Are Top Salespeople Born or Made?

Are Top Salespeople Born or Made?

Steven W. Martin, writing for Harvard Business Review Blog Network:

Based upon my research, experience, and observations, I estimate over 70 percent of top salespeople are born with “natural” instincts that play a critical role in determining their sales success. Conversely, less than 30 percent of top salespeople are self-made — meaning, they have had to learn how to become top salespeople without the benefit of these natural abilities. In addition, for every 100 people who enter sales without natural sales traits, 40 percent will fail or quit, 40 percent will perform at near average, and only 20 percent will be above average (These figures vary by industry and the complexity of products sold).

Martin goes on to identify his most critical factors for the self-made salesperson. They are language specialization, “modeling” of experiences, political acumen, and greed.

But what — greed, political acumen? What do these all mean? They make perfect sense, despite their labels. Be sure to check out Martin’s entire article.

In my experience (I began my career in sales), find this dead accurate. What about you?

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