The Greatest Salespeople

The best salespeople I ever worked with were almost always the quiet, intense ones...

Not the stereotypical loud, brash & confident type many would have you believe.

They had absolute tunnel vision and would blank everything out to focus every ounce of their attention on their prospects.

My first manager, an incredible salesperson, would often pitch under her desk so quietly that you could barely hear her. (I now realise she was so quiet because she'd get the prospect to do most of the talking).

She would then produce the most amazing contracts, as if out of thin air or an act of alchemy.

...I'm still unsure whether the office was too loud for her to focus properly, or if she had secret strategies up her sleeve she didn't want to share - probably a bit of both.

Another guy, a sales veteran that I worked alongside (and learnt a lot from) would sit at the edge of his desk, one finger in his ear, the other to the phone so he could hear every nuance being spoken. He was a master at reading people and being fully present in conversation.

Another top performer would come in, and each and every single day, without fail, quietly make over 150 calls. He even refused to budge during a fire drill once, saying 'it's only a drill' and had to be physically removed from his desk.

He'd say his phone skills weren't even that good, but that half the battle was consistency and always showing up. He was always top of the board.

Then there was the Sales Director who had honed his craft so well, it was as if he was Laurence Olivier on stage playing Hamlet every day. He instinctively knew every response, the correct tone, when to pause and how to be fully present in the moment for maximum impact. Prospects would hang off his every word.

I always found the common thread was a relentless intensity & absolute focus, manifesting itself into superhuman performances.

There was rarely any bravado or ego.

Just an incredible amount of self belief & relentless drive.