Wrong personality for sales (according to boss)

Tinuel

Had my mid year review today that did not work out too well.

I work in financial services sales, in a company that I have only been for a few months.
My boss is an old school, extrovert, outgoing, loud personality, out in the pub, and has built a team that reflects this personality, except me...

I have a quieter (not shy) personality and not the big character, Jack the lad type of some guys here.

However, my pipeline of clients is as good as the rest of the team.
Even still, he has doubts about me, as my personality isn't in his words a sales personality.

He is even thinking of demoting me and put me in a different department, more related to post go live issues.

What is a sales personality I wonder? Is it just the lad that is always out and about, is loud and has plenty of banter?

Whilst I am not an extrovert, I am still good with people, a good listener and well organised.

davetrousers

What is a pipeline of clients?

What are post go live issues?

Tinuel

davetrousers wrote: »

What is a pipeline of clients?

What are post go live issues?

Pipeline is a list of clients that have just gone live or are about to go live.

Post go live are teams such as relationship managers, client services, support.

engineer_amy

I don't think there is a definitive sales personality, I think possibly your boss just sees you as different to him and the rest of the team, maybe he feels like you don't fit in.


as a decision maker in the finance team, all sales calls to our company get passed to me. I am definitely turned off by brash, c0cky sales people, I will generally tell them I am too busy after the first few moments, and much more inclined to listen to some one who is quietly confident and able to answer my questions in an assured manner. If a sales person has a bit of craic (jokey) with me on the phone or in person, I am much more likely to buy from them, or remember them in future when I do need something.


If you have a good pipeline of potentials, are you managing to convert these to sales successfully? do you have targets in place? if you are meeting targets set, you could have an argument against the demotion/move.

InsideInsurance

Results speak louder than anything. A pipeline is all well and good but what is your actual sales rates/ average sales and whatever other metrics you use to judge the performance of a sales person/ value of customer they are bringing in.

Sales guys are typically the outgoing, self confident, loud types however reality is that different personality types appeal to different buyers just as different sales strategies do and so having diversity can be good.

The best buyers tend to be the opposite and are very quiet because a sales person hates silence and has a compulsive need to fill it with words and those words often give the buyer grounds to get discounts.

Back in the day I was the 3rd best sales person in the call centre (and the 1st best was later sacked for fraud) and I am not a loud outgoing person but I am dogged, dont take the first no as an answer and very good at quickly overcoming peoples objections (though I was only selling £100 warranties so not a massive long term ask). So certainly the quiet ones can make it in sales.

I do wonder if however this is less really about performance but how you fit into the team. Diversity is good but if the rest of the team is tight, socialise together etc and you are out on a limb on your own then that mightnt be good

Tinuel

Thanks for your replies.
Yes, I have hit the target in the quarter that I started and my pipeline for this quarter actually contains prospects who have signed on the dotted line, just going through our normal channels to set them up internally now.

I do tend to agree that it might have something to do with personalities and being seen as one of the lads.

ACG

There are different types of sales jobs and different types of sales people.

Put me on the end of a phone cold calling and I would be useless.

But my job now is an advisor which technically is probably a glorified sales job somewhere down the line - the difference being people come to me for what they want and I am actually quite successful as I do not push people, I give them options and leave them to decide.

I have also been an account manager where I worked hard, got on with people and was always in the top 3 just by being polite, helpful and working hard.

It seems odd that a manager would try to push you out if your successful just because you are not loud and annoying.

Polarbeary

It seems like some employers think being introverted is a character defect! Personally I can't stand loud, annoying people.

DKLS

Tinuel wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.
Yes, I have hit the target in the quarter that I started and my pipeline for this quarter actually contains prospects who have signed on the dotted line, just going through our normal channels to set them up internally now.

I do tend to agree that it might have something to do with personalities and being seen as one of the lads.

Sounds like your personality sticks out a bit from the others but ultimately all that matters is your numbers, If you are hitting or exceeding targets, you can sell, and sales is all about relationships and your doing good numbers stand by them.

Seems daft to consider demoting you because your personality doesn't fit the office dynamic. Just focus on converting your pipeline and improving your ratios.

Might help playing the game a bit so you stand out less, do the odd pub session, tonic water if your not a boozer or spacer drinks, join in football banter etc. I hate football, but I always know the results of matches and transfers of the teams my team support.

TELLIT01

If I had some pushy loudmouth trying to sell me financial services I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, and that sounds like your description of the boss and the people he like around him. I'd be much happier dealing with somebody who acts and talks calmly and rationally.

Doshwaster

davetrousers wrote: »

What is a pipeline of clients?

What are post go live issues?

It's all sales lingo

To make a sale you may have to contact 20 people, 10 of whom may be interested of which 5 may want a quote and only one of them sends up signing a contract. Your "pipeline" is the number of people you have at each stage of the process.

In most sales jobs you don't get your commission until the customer is happy and has finally paid. Even if someone has agreed to buy your services and the project is implemented (it has "gone live") then there can still be a lot of hurdles to jump until you make the money.