Good salespeople aren t just born. There s no such thing as a sales personality. There are, however, three traits found in virtually all successful salespeople. Success in sales means clearing the pretty pictures out of your head and using your five animal senses to understand what people really want. Take breakfast cereal.
Parents say they want a cereal that is healthy, wholesome, and nutritious.
The cynical marketer realizes, however, that what most parents really want is a cereal that won t kill the kids but tastes good enough to grant them a blessed 10 minutes of peace. The cynical marketer succeeds by pitching to both the stated and underlying motives for buying the cereal. Successful salespeople don't make value judgments. It is what it is, and you can't change it. But if you understand it, you can make money from it.