Are Top Sales Performers Born or Made?

Posted by in Sales


Do top salespeople have an innate knack for selling? Is the ability to sell a born instinct? Steve W. Martin, founder of the Heavy Hitter sales training program and author of the “Heavy Hitter” series of books, combines his field experience with extensive research to conclude that there are four key factors that determine a self-made salesperson's destiny: language specialization, "modeling" of experiences, political acumen, and greed.
 
Language Specialization. This goes beyond citing a product's features and business benefits to talking intelligently about the details of daily business operations. It means drilling down into an industry’s unique technical language, its abbreviations, acronyms, business nomenclature and specialized terms. Those who fail this test often rely on likability with prospective customers.
 
Modeling of Experiences. In learning and consolidating information from sales calls and interactions with customers, astute salespeople can predict what will happen and what to do based on what they've done in the past. Martin notes that modeling can be thought of as trying to find the what, when, where response—what you should do when you are in a particular circumstance. Successful self-made salespeople store and retrieve all the verbal, nonverbal, factual and intuitive information they acquire during sales calls and sales cycles. 
 
Political Acumen. Successful self-made salespeople factor in the human nature of sales and how people and politics determine the outcome. Martin feels that political acumen is the ability to correctly map out each decision maker's influence and motivations. 
 
Greed. Here, Martin notes that greed and self-respect are closely intertwined. Greed, in this sense, is simply wanting to be fairly compensated for one's time. Time determines the number of deals one can work and where the greatest sales effort should be expended. Greed drives successful self-made salespeople to push themselves to ask difficult qualifying questions and work toward the close. 
 
Greta Schulz, Author of “To Sell is Not to Sell,” and President of Schulz Business SELLutions says, “How we buy has a direct correlation on how we sell. If you’re not an outgoing, vivacious, over-the-top personality, you still can and will be, if you want to be, a very successful person. Today’s buyers are much more savvy and they’re not going to spend money just because they like you.”  
 
So while many top salespeople are gifted with innate talents, just as many are self-made who have learned to apply their language specialization skills and develop intuitive sales abilities. They spend their time on productive accounts and focus on an organization’s powerful decision-makers to make the sale. Sales trainer, author and consultant Alen Mayer provides even more data on this topic. 
 
Image courtesy of Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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  • Wayne S
    Wayne S
    The market you are in makes a big difference.  The company you work for makes a big difference.  You must work for a company that offers unique solutions that the competition can  not match.Finding the pent up demand that is not  being met is vital.  Understanding the customer's needs and motivations is critical.  With the advance of technology consumers are more sophisticated in their decision making.  Sales talent may be natural to some, but intense training and coaching can produce top sales people.  I have seen it first hand.
  •  Renee L
    Renee L
    Good afternoon.I have always wanted to know from a credible source what the answer to this question may be. I feel I was born a sales person. Always developing and sharping my skills. Still I was born to be in sales. Thank you for addressing the question. Have a great day!
  • Brian P
    Brian P
    This article only confirms that great salesmen develop, they are not born with these traits.  The article answeres it's own question
  • Rodger C
    Rodger C
    Sales people are made some through intense training and much practice! Sales represents 70% of my work career, 30% goes to IT.
  • Lucia G
    Lucia G
    Win the customer not the sale, long after the person leaves....What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us...........Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • bill b
    bill b
    born to sell and polished and trained to finish
  • Allen A
    Allen A
    A great article.  A very important factor, which the article alludes to, is that sales is all about educating the prospect.  Sales is all about providing the prospect with information they need so they can make an intelligent business decision.  It is more important to be respected than to be liked.  Respect breeds likability.
  • Mary B
    Mary B
    I believe that I can always learn something that will make what I already do better. This article addresses some of the things that I can do to make me a better salesperson, analyses some of the reasons I do the things I do automatically and sheds some light on how I might sell more easily. That is most welcome here.
  • Cheryl S
    Cheryl S
    The good ones have an innate ability to read everything that is going on all at the same time. It's almost like a gene that you are born with-:)
  • Diane K
    Diane K
    My father used to tell me, "Diane, if you can sell yourself, you can sell anything!"  Those words have rung true throughout my entire life.  Not having a formal education, nor many of the qualifications that are"requirements" on paper never deterred me from picking out what I wanted to do = selling my way into an interview & walking out with the job - without the degree or Xamount of years in that industry,  Either you can sell, or you can't! I don't believe it can be taught. You can't teach Personality & People Skills!

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