Soon it will be one year that I was asked to join the sales team at StaffStat. I was instantly intrigued by the idea and knew I wanted to sell but I wasn’t sure of my ability in a sales capacity. I knew I loved StaffStat and if I was in a position that allowed me to make a decision to purchase it, I would do it without batting an eye. But now I need to convince the world that our product is a must-have!

What I struggled with was my ‘visual representation’ of a salesperson. I thought, to be good at sales, one must have a boisterous personality, aggressive and pushy nature; all of which I am not. I have since learned that the very opposite is true. I have learned that just being myself is enough, and of course it is because people relate to REAL people!

I came across a couple of articles that caught my eye as it captured two relatable topics: Ambivert personality, because ambivert is the personality category I fall into, and sales because this is my current role. Ambivert is described as a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features. When I read these articles, it confirmed to me that my ‘ambivert’ personality can give me an edge in my role and there is no need to be anything other than me. Here’s what I have learned about ambiverts and sales:

Listen. Ambiverts are active listeners, which comes in handy when questioning prospects about their pain points and providing a solution. By listening intuitively and relating to the customer or prospect, we appear less aggressive or over-confident making it easier for others to engage in conversation.

Understand and Relate. Ambiverts rate high for emotional intelligence allowing them to easily relate and understand the thoughts and feelings of others. The ambivert will adjust their behaviour and demeanor based on the vibes they receive from those they are interacting with. An ambivert will identify with the needs of their prospect or customer and immediately seek solutions that relate.

Flexible. The ambivert can adapt to situations and balance in the middle of introverted and extroverted behaviour; knowing when to ‘turn it on’ (workplace happy hour) and when to ‘turn it off’ (an important meeting). Therefore, adapting to social situations, picking up on social cues and interacting with others will all lead to gaining the trust of others.

I certainly fall into this category of personality traits. However, I am not entirely special nor alone in this category, from what I have read, ambiverts make up 68% of the population, which means most people can be successful at selling if they tune into their ambivert nature!

Cheers!