In my experience, absolutely! They’re naturally a pattern interrupt – which often instantly builds more trust and trust = sales.
But the #1 reason hands down introverts I talk to aren’t selling as much as they want…
…is because they’re not leaning into the strengths that are unique to introverts.
There are a few strengths that they’re usually neglecting to use but the one that really helps them succeed most in sales that I’ll cover in this post is…EMPATHY.
A lot of sales training explains empathy as a “me too”.
That is NOT empathy.
- It’s not “my grandma does Zumba too! No way I ALSO mountain bike! San Francisco is my favorite city too!”
- Or parroting – repeating their words back to them – that’s not empathy either.
- Or just saying “I understand what you’re saying, that happened to me too.”
- That all feels potentially fake. Anyone could say it.
Compassion – “I’m so sorry. My heart hurts for you.” – is commonly confused for empathy as well.
Empathy is really understanding how it would feel in someone’s situation and SAYING what that would FEEL like with additional insight.
For example, a client has had a really difficult time finding a diet or exercise plan that works for them.
- They feel like they’ve tried all the things, they’re working their ass off, making the sacrifices – they’re not scared of hard work – but nothing is budging.
- If you were empathizing you would say something like “yea you start to wonder if there’s anything that will ever work for you and if you should just give up entirely. It can be really discouraging.”
- You know it’s empathy when the other person lights up, gets excited and starts expanding upon it a little bit more.
- “Yes! It’s like – maybe I should just get used to it and stop looking in the mirror? Ugh.”
A lot of times extroverts are so focused on checking the boxes and getting the “sale” that they miss the opportunity to really understand the other person.
To really be present in that space with them instead of focusing on the next step of the process that will “sell” them.
Because once you truly understand someone (not just their pain and the gap in between their pain and the solution)…
…the more likely you are to naturally say the right things, have the right tone, use the right body language – without even having to think about it.
Because you’re no longer only thinking about getting a sale at that point. You’re genuinely understanding someone’s problem, whether it’s a fit and offering a solution.
Intention is your north star in a sales conversation that makes everything flow correctly.
And your prospect can feel what your intention is – getting a sale or really helping them.
10 out of 10 times prospects will want to work with someone they feel truly understands them, cares and wants to help them more.
Now to win sales it’s important to not only empathize but to lead them to the other side of the empathy and show them you have a solution to their problem AFTER empathizing.
The authoritative part of what I have coined “authoritative empathy” in sales.
That means in the example above, after you say “yea you start to wonder if there’s anything that will ever work for you and if you should just give up entirely. It can be really discouraging”…
…you add “the issue many people experience is that everyone’s body chemistry is different. Just because your sister got results from a paleo diet and training for a marathon doesn’t mean you will. You need something designed to get your specific body chemistry results.”
This is where introverts usually need a little help in my experience.
But the empathy thing alone is usually natural for them.
Most introverts are overcomplicating sales or trying to be someone they’re not – a charming, outgoing person who says all the “right” things.
Or implement a “digging into the pain” process that they feel uncomfortable with but a “sales expert” told them this is the only way to sell – and they’re not a sales expert so who are they to disagree?
But I’ve found the more introverts lean into their natural strengths and intuition – the more they sell.
And authoritative empathy is magic in the sales process whether you’re an introvert OR an extrovert.
I’ll go in more detail exactly how to incorporate authoritative empathy into your sales in my new 6 month Matchmaker Sales™ Mentorship where I help solopreneurs selling something that is $1,500+ to 2x-10x the number of people saying “yes” to their offers (the bigger your lead source – the bigger your ROI).
In the mentorship, we’ll uncover how to have a sales conversation that completely avoids the dreaded “pitch” we all hate and you’ll get a strategy tailored to your personality, audience and service that consistently converts 50-80% of your leads – even if you hand it off to someone else.
This is for you if you:
- Have at least one sales meeting a week to sell something $3k+
- Have an expertise and passion for your craft and truly care about your client results
- Currently feel uncomfortable with the pain filled sales strategies that require you to feel uncomfortable and do 100’s of repetitions to work – but you don’t know what to do instead that’s effective
If interested in this offer, please book a call and we’ll have a quick chat to see if it’s a fit for you.