How to make the most of your sales reps’ personalities

Recently, I was reading over a blog post from Salesforce.com that discusses how Myers-Briggs’ personality factors can be used to the advantage of sales reps. The accompanying infographic offers useful tips for interacting with prospects based on sales rep personality.

This line from the infographic stuck out to me:

“All personality types can make excellent salespeople—just use your type to your advantage.”

Great advice, but the question is how can managers do this effectively?

The answer: Team selling. This approach to sales shifts away from the traditional “one man show” by bringing in several sales reps on a single deal.

While this may seem like more of an investment up front, it actually pays off. For one, there’s less “let me get back to you” because you have the knowledge and experience of multiple reps or SMEs up front. Also, team selling creates more of a collaborative feeling between your company and the customer—they’re more likely to bring in other members of their buying team because they know you’re invested.

And here’s the best part: You can put your sales reps’ personalities to good use. As Salesforce.com’s infographic points out, extroverted sales reps are great with customer engagement, but keeping track of details about each customer isn’t typically their strong suit. Introverts, on the other hand, are great with details.

When setting up sales teams, keep personality in mind. Pair your reps who excel at buyer interaction with reps who excel at pipeline management. It’s a simple concept, but it pays off.

A word of caution: Team selling isn’t something you should start blindly. Throwing together incompatible teams can do far more harm than good. Ensure your sales reps are comfortable working together, and definitely outline clear responsibilities for each sales rep to keep teams from dropping the ball with prospects.

It’s time to give “opposites attract” a try in your sales process. To learn more, view Salesforce.com’s infographic below, then check out Myers Briggs’ website to learn more about personality assessments.

Via Salesforce