oldcloser

💀

Most common character defects amongst successful salespeople.

There's been much talk about "the one thing" that makes a successful seller. i think it's actually a stack of defects and the associated human compensation that makes a good one. Early in my career I was all of these:

Boastful

A gossiper

Compusive obsessive

Extremely materialistic

Defined personally by income

Always looking for a better job

A perpetual career malcontent

Driven by immediate gratification

Further defined by employer and title

In need of acknowledgment and praise

I still have shreds of all of it, but these defects have been sanded down over time. Yet, somehow, this package, along with the few character attributes I had added up to much early success. With this stack, I don't think I would have a shot in hell of lasting an entry level minute in a modern sales org.

This sound like anyone else?

👐 Emotional Regulation

💼 Office Life

23 comments

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Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I agree that its not just 1 thing, but a stack of things both good and bad. Although I probably wouldn't phrase it the same way as you have.

I have seen true Captain America/Boy Scouts do extraordinarily well & bad, as well as truly evil people succeed somehow. I wish there was a silver bullet.

My stack:
Need to be on top
Need for the title (validation of experience)
Willingness to grind (grit)
Never happy with what I got (that's gotten me in lots of trouble over the years)
Need to be of basic worries (pay my bills, go out to a nice dinner, buy decent shoes, etc)
Compulsive need to be in control

I'm still there with a lot of this, but its been tempered with time and experience. I don't think i would do well at some of these companies who are driven by near hourly metrics, but where talent sees talent, I do well enough.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Amazing what a little self-awareness and a time-induced priority shuffle can do. ✊

FoodForSales

Politicker

great list!

RandyLahey

Politicker

Account Executive

Well said, it’s slices of them of all. I found myself reading the list and going nah, that aint me.

Then a few moments later being mmm, yeah okay, Im guilty.

The grind is a constant, it actually provides me with reassurance. I don’t feel the title validation but oh fuck does Never being happy with what I’ve got.

I get to a higher plateau and just can’t enjoy that shit; what’s next.

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Yeah I do feel this tracks with lots of sales folks. I know I've had a lot of these exact defects and they did soften as time goes on.

I actually think the most important thing you can do as a salesperson is learn to accept and mitigate these factors. I remember going through a hellish year where I finally had to learn to distance myself from my performance to feel validated. It wasn't easy but once I did, goddamn did things feel a lot easier. I still had to bust my ass but didn't lose my mind if I had a bad month or question if I was still good at sales.

However, I really do believe most salespeople have something off that gets us into this in the first place. Being praised company wide for good months sure as shit was exciting but, like all things, it starts to fade.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

I don’t know if this is anyone else , but I LOVE winning and more so knowing that I beat someone to the sale and that they LOST. In my world there are lots of competitors. My counterpart just shared a story of a big win with me and how the competitor even after the Purchase order was awarded to him started going around complaining to anyone who would listen and causing trouble for others on the design team for the project. We talked about the pleasure of getting the sale, but even more so knowing how upset the competitor got.

Victory tastes sweet and I for one am someone who savors it.

unclespacejam

Politicker

ur dad’s brother

I still deeply relish in knowing that a competitive deal we won back in ‘22 was the nail in the coffin for a competitor/ copycat that we’d been trying to shake off for years. We were head to head with them, they were coming in with a price that was 40% less than us but an inferior product.

We won. We got our scalps. The next quarter they announced they were shutting down for good.

I’d feel bad if it weren’t for the fact that they’d been trying to copy our shit for years. But fuck them.

That shit felt
GOOD

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Oh yes I bet it did. Put their head on a spike man!

unclespacejam

Politicker

ur dad’s brother

Hey Siri, play “Piss on your grave by Travis Scott”

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Dug that grave and buried them! WOW.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Nothing like the taste of a full glass of competitor’s tears.

vet

Valued Contributor

Senior SDR

In need of acknowledgment and praise hit home for me, especially after you hit some good deals. You almost feel like superman.

But coming back down to earth is the kreptonite

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

You said package

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

A lot of these are so common but can be so toxic with the wrong (or right people I guess).
The worst I see is folks who flip between two emotions, elation and despair - never having a middle ground.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

I have worked with a few of these Bi-polar bears. A whole different thing ✅

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Some yes, some no.

But I'd have to add 'devilishly good looking' for most of us Savages.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Well, that’s a given. Pffffttt

SalesBeast

Politicker

Sales Leader

Sounds familiar. I would add determination and not willing to take no for no, and ok with rejection. In sales we get told 20x (if not more) no for every one yes.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

All the above, they still exist in me I just choose to feed the other wolf.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Grown ups.

BigShrimpin

Politicker

Account executive

perpetual career malcontent is so damn real there probably isnt a week that goes by where i wonder what else i could've done with my life if id actually taken education more seriously

the moneys great and im happy with what i do but ive always wondered if others feel the same way

pirate

Big Shot

Account Executive

More like boastful narcissist who thinks they are gods gift to sales... These sound about right to me, you should do own post of sales management defects 🤣 that's where the problems really lie