K N O W L E D G E I S P O W E R
24 www.guntradeworld.com
By Josh Fiorini
WALK WITh PeRsOnALITy…
At most major corporations utilizing
large salesforces, especially those that are
commissioned, one of the fi rst things you
will fi nd present in the interview process
for their sales positions is some sort of
personality test. Th e company wants to
determine if you have the appropriate
personality type to sell and, specifi cally, to
sell their products.
Each test may have slightly diff erent
criteria, but all agree that an eff ective
salesperson should possess a few key
qualities: Th ey need to be outgoing,
curious, optimistic such that they are
not easily discouraged and remain cool
in uncomfortable situations. Salespeople
should also be likeable, but not obsessed
with being liked, and they should be goaloriented.
Everyone at some point in their life has
met someone and thought: “Th at person is
a natural at sales.” It’s true, some do have a
knack for sales and do their jobs well with
relatively little eff ort. It’s also true that
some of those natural skills can be taught,
but that is diffi cult and not often successful.
Th e personality traits and inherent
inclinations that make a person naturally
good at sales tend to be in place by the time
that person has reached adulthood. At its
core, sales is about both a talent and a skill,
but talent cannot be taught or developed
quickly.
… BuT TALK WITh KnOWLeDGe
Beyond having a personality that closes
sales, your salespeople must know the
details of what they are selling and be able
to speak intelligently about it. Th ey must be
able to understand the customer’s concerns
and desires and respond with logical
recommendations.
I once told a gentleman I was looking
for a milling machine, and he tried to sell
me a lathe, referring to it as “that machine
over in the corner that takes the material
off .” Needless to say I did not buy the lathe.
I did buy a milling machine (which he
couldn’t identify) from that man for about
a third of what it was worth – good day for
me, bad day for him.
A lack of product knowledge can be
disastrous for a sales team. But with so
many diff erent types of products and
services out there, how can one fi nd the
right combination of inherent sales talent
and product knowledge? And, if forced to
choose one or the other, what should an
employer choose?
INDUSTRY
INSIGHT
NSSF
every industry needs salespeople. Whether those sales are institutional, business-to-business, online, factory
direct or in a retail environment, each organization in the marketplace has to have employees that create
relationships with its customers, manage their experiences and, yes, close the sale.
The basics of selling are the same no ma er what the product is, but every industry is diff erent; obviously the
products and services being sold diff er enormously, but also the demographics and behaviour of the customers
for those products and services. so, for the shooting sports industry, what skill set makes a good salesperson?
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