Beware When Hiring Extroverts

For some reason, employers fall into the hiring trap of assuming that extroverts make the best salespeople. Some do, many don’t! Why? Because extroverts are so outgoing, they often talk “at” people instead of “to” them and this annoys many people, particularly introverts.

Too many extroverted salespeople take the approach of, “Let me tell you what I’ve got,” instead of trying to help the other person make an informed buying decision.

Some of the world’s most successful salespeople are reserved and introverted. This causes them to ask more questions and listen better. Prospects appreciate that.

I’m not suggesting you avoid hiring extroverts. I’m suggesting you hire extroverts who have developed their listening skills. How do you determine if they have good listening skills? You do that during the interview process.

Does the person respond appropriately to things you tell him? – good.

Does he give you long answers to short questions? – bad.

Keep in mind that some of these people wouldn’t listen at all if they didn’t think it was their turn to talk next!