and pay attention to the smallest details as well as at the same time see the big picture and the interconnectedness.  They can go in great depths in to specific subjects and stick to it for long long periods of time, which is what is often required to come up with something new, and to solve complex problems.  In fact, my observation is that many of our subject matter experts, particularly in technical and scientific areas, tend to be introverts.

• Knowledge Bearers and Sharers: I find many introverts, possessing strong writing skills, patiently sit at their computers putting out journal articles, blog posts, publications, books and so on.  All this serves to educate and inform.  That in turn influences decisions, actions and ultimately outcomes for many.

• Natures Glue: Introverts in my experience don't like too much change.  As result, whether it has to do for example with a job, a project, relationship, a business, introverts prefer to stick.  Having the desire for predictability and stability, they prefer to stay for long periods and as a result serve as a stabilizing force.  They also serve as a calming presence for they don't get overly excited too easily, and they tend to think before they talk.  In today's uncertain fast changing climate, such calmness that introverts naturally exude is so welcomed and so refreshing, at least to me as an introvert.

• Strong Long-Range Planners:  Introverts don't tend to jump into new areas very quickly.  While this can be a disadvantage in crisis situations (areas where I find extroverts tend to be stronger), when it comes to long-range planning, creating order out of chaos, solving complex problems, introverts are generally very strong.  They can patiently think ahead, develop and analyze options, identify gaps and problem areas before they become costly mistakes, and come up with solutions and alternative approaches. Many times because they are such patient thinkers, they have the strong ability to also sit back, reflect, see the big picture and identify how various pieces connect. 

So if you're an introvert, feel great about yourself for you have so many reasons to be thankful for being one.  And for the introverts you know, please share this with them and thank them for the goodness they bring into all of our lives.  Thank you.

Introverts: Your Time Has Now Come!

For the longest time, primary means of communication, achieving visibility, and establishing credibility and personal brand involved mostly verbal communication, which is extroverts' natural strengths.  These means included telephone conversations, face-to-face meetings and networking, and speaking.

While there were means of written communication available, such as writing articles for newsletters and magazines, given the costs, time involved in publishing, and limited available space, getting published was time consuming and not as readily available.  Thus putting introverts at a great disadvantage given their preference for the written words.

Today however situation is very different and it is very favorable to us introverts.  This is because majority of business, and even personal, communication now takes place via means that require writing, which is introverts preferred means of communication and their natural strength .  These means include email, electronic discussion groups, social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, electronic newsletters, self-publishing, to name just a few.

These widely available, inexpensive, and easy to use platforms combined with introverts natural ability to think deeply,  communicate complex concepts and ideas through witting provides us introverts great opportunities to share our knowledge, our expertise. Thus positioning us as the experts and the go-to-people for solutions.  By taking advantage of these means and taking time to share what we know, we now have the means and the power readily available to us to develop immense networks and establish strong personal brands via means that play to our natural strengths.

Therefore introverts, your time has now come to shine and get to the top. Leverage these modern means to establish your personal brands that will serve you well.  The way I see it, I can't think of a better time for us introverts then now.  Given this, what next step will you take to increase your visibility, establish firmly your personal brand, and to take your turn to be at the top? 

Introverts: Have You Ever Felt Misunderstood?

Have you ever been asked these types of questions?

• You OK?
• Is everything alright?
• Are you angry, upset about something?
• Something bothering you?

Have you ever been labeled as:

• Distant
• Loner
• Scary
• Intense
• Cold
• Loser
• Impersonal
• Aloof
• Quiet as a Mouse
• Slow
• Hesitant
• Picky
• Dull
• Anti-Social
• Not a team player
• Low energy
• Boring

If you're an introvert like me, I am sure this resonates for when you have been asked such questions and mislabeled as such, deep down you feel so misunderstood.  I know, for I have been there. And I must admit that hasn't necessarily felt good.

Good news is that there is something you can do about it.  You can overcome these perceptions by your starting to take one simple action.  While at first this action may feel uncomfortable for some, know that you can do it, and it may even impact your life in a very positive way.  Here it is:

As you run into your friends, family, work colleagues, and other people in general, rather then looking away, make a conscious effort to look at the them, or at least towards them, and say something letting them know you acknowledge their presence.  For example, assume this person you run into is named John.  When you and John approach each other, take the lead and say something like this:

• Hello John
• Good Morning John
• Have a great day John
• How was your weekend?
• Take care guy.  Have a great day

When you don't know the person, still say something simple like "Good Morning" or "Hi There".  You get the idea.  And look, it's not that complicated. You just have to look at, or towards the person and move your lips and make a simple sound.  It's this easy and it's very doable.  If I can do it, someone who was once labeled as quiet as a mouse, you can do it.

Warning:  Initially this new action of yours may shock some people. They may even wonder what you're up to, what ever happened to you, or what you been smokin'.  But that's OK.  Let 'em guess.  Go ahead, have some fun with this.  :)

You see, reality is that we introverts do acknowledge others but we often do it in our heads. As a result, others don't know that and therefore we introverts get misjudged and mislabeled. Frankly speaking, we bring it onto ourselves.  So the choice is yours.  You can continue down the same old path or you can take the bull by the horn and make the shift by starting to take small yet powerful steps as suggested above to begin to connect, and reap the rewards that follow.

So, what will you choose?

Can Introverts Lead?

Given that society seems to correlate outgoing personality with leadership ability, many introverts question in silence if they'll ever be considered for leadership positions, and if they were, would they even make good leaders.

I recall in a session I was conducting, couple of introverts asked me if they should just stick to technical work since they are introverts.  And another one of my blog readers who is an introvert recently wrote to me saying that it seems organizations consider extroverts more talented. 

As I see it, introverts can and do lead, and they can do it well.  In fact, in today's turbulent rapidly changing times, I believe introverts bring a sense of calmness which is so in need.  Furthermore, according to Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of The Introverted Leader, nearly 40% of leaders actually are introverted.  While this is good to know, as many of my blog readers are introverts, I wanted more information to share here as to why introverts too can and do make great leaders. 

With that said, I refer here to an article that was published in the June 2004 issue of Harvard Business Review.  Article entitled is "What Makes a Leader?" by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More then IQ.  In the article, Goleman shares 5 key skills that enable leaders to maximize their own and their followers' performance.  He also states that when leaders posses these characteristics, they outperform those who don't, regardless of their personality type.

These 5 skills, along with how Goleman defines them, are:

1. Self-awareness: Knowing one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drivers, values, and goals-and their impact on others. 
2. Self-Regulation: Controlling or redirecting disruptive emotions and impulses.
3. Motivation: Being driven to achieve for the sake of achievement.
4. Empathy: Considering others' feelings, especially when making decisions.
5. Social Skills: Managing relationships to move people in desired directions.

I believe you will agree that possessing these is certainly far less a matter of one's personality type and instead more to do with one's own development.  With that said, again, introverts can and do lead.  So for you introverts, take heart and stop doubting your leadership abilities.  If you possess skills such as those listed above, you too can lead.  And if you don't have these just yet, you can certainly work towards developing them. 

Having said the above, it's point number 5, social skills, where many introverts tend to be challenged.  In the coming year I will share some simple tips that are easy to apply and yet very effective in further developing social skills and through it building strong relationships.  So be keeping a look out for these upcoming posts.

Can Introverts Sell?

Having read my post "Selling for Introverts", a senior level professional at a well known US institution recently shared with me that she is being considered for a promotion, and that position will require her to drive revenue growth as part of her role, i.e. sell.  Given her introverted nature, she asked if I thought she could be successful in such a role.  She was experiencing self-doubt and wondered if an extrovert would be better suited for the role.  

In our society, sales is traditionally viewed as a role for those with outgoing personalities.  Yet I believe introverts too can and do succeed in sales.  The real question to me is: In which types of sales and sales environments are introverts likely to be more effective and more successful, for both themselves and their organizations?  I will answer this question in this post.

To use the classic metaphor, there are two types of sales environments.  First type is in which one is required to possess excellent hunting skills and in the other farming.  Thus, two types of sales people, the hunter and the farmer.

In an organization where sales success depends on hunting, that is you "eat what you kill", I would not recommend it for introverts.  In these situations, one has to be in essence constantly "Dialing-for-Dollars", be on the go searching and hunting for deals.  Here you close one deal and then move onto finding your next one.  It's endless. Sales in such environments tend to be very transactional, relatively simple from complexity view point, and with little opportunity for reoccurring revenue.  For example, think selling life insurance, vacuum cleaners, driveway sealing.

If however the sales position is within an organization that meets the following criteria, then it's a great fit for introverts.  These criteria include:

• Solutions are complex, requiring in depth subject matter expertise
• Success depends on cultivating and building long-term relationships
• Markets are highly targeted
• Sales once made turn into reoccurring revenue
• Opportunities exist to implement multiple solutions within clients organizations
• Achieving success requires long-term mindset and one that is focused on providing solutions to complex problems rather than selling simple products
• Organization supports, and even actively encourages, your being active in groups such as associations that represent your target markets, publishing articles, speaking at conferences, conducting workshops

If you're an introvert and are contemplating a career in sales, or you are in a position that requires you to sell as part of your role, ensure you are in the second type of organization where your success will be based more on your farming skills than hunting. Given your expertise, here you will sell from a place of being an expert, a consultant, an advisor.  In such an environment, you are bound to succeed, provided you:

• Patiently, consistently, diligently follow a sales process
• Enjoy being the expert and freely sharing your expertise to help customers solve their business problems
• Take time to not only understand technical nature of your offerings but also how they apply to your customers to help them achieve the business results they desire
• Grasp both technical language and business language and become comfortable in both worlds
• Enjoy getting out and building strong relationships
• Enjoy helping others succeed as well as find joy in winning, for simply the sake of winning and being your best at what you do

If you're an executive within a sales organization, just look around and see for yourself which types of sales professionals are being more successful within your own organization.  I believe you'll see a pattern as to which types achieve greater long-term success given what you are selling and your sales environment.

So to answer the question stated in the subject line, yes, introverts can absolutely sell, and do.  And to achieve long-term success, just make sure you're in the right environment where you will be able to leverage your strengths, maximizing your success as well as that of your employer.

*****
PS. For those of you who have some fear selling, I like to recommend a fun and inspirational book, written by my good friend Myron Radio.  It's called Dream Makers and is available at Amazon.

Introverts: Rise Up and Leverage Your Strengths

Back in January 2010, nearly two years ago, I wrote a post entitled "Workplace Challenges Being An Introvert".  Since that post, I have received emails from around the world from fellow introverts.  Here's what they wrote:

• I'm facing the possibility of being fired for this very issue.  I'm somewhat dumbfounded.  On one hand I'm being told I'm doing a good job but on the other that I don't come across as a "team player".  It's awful.

• I have built a successful business and I really care about my people.  Yet there are many who think I am cold, impersonal, distant, uncaring.  Look, I am just quiet by nature and I don't say much.  What am I supposed to do?  How do I show them I really do care?

• Since I am not talkative with an outgoing personality, I am not seen as a leader.  As a result, I am feeling stuck where I am.  What do I do?

• I find myself uncomfortable talking in groups.  I have seen many who are open and don't feel shy.  Organizations consider them more talented.

• My year-end reviews usually start out with how talented I am but end up with how I need to engage more.

• I've been able to function at a pretty high level, but that's only gotten me promoted to a job that requires cold calls.  I can't see a way to get around it.  Can you offer guidance to make these as painless as possible?  It's fear of rejection that holds me back.  And being an introvert, I wonder if I can really succeed at this?

• I am an introvert and I know my stuff.  But part of my role requires me to sell, which I am very uncomfortable doing.  Should I just find another job?  I mean, can I really sell since I am not one of those outgoing types?

Look my fellow introverts, I understand what you are going through for I am one of you.  I live where you live, face what you face, and I know what it's like.  To quote a famous line by US President Bill Clinton, "I feel your pain".

With that said, have faith and know that you are not alone and that you have so much to offer.  If my experience serves as an example, I know you can succeed as an introvert, not in spite of it but because of it.  To do that, you just need to recognize, accept, and leverage your strengths.  Here are some which I am confident you possess, as well as ways you can leverage them:

• Expertise: You have innate ability to focus intensely on a subject, allowing you to go deep into it, master it, and internalize it.  Therefore, continue to learn and strive to become THE best at what you do, which I am confident you do now already.  You want to become, and will in due time by following what I am going to share here, the go-to-person for your expertise.  This is a great place to be and it's one of the ways introverts can shine.

• Share Your Expertise:  Deriving benefits from your expertise occurs when you share it with others.  Therefore, while as an introvert you may not prefer to talk much, you can I am sure write, which comes naturally to many of us introverts.  I know I can spend hours on my laptop and totally love every moment of it, just like I am doing right now.  Therefore, freely share your expertise by blogging, writing and publishing articles, books, manuscripts, contributing on various discussion groups.  I do just this.  To get an idea of how I do this, read my post Association Membership: An Introverts Best Friend.  

• Ask Questions: Given your expertise in your subject matter, you are well positioned to ask intelligent, probing, thoughtful questions.  This is what I do mostly.  It comes naturally to me and I really enjoy it for by asking questions, I don't have to talk much, I am constantly learning, AND people get the impression I am a great conversationalist.  Frankly, all I do is mostly ask broad open-ended questions, sit back and listen, and continue to move the conversations forward.  

• Self-Improvement: For those who tell you you're not engaged and that you're not a team player, ask them these types of questions:  What am I doing, or not doing, that gives the impression I am not engaged, am not a team player?  What would I need to do and say differently that would demonstrate I am?  Probe.  Ask questions.  Subtly challenge their thinking.  Then apply what you learn to yourself (more on this later in this post).  Try it.  One important point here to note though.  Do this not to prove others wrong.  Instead ask from the point of view of having a sincere desire to  learn and improve.  To do this, you'll need to ask questions to find out how you're being perceived and what you need to do differently.  If you ask, they'll tell you.  For in the end, we can only change ourselves, not others.

• Listen: Connected to your asking questions, leverage your listening skills.  In fact, being an introvert, you probably don't listen only with your ears, you listen with your whole body.  For good listening isn't about just capturing words.  It also involves being comfortable with silence and quietly paying attention to factors such as body language, picking up emotions, tones, the spoken AND unspoken, to name just a few.  Therefore, as an introvert, since you are not busy running your mouth, you can actually hear much more then what is said.  By doing so, you can capture very detailed and very valuable information and insights that can help you and your organization.  In addition, keep in mind that most people don't feel truly heard and they are dying to be understood, to be heard. You can give them that precious gift.  By doing so, people will begin to actually reach out to you.

Having said the above, there are times where you still have to push yourself out of your comfort zone.  By doing so, day by day, with practice your comfort zone will become bigger.  In my own case, when I now attend gatherings, people are often surprised when they learn I'm an introvert.  What they don't see is that I have to muster up my inner strength and self-confidence in such settings and push myself. It's not always easy but it's doable. So if I can do it, so can you.  To get more tips on pushing yourself, read my post Public Speaking for Introverts.

In the end, know that at each moment, you have a choice.  You can continue to let your introverted nature hold you back, keeping you where you are.  Or you can choose to push yourself forward, and leverage your immense strengths, your talents, your God given gifts, that are inherent to being an introvert.  If you choose the former path, and please allow me to be direct here, you are being a victim. If you choose the later however, you are choosing to be powerful.  Which path will you choose?  And yes, you do have a choice.

Having said all this, start with applying what I have shared here and then please follow back and share with me what you have experienced.  Now go out and make this coming year a great year for you.  I know you can do it.  And along the way, should you have any questions or if want to talk, feel free to reach out to me.  I am here for you.

In closing, let me leave you with this: Given what I have shared here, what's the one thing you will do differently going forward?  Once you have answered this, go out and do it. For in the end, it's only action that moves us forward.

All the best to you!

The Human Tapestries

Many years ago, visiting The Vatican, I saw numerous tapestries lining the hallways.  They were so colorful and so beautiful. 

Only recently it occurred to me that those images would not have been possible were it not for the fabric on which they were woven and for the knots in the back (which are covered with a cloth...hiding the not so beautiful aspects) holding the images together.

I have come to realize that it is similar with us human beings.  We too are like the tapestries.

For so many reasons, understandably, we are told from early on to put our best foot forward, show only our bright side, our unique abilities, potentials, strengths, and so on.  In essence, to show only the front side of the tapestry.  Yet spite of all that, at times deep within many of us feel incomplete, empty, as if something is missing. Why is that and what is that we long for, I wonder.

One of the things I have learned is that we are already complete but we lose touch with that aspect.  And to feel whole again, it becomes important to also recognize and embrace our dark side, which we tend to avoid, cover up as in the tapestries.  These include elements such as our weaknesses, limitations, things we have become ashamed of, regrets, shortcomings, things we don't want others to know, things that pain us, and so on.  But they too are an integral part of us and we must honor, respect and embrace those aspects of ourselves as well.

For example, by nature, I am not a very aggressive individual, I am not the sharpest pencil in the box, I am not very quick on my feet, and I don't have the gift of being talkative When at gatherings, I tend to be fairly quiet for I don't have the gift of, nor frankly the interest in, small talk.  There was a time I used to think something is wrong with me and I wished I had these talents as I see others having. 

I now see, after all these years, that there is nothing wrong with me and it is my very limitations that on the flip side allow me to create safe spaces, ask probing questions in a way that they are heard and people feel comfortable responding, and for me to truly listen to both the spoken and more importantly the unspoken.

I realize now that these are my gifts and they become possible because of my limitations.  Two sides of the same coin.  So by accepting both sides of myself, my limitations and my potentials, I have come to  feel whole and complete and am able to live more joyfully, more at peace and do work that is more aligned with who I am.  I no longer try to be someone I am not.  Trust me, I have tried and its really no fun.

In addition to what I have already shared, I have come to also experience that once I was able to accept myself fully as I am, and then live in alignment with my uniqueness, not only does that bring me greater personal happiness, that then gave me greater capacity to also accept others, without judgement, as they are, how they are. And to me, that's a beautiful thing.

What Do Customers Really Want?

Recently I came across answers to what customers really want, in a book entitled "Sales Secrets from Your Customers" by Barry J. Farber.  Farber lists 25 points that customers made during interviews on how sales people should sell to them.  Given my own over 20 years of business development experience in B2B setting, I thought it was an excellent list.  Much of what he shares I can back up with my own sales success.  Therefore I wanted to share this list with you all.  If you're in sales, I think you'll find it very useful.

But first, a special note for my fellow introverts who find themselves in sales.  As I once used to, in this extroverted dominated field, many introverts often feel they are not cut out for selling, doubting their own sales abilities. 

Speaking from personal experience, however, when it comes to complex solution selling, where success is a function of long-term relationship building, I firmly believe that introverts truly rock.  With this in mind, as you read this list, you'll note that many of the items listed actually play to your introverted strengths.  So my introverted friends, never never undermine yourself as a sales person. Tap into your special abilities, apply this list in how you serve your clients, and success is yours to be had.  Now read on.

1. Don't sell me products-sell me solutions.
2. Understand my business, my industry, my market.
3. Understand your products or services thoroughly so that you know every conceivable way it might help me solve my problems or meet my goals.
4. Know everything about your competition.  I have to make decisions about which product is best, and I need to know what makes your the best choice for me.
5. Watch what you say about the competition.  I want to know why your product is the best choice, but I don't want you to knock the competition.  Concentrate on your strengths, not their weaknesses.
6. Don't give me a canned, generic pitch.  Appreciate my unique qualities and challenges.
7. Have my best interest at heart.
8. Make me feel important.  Make me believe I'm the only customer you have--even though I know it's not true.
9. Have a purpose for every call.
10. Organize your materials so that when I ask to see information, you have it easily accessible.
11. Return my calls promptly. I expect that you'll be as available to talk to me now as you were before the sale was completed.
12. Let me know how to reach you. If I can't find you, I'll go with someone else.
13. Help me solve a problem, even if it's my fault, and I'll most likely remain a loyal customer.
14. I'm looking for a sales rep I can consider a partner-almost an employee.  When you help me find solutions to run my business better, it's easier for me to see you in that light.
15. Keep your promises.  If you say you'll get back to me, do it.
16. Anyone can make a one-time sale. It's the follow-through that keeps me coming back for more.
17. If you don't have an immediate answer, don't try to fake it or make one up.  I'd rather you say, "I don't know, but I'll find out."  Of course, once you say that, you must get back to me with the answer as soon as possible.
18. Let me know that you're interested in my success. If that means that you sometimes recommend the competition or tell me I'm better off with the product or service I now have, I'll respect you greatly and find a way to do business with you in the future.
19. Be my consultant.  Show me how others in my field have been successful.  Become a resource for me so that I can call on you when I'm in a bind and need advice-even if it's got nothing to do with your product or service.
20. Create added value.  Price is not my only criterion.  The extra service and special attention you give me is worth more than dollars in many instances.
21. Exceed my expectations.  Let me know that you are willing to go beyond the norm, to make that extra effort it takes to ensure success-mine and yours.
22. Don't keep me waiting.  If you're going to be late, call me.
23. Exhibit a positive attitude and enthusiasm about your job and your product. If you don't believe in yourself, I won't believe in you either.
24. Don't argue with me or be too aggressive. If I feel like I'm being pushed into a sale, I know you're interested in your commissions, not your customers.
25. Be honest with me in all situations. If there are problems, let me know so that together we can begin to think of solutions.

Isn't Everyone Gifted?

Meet Ngoc.  Her job is doing handwork in a lettershop, which often involves tasks like stuffing thousands of envelopes.  It is something I would not last doing for more then 30 seconds before my mind would go numb.  Yet she has the patients of a saint, manual dexterity of a surgeon, and can carry on such tasks for hours on end, all the while smiling and enjoying her work.

At another time at another place, I had the pleasure of talking with and closely observing software developers and engineer types.  While people skills as well as their comfort level in people dealings wasn't their primary gift from what I could observe, when it came to sitting in front of multiple computer screens for long periods of time coding software and solving very complex technical issues, they rocked. 

Then there is my good friend Samantha.  If she had to write and code software, I am sure that would drive her up the wall.  But when it comes to driving business deals, she has the tenacity and the drive like no one else I know. She is simply one of the best when it comes to making the sale, and she absolutely loves it. 

As I move around, I observe every single day that each and every person on this earth has their own unique blend of talents and abilities.  Each is special in their own unique way and each and everyone adds value in some shape and form.

So whenever I see a sign like the one above, or I hear talk of some gifted individuals, I am left wondering what exactly does being gifted mean.  Afterall, isn't everyone gifted?

What do you think?

Association Membership: An Introverts Best Friend

Are you a recent college graduate looking for your second job, when you no longer have access to your college job fairs?

How would you like to generate millions in profitable revenue for your business, in return for a very small annual financial investment of less then only few hundred dollars?

I have experienced both of these benefits through my association memberships. In this post, I want to speak more to the second benefit, sharing my membership journey, challenges and opportunities and why I so firmly believe that association membership is one's best friend, best investment, whether you're in a job or in business.

I have been an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for over 15 years. Speaking from experience, in-terms of ROI alone, I challenge anyone to find a better investment then an association membership.

Many years ago, when we were just starting out in business, one of our clients suggested we join ASAE. I promptly filled out the application, mailed in the check, and eagerly awaited business to roll in. Yes, I was naive, thinking my joining alone will lead to lots of business.

Finally, one day I called up my client and told her that I had become a member, yet no business has come and that I was considering dropping the membership. She then explained that I needed to start showing showing up at various ASAE gatherings for I had to first gain visibility. Being an introvert, this did not come naturally to me. Still, what had to be done, had to be done. So mustering up the courage, I began to show up, where I didn't know anyone and at first it was frankly very uncomfortable. Here's some of what I experienced.

1. At the time, honestly, I was still fairly young and I used to be intimated by big titles. At these gatherings, everyone it seemed was a Director of... or Vice-President of....Executive Director of... Many had titles it seemed long enough to wrap around several New York city blocks. With such long titles, clearly they were very important and powerful people. And here I was, just the little guy trying to sell copying and printing.

2. With many of these people, when they found out I was on the supplier side, I suddenly felt a distance form, for I was a vendor, from the dark side as they called it, out for their business.

3. On top of it all, being an introvert, I was quiet and reserved. Lacking the gift of gab and an outgoing personality, specially under such circumstances where I didn't know anyone, I felt very uncomfortable, as if I was some unwanted intruder. Still, good thing in hindsight, I persevered, continued to show up, even though it was uncomfortable.

Well, at this point, you may be asking something like Vinay, on one hand you say association membership is an introverts best friend and yet you mention how difficult it was to get involved. Yes my friend, I understand the confusion. Please read on.

My turning point occurred when ASAE introduced their Listserves (electronic discussion boards). Unknowingly at the time, this was to play a huge role in my business and personal growth and me coming to where I am today in my life.

After I joined these groups, I began to read various discussions and quickly came to realize that even though many of these folks had big titles, they were facing similar challenges to ones we were facing in our business. As I began to understand and follow the discussions, I also then, starting off slowly, began to participate in the discussions, sharing my experiences, my learning, with the simple goal of sharing to help others succeed, as well as seeking advice and guidance for the challenges I was facing. And many of these people responded, providing me also with invaluable guidance and encouragement.

Without me being consciously aware of this at the time, these Listserves allowed me to leverage my love of writing and in a way that was comfortable given my nature, for I can spend hours all alone, happily writing on my laptop.

To my pleasant surprise, my postings were well received and that encouraged me to write even more. Overtime, I began to be recognized by name and when association folks and others involved in the community would see me at various gatherings, they would often thank me for my contributions to the Listserves. In the process, friendships began to develop and I began to feel more welcomed, and that too more on a peer-to-peer level rather then a vendor. It began to feel really nice, as if I had found my home.

Fast forward, overtime, some of my postings were (and still continue to be), turned into articles for publication in ASAE newsletters and the ASAE magazine, I was invited to speak at various forums, and serve on various councils and committees. All this contributed to my increased exposure, credibility, sense of belonging, and of course profitable business growth too. In addition to business growth, I have through my participation in ASAE, grown personally as well as have developed many many close friendships over the years.

So what does this mean for you?

You see, these days nearly every association has similar electronic discussion groups and they provide us introverts a very comfortable way to engage, to get involved, to develop visibility, networks, all of which also lead to to exposure, which is the first step to success.

Therefore, if you're an introvert and you're seeking career and/or business success, my advice to you is to right away join an association, one that will get you in front of your desired audience and one that represents your profession. For example, if you're say a human resources professional, join the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Don't even give this a second thought. Just do it. Success will follow if you join, engage, participate, and give back to the community helping others succeed. As I mentioned earlier, there is no single better investment of one's time and money then an association membership.

Join Today! Get Active!

PS Association membership is an extroverts best friend too, for associations provide many forums in which extroverts really shine. So there is a place for every one. You just have to take the first step, that is to join and then actively participate. You will grow professionally and personally. I guarantee it.

Public Speaking for Introverts

Being quiet and reserved by nature, it's easy for us introverts to become invisible within organizations. This only further contributes to our being misunderstood, being undervalued, and even passed over.

For myself, being an introvert and somewhat of a perfectionist (mostly out of having fear of failing), public speaking didn't come naturally and getting started on this speaking path certainly wasn't a cake walk. Whenever I would be asked to speak, my first inclination used to be to say thanks, but no thanks. I would look for any excuse to get out of it.

Just the thought of speaking would make me nervous, my heart would race, and when the actual time came for me to speak, I would want to hide. Yet if I was going to be successful in the business world, this is something I had to learn. While I am not a professional speaker, I sure have come a long way and it has served me well. Was it easy? No. Doable? By all means, yes.

Today, when my colleagues find out I am an introvert, they don't believe me. While speaking still isn't natural for me, it's something I have become comfortable with and actually even look forward to it. Now I even actively seek out speaking engagements both because I enjoy speaking and it helps me in my work. In fact, I attribute much of my success to having developed public speaking ability.

Over the years, through trials and tribulation, successes and mistakes, I have learned some lessons that have helped me become more comfortable with public speaking. I like to share them with you, my introverted colleagues. My hope is they will help you and you too will reap the rewards that come from public speaking.

Here they are:

1. First, know you're not alone. Fear of public speaking is not limited to us introverts. For the longest time, I used to feel intimidated. This was only compounded by my own insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. These feelings especially used to surface when I was around extroverts for they seemed to have it so together. I used to think that in no way am I in the same league as those extroverts. They are so much more accomplished, more smarter, more charming, more of a leader, more interesting...on and on the negative talk went. Only when I realized, and truly accepted, that even many of them fear public speaking did it become somewhat easier for me.

2. You must push yourself out of your comfort zone. Remember, you can't learn to swim on land. You have to dive into the water. As the Nike says, just do it. There simply is no short cut. Believe me, I have looked. Having said that, start with baby steps. Actively seek out speaking opportunities in venues where you would feel more comfortable and risk is low. Start off with say brown bag talks and other similar casual settings. They will help you to start feeling comfortable standing and speaking in front of people.

3. Prepare. For many of us introverts, it's hard to speak off the cuff. Once you push yourself out of your comfort zone and commit to speaking engagements, you must then prepare. The better prepared you are, the more comfortable you will feel and with greater confidence you will show up. Speaking of preparation, practice speaking out loud. When I first started speaking, I used to run through my talks in my head. Thinking I have the talk down pat, then when I would go in front of the group, the words just wouldn't come out and I would stumble. I realized there is a huge difference between running through a talk in my mind and actually saying the words out loud. Practice speaking out loud.

4. On the day of your talk, arrive early. I still do this and it helps me immensely. I walk around the room, I stand in front of the room visualizing myself speaking, I sit in the audience seats, and I take lots of deep breaths. In essence I make the room familiar, as if it's my place and I begin to feel at ease in that setting. In addition, whenever possible, I get to know some of the people before the actual talk begins. Even have someone you know well sit in the front with whom you would feel comfortable making eye contact and giving the talk to. Furthermore, if it helps, have something with you that gives you comfort. For example, I tend to hold a pen laser light or a marker in my right hand as I present for it gives me comfort and sense of control. While logically it makes no sense, it works for me.

5. Realize you don't have to be perfect. You just have to show up. Remember that no one dies, including you, if a mistake gets made. And since only you know your talk, even if you slip, it's very possible no one will know but you. Now say you do slip and it get's noticed. For example, if you say blank out, then just admit it. Say something like "Ooops, I just blanked out. Has that ever happened to any of you? Anyways, can someone please tell me what I was saying"? Or if you don't have an answer to a question, it's OK to say you don't know. Then promise to follow-up. What a wonderful opportunity that actually becomes then for you to follow-up and further strengthen those connections. All this also makes you human, more authentic and that will help you connect with your audience.

6. Even when you begin to get more comfortable, continue to actively seek out speaking engagements. Practice makes perfect. Moreover, not only will this serve you well in your career, you may actually being to even enjoy speaking and I am confident that these speaking engagements will lead to many opportunities for you.

7. Most of all, just be yourself. For example, I am serious by nature so I don't tell jokes and I don't do rha rha cheerleading types of talks for I know I don't do those well. Believe me, I have tried and have totally fallen flat. My style tends to be more conversational, more professor like and therefore I stick to that. So far it has served me well.

Now it's time for you to jump into action. Take your first step. Commit to a speaking engagement, get it on your calendar and then begin your preparation. You can do it.

Knowledge: Introverts Secret Weapon to Sales Success

I am a firm believer that knowledge truly is power. Not only does it boost self-confidence, it increases your value in the marketplace, within both the company you are employed and with your clients and prospects. Therefore it's very important to learn from those around us.

When you come to be recognized as an expert, you'll find walls crumbling down and lines of communication open up. In fact, you'll even find yourself being invited into prospects' offices, asking you to do business with them. Just be careful not to give all of your expertise away.

Exhibiting deep understanding and insights into your target market immediatily will set you apart from majority of the sales people. It'll position you, the introverted sales person, as a serious, customer-focused professional, as a valuable resource, someone who can help solve critical problems.

It is my personal experience that clients ultimately want to deal with professionals who can help them succeed. Sure it is important to have a nice personality for given two sales people of equal caliber, customer will choose to do business with the one they like. Therefore being likable combined with possessing extensive knowledge and expertise will lead to your sales success, over time.

When I speak of knowledge, I am referring to 3 kinds. They include:

1. Knowledge of your target market--your customers and prospects;

2. Knowledge of your competititors;

3. Knowledge of your organization, products, services, solutions.

In this post, I want to touch on item #1 and in subsequent posts I will write about the others.

In the area of customer knowledge, spend the time and energy gathering (via for example, listening, asking probing questions, quietly observing, reading) following types of information:

1. How your clients define success and the challenges they face in achieving their success.

2. Walk in the shoes of your customers, and even their customers, understanding the supply chain and how your offerings fit into that overall chain.

3. Understand what happens to your products and services at your client site. Sometime what appears to be minor elements will surface, other times major. For example, when I was in printing, we were labeling our boxes on the long side of the box. Upon visiting clients, I observed they frequently stacked boxes with the short side showing, causing our labels to be covered, causing immense frustation to the clients. As a result, we switched the lable position to the short side, leading to increased client satisfaction. Many such simple steps contributed to high client retention and higher then industry profitability-steps we would not have known to take unless we walked in the shoes of our clients.

4. Get to know as many people within your client organizations, at various levels. Often silos exist where departments don't talk to each other, causing significant communication gaps. If your solutions cut across various deparments, you'll be in a great position to "connect the dots", build bridges, and adjust your solutions accordingly. Furthermore, additional opportunties for you are likely surface. Equally importantly, the more relationships you form, the stronger your foothold within your clients organizations.

5. Understand their organizational structures, who their ideal clients are, their products & services, strengths and weaknesses and so on. This will allow you to keep a look out for opportunities for your clients too as you're out and about. You'll come to know of various open positions available in your marketplace and your clients will start to even reach out to you to help them find suitable positions when they are in the market to make a change. You'll become in essense part of their team, their partner which is so much better then being viewed as just a vendor, a term which I personally hate.

Btw, I have been mostly using the term customer in this post. What I am writing also applies to your prospects. Since you are focusing on a particular niche, as I discussed in my post "Fish Where the Fish Are", the challenges your clients face, it's likley your prospects face similar challenges. Therefore, the more you know about your clients, indirectly you'll also be learning lot about your prospects too.

Finally, if you're managing others, I am a strong beliver that you also must have your own clients to serve and prospects to market to. This will allow you to keep your own "fingers on the pulse". Nothing is more powerful then having first hand information through your own experiences.

For both your own and your organizations long-term success, make market focus a personal, strategic priority. Have a learning mindset at all times. Continously looking, listening and learning holds the keys to success, both today and tomorrow.

One word of caution. NEVER assume you know "everything". As the more you learn, the easier it becomes to fall into the "I Know" trap. Nothing is ever constant, except change. Therefore, even when you think you know, assume nothing. Instead, keep an open mindset. Like a parachute, it'll only work best when it's open.

Targeting: Fish Where The Fish Are

Let us for a moment get back to selling for introverts as follow-up to the post "Cold Calling for Introverts".

Successful selling is very similar to fishing. While what I am going to share applies to selling in general, it is particularly important for us introverts. After you read this, you are likely to say it's just common sense. And you'll be absolutely right. Yet it surprising how so many professionals don't do this. So if you're doing it, great. If not, it's something worth considering seriously.

Similar to selling, fisherman's success lies in effective targeting. Rather then casting his net randomly, to maximize returns given his limited energy and time investment, he must first determine the type of fish he wants to catch and then identify where in the vast waters they swim. Once and only once he has identified this does he cast his net.

When I first entered sales, not having any formal training, I started with door to door selling, i.e. randomly casting my net. Talk about hard work. Sometimes I caught minnows, sometimes a cat fish and other times huge whales. Some of them fitted well with what we could handle given our capabilities, others it not so. It was hit and miss at best. Lots of activity and energy spent with overall relatively small net gains.

After some time, a clear pattern emerged, where I was able to clearly identify my ideal client and where they hung out, i.e. to which groups they belonged to. With that information at hand, I joined those organizations and spent all of my time and energy fishing in those waters only. As I did that, I began to catch more whales rather then minnows and we all ate nicely for long time.

Therefore if you are not target as such as the moment, please take the time to identify what your ideal clients look like and where they hang out, in other words what type of fish do you want and where do they swim. Also find and join groups that represent your clients. For example, if you want to catch guppies, join the National Association of Guppies. This way you'll be fishing where your fish are. For further information on how to do this, read my post entitled "Sweet Spot: Maximizing Business Growth and Profitability".

Next, in some of my upcoming posts, I'll share some of the introvert friendly methods that have for me lead to meetings and ultimately sales--without cold calling.

What's an Introvert?

Recently, I have been writing a lot about being an introvert. One of my blog readers asked what exactly do I mean by "introvert". How can I tell who is an introvert? Therefore, in this post I want to cover this incase others are asking the same question.

As we go through life, some of us express primarily introverted tendencies (e.g. quiet, reserved) and others extroverted tendencies (e.g. talkative, outgoing). Yet for others, it's situational where for example, he (or she) may be very reserved at work yet when he is at home or say giving a presentation at work, he may exhibit more extroverted characteristics.

When I refer to introverts in my posts, I am referring to those who express introverted tendencies majority of the time. The best way for me to define what I mean by introvert, is for me to ask you some questions. If you answer yes to majority of these questions, that are below, you are an introvert. So go through these and see for yourself as to where you fit in:

• Does the thought of having to work a room make you want to avoid the event all together?
• Do you tend to live more in your head, playing with ideas and concepts?
• Are you generally on the quiet side?
• Do you prefer to communicate via writing over talking?
• Do you tend to think first, then think some more and only then talk?
• Do you enjoy, and actually even prefer, being alone?
• Do you tend to avoid invitations to speak publicly?
• Have you been referred to by words such as distant, serious, unemotional, cold, detached, aloof, inflexible, picky, pessimistic, hesitant, inflexible, dull, boring, arrogant, snobbish, stuffy?
• Do you prefer to say read or work on your laptop, as opposed to attend a networking event or social gathering?

As I was growing up, the word introverted was often used with a negative connotation. For example, I recall someone saying "you're such an introvert" and it was said with a sarcastic tone. Others have referred to me as "being quiet as a mouse", little did they know my mind was running 100 m.p.h. and I was absorbing everything.Therefore, based on my own experiences, being an introvert certainly wasn't viewed as the cool thing to be. I must admit that there have been times I have wished I was an extrovert, where I could be all cheery and the life of the party.

In my experience, we introverts are often misunderstood and mislabeled. Sometimes even viewed as dumb and certainly not as leaders. Personally I believe we possess numerous strengths that are of great value to organizations. Therefore, through my posts, one of my desires is to bring attention to the positive side of introversion, so others come to better understand us and see us for what we truly are and what we have to offer.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about introversion and/or have your own stories about being introverted and what it's like for you, I would love to hear from you. So please do write. Thank you.

Cold Calling for Introverts

Let me ask you, how many of you introverted professionals who must sell as part of your job really like to cold call, let alone having to sell your services? Now, be honest.

This is THE single BIGGEST challenge we introverted professionals face who are charged with driving revenue. We love the work we do. We're technically solid. We're subject matter experts and we know our stuff like nobody's business.

Yet, until we first sell the work we so love to do, we don't get to apply our expertise. And traditional selling frequently tells us to start with cold calling, which we all know how we feel about this. It's a catch-22. So what's an introvert to do?

We can and many of us have taken sales course after sales course. Yet from what I have experienced, those are clearly designed by extroverts, for extroverts. They tell us to use scripts, just dive in and make the calls and that it'll get easier with time. Yeah, right. Only if it were that easy. Those extroverts just don't understand us introverts.

I have never been one to hesitate contacting someone I don't know. And when it comes to speaking in front of large audiences, after some initial self-push and much practice, that's no problem now either. Yet when it comes to cold calling in the sales context, something within me shifts, something which logically I can not explain and make sense of.

I stare at the phone for hours, feeling within the pressure rise with each passing moment. The thought of picking up the phone to call a total stranger to request a meeting to ultimately sell terrifies for me. When I do finally manage to make the call, and when the voice mail kicks in, boy, what a relief. I can breath again.

Even after all these years of selling, the idea of cold calling someone on the phone with whom I have no prior contact, to request a meeting for selling purposes just isn't my thing. I can easily email them but calling is another matter. While for extroverts this cold calling seems to come naturally, I have yet to find an introvert for whom it comes so easily. Truth be told, I HATE cold calling. I much rather have root canal, without Novocain. It's not only terrifying, it feels so routine and not very intellectually stimulating.

After much struggling, I finally realize there is a better way, one that does not require us to make cold calls. So as far as I am concerned, if you are struggling with this as I do, and you never have to make a cold call again, that's perfectly fine. Given our inherent natural strengths, there are other ways, better ways that are much more in line with how we are built.

In some of the upcoming posts, I will share with you how I learned to sell without cold calling. For now, take the pressure off of yourself. Take a deep breath and relax, knowing there are other more effective ways for introverts to sell.

In the meantime, you also please write and share what challenges you face in selling and how you overcome them. This way we can all learn from each other and prosper together. I don't pretend to know everything. I'll share with you what I have learned and at the same time I want to learn from you also. So hope you'll write. Thanks in advance.