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Are you relying on personality over process?

by joe golfer
11 replies
Salespeople and entrepreneurs are often outgoing types who are able to easily start, build and close sales conversations.

Problems arise when they rely on their personality and don't have a process to find and develop opportunities.

Make sure you have a solid process in place. This is especially true today. More and more prospects are less interested in personalities. They want solutions to their problems.
#personality #process #relying
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Joe, interesting post and we should discuss it. I think you have two different points going on here in your post.

    My understanding of buyer behavior is they start with a situation they're sick and tired of and want to get out of. They find some sources of potential solutions. THEN the personality of the expert becomes important. This can be very early in the buying process.

    Your point about sellers relying on personality and not being able to duplicate and expand their business because it's all about them is something I've commonly seen. Spending some money and time with a process-oriented person to help them write this stuff down would be extremely beneficial.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    .


    Not an affiliate link. http://michaelegerbercompanies.com/s...iversary-book/


    This is the greatest book ever written on the subject of "Processes Vs. Personality". I personally base most of philosophy on it and my experience confirms it to be true. This book explains the reason why , in call centers all over the world, average 18 year old high school drop outs regularly make more sales daily than many self proclaimed consultants make in a month.


    NOTE: I have seen people develop entire careers out of pigeon holing what Im saying as mere "high probability selling", but that's ignorant bs designed to over complicate things and keep you buying more superfluous fluff... In any event, it's all in the original Emyth, it explains everything. Processes are king.


    You can't depend on sales "Superstars" because they are smart enough to grow a brain on you, are high maintenance, rare, and usually don't stick around long. What you CAN depend on, and scale upon is a "process", or "system" that works virtually regardless of who is implementing it, like a clock, at a predictable rate.


    Chances are that you, or most of the people you hire are not one of those rare superstars... however when your operation is system dependent and not personality dependent, you can still be a phenomenal success!


    Giving no credit to myself for the value of this post, it all comes from emyth. This book, if you haven't read it, will open your eyes to a whole new empowering way to think about how scaling works, or even how to get your efforts to be more effective as an individual.


    I hurt for anyone who hasn't read this book, because they are truly missing out on one of the real gems of our time. This book will change your life if you haven't read it. It will feel really great if this post inspires anyone to read it.


    -JD


    Ps. Also not an affiliate link: Most people cant afford a limited edition anniversary copy, but you can get it on audio much cheaper: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Levitz-Somme...item27dea6d546


    Also,

    Im sure if one were looking around they could get a used copy fairly cheaply. It's worth a thousand times whatever you pay, even if you paid $100 bucks.
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  • Profile picture of the author gettingricherdaily
    a salesman being too nice raises red flags to me. It can be overdone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vanquish
    People buy on emotion and justify rationally. People also buy from those they like and those they are like them. Therefore establishing rapport is an important part of the sales process but even more important you have to find the solution to your clients problem and most important of all you have to learn how to build VALUE.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      You can be liked AND have good processes in place.

      You may know how to build value YET have no systems in place, therefore, the ability to grow and a predictable income.

      McDonald's got great processes in place. I bought from them many times, never liked Mr. McDonald, Mrs. McDonald or any of the people working there (disliked a couple, liked a couple, most were just indifferent).

      Systems trump personality.

      Trump relies on personality AND he's got systems.

      My brother relies on personality and is great at rapport and showing value and has got no systems.

      You've heard of Donald Trump. You've heard of McDonald's. You have not heard of my brother. 'Nuff said.

      Originally Posted by Vanquish View Post

      People buy on emotion and justify rationally. People also buy from those they like and those they are like them. Therefore establishing rapport is an important part of the sales process but even more important you have to find the solution to your clients problem and most important of all you have to learn how to build VALUE.
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      • Profile picture of the author socialentry
        I think process can only take an individual up to a certain level.

        I am very introverted. So I am naturally drawn to sales models that rely heavily on reason then emotions/personality. At first, I attempted a purely mechanical approach to sales.

        there's something extra I think cannot be easily put unto words and that a script or training, however clever and intelligent, cannot teach.easily

        And that's things like rapport that is established early on in the call. Call it a mixture of zen, chutzpah, 6th sense, empathy whatever.

        In fiction,precision is of the utmost importance. It is very difficult to write precisely about emotions so that the reader truly "groks" it and only great writers can do it.

        In a work setting. I have found that descriptions of emotions is at best an approximation.
        Oftentime, combined with experience, it is enough for me to move forward but sometime it remains for me an abstraction until I stumble upon it later on by myself down the road.
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by socialentry View Post

          there's something extra I think cannot be easily put unto words and that a script or training, however clever and intelligent, cannot teach.easily

          And that's things like rapport that is established early on in the call. Call it a mixture of zen, chutzpah, 6th sense, empathy whatever.

          You aren't alone. I had to learn how to sell in an entirely intellectual, mechanical manner.

          Rapport? I never feel it. So I have to fake the symptoms. When I'm selling, it sounds like I'm interested, and engaged...but it's just memorized patter, said while smiling.

          And, rapport is really just thinking about what's best for the buyer. That thought will come out in your language.

          To a large degree, selling is acting. I act like I'm engaged and interested.


          Most salespeople have the opposite problem. They can't grasp the mechanics of marketing. They want to speak off the cuff. That's how beginners sell. That's how the bottom 50% sell. They don't realize that you can sell, inside the structure of a marketing system.


          And you don't have to be emotionally engaged, as long as they are. And you can create an emotional reaction by talking about benefits, and by asking questions. You can create a desire to buy from you, without being emotionally engaged yourself. To me, it's all just the right language, the right sequence. All of this can be learned and memorized.

          A couple decades ago, my selling involved technique, technique, technique. But I had no system. It wasn't until I studied marketing that my sales really shot through the roof.
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          • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
            Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

            It wasn't until I studied marketing that my sales really shot through the roof.
            Claude, how did marketing help your 1 to 1 selling?

            I see marketing as what's done before you are 1 to 1.

            Thanks,

            Doctor E. Vile
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            • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
              Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

              Claude, how did marketing help your 1 to 1 selling?

              I see marketing as what's done before you are 1 to 1.

              Thanks,

              Doctor E. Vile
              Dear Ewen;

              I use marketing to find the best prospects. Prospects that have proven that they will be highly likely to buy from me. Then I use marketing (after I make the appointment) to send them information, to establish my authority, expertise, (perceived) celebrity. I have websites, videos, testimonials, online to build my reputation. All this is outside of personal selling, and is marketing.

              More than half my selling is done before I ever see the prospect in person. Except for the prospecting call, all of that is marketing.

              I really started doing research into finding profitable prospects, when I was selling vacuum cleaners in people's homes. I used to close 15-20% of my sales presentations (Very early on). My first marketing task was discovering which groups of prospects were very unlikely to buy from me....And I simply stopped seeing them. That alone raised my closing to over 40% (On cold calls)

              Then I studied what my customers had in common. And from that, who was very likely to buy. I ended up concentrating on the 6% of the population that was proven to be highly likely to buy from me. My closing jumped to about 80%, in people's homes.

              This is all without getting measurably better at the actual selling. It was a version of mailing list segmentation. And pre-sales conditioning. All of this was a really lengthy painful learning process...over maybe 30 years.

              My book on Sales Prospecting covers this entire marketing process pretty well.
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              • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
                Gotcha.

                Thank you.

                Wasn't sure as to whether you were referring to
                what your learnt in marketing you transferred
                to what you did when you were one to one.

                Marketing just made the selling so much easier
                for numerous reasons.

                Best,
                Doctor E. Vile
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  • Profile picture of the author MoneyDan
    Banned
    Originally Posted by joe golfer View Post

    Salespeople and entrepreneurs are often outgoing types who are able to easily start, build and close sales conversations.

    Problems arise when they rely on their personality and don't have a process to find and develop opportunities.

    Make sure you have a solid process in place. This is especially true today. More and more prospects are less interested in personalities. They want solutions to their problems.
    You've gotta have both. However, I'd replace the term "personality" with "being a salesman". You can be dry as a desert and still be a good salesman. Without the right presentation, the buyer has no idea what you're offering.

    Ranked in order of importance:
    1)Good offer/system
    2)Good salesman
    3)Good personality
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