Sales is unlike any other profession. It takes a special kind of person to succeed in sales or new business acquisition. Those that do succeed share a non-teachable personality trait . . . optimism.
 
In this episode, you will learn:

· What optimism truly means in the context of sales

· And a great interview question to ask that vets for optimism

 

Optimism is the inner confidence your salesperson has to be able to cope with rejection and persevere. Make sure your sales team is fully of optimists for maximum impact.
 

Subscribe to this podcast today and stay up-to-date on the latest in sales psychology.
 
 

For more on Optimism, check out our blog: Optimism – A Critical Piece of the Sales Aptitude Puzzle & Why Your Sales Reps Need It

Curious to know if your sales candidate has optimism? Learn how the DriveTest® sales assessment can help.
 
 

At SalesDrive, LLC, we help companies perfect the salesperson hiring process by offering a variety of tools, like a sales assessment and psychologically-based interview guides, that aid companies in never hiring a bad salesperson again. SalesDrive was founded in 2005 based on the single biggest frustration many companies face, selecting sales candidates who interviewed well, only to flame out when placed on the line. Dr. Croner reviewed more than 80 years of academic research as well as his own work in conducting intensive behavioral interviews and discovered that high-performance salespeople shared three innate personality traits. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, he went on to develop The DriveTest® sales assessment. The only sales assessment to measure the three non-teachable traits necessary for new business acquisition.
 
 If you are hiring salespeople, request a free DriveTest assessment today:
 https://salesdrive.info/free-trial-request
 
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[00:00]  Katherine Abraham: Hello and Welcome to the Sales Psyched podcast, where we discuss strategies for leveraging psychology within the world of sales. Each episode is hosted by Dr. Chris Croner, who has a PhD in clinical psychology and has spent his career helping companies around the world build stellar sales teams.

[00:20]  Let's get started.
 
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[00:29]  Chris Croner: Optimism. Superstar hunter salespeople share this powerful psychological secret.

[00:38]  Today, I want to talk about an absolutely critical personality trait that your salespeople must have to succeed over the long term as hunter salespeople. This deep psychological trait is optimism.

[00:54]  Optimism is a salesperson's sense of certainty in success and resiliency in the face of rejection. This is a deep, innate psychological trait. Unfortunately, it cannot be taught no matter how many "Matt Foleys" as you bring into fire everybody up.

[01:12]  Think about what a hunter needs to do. Go out, knock on the door whether that's in person or over the phone. Sometimes get that door slammed in their face, then knock on the next door with that much more certainty and passion and conviction.

[01:25]  Psychologically, that's a very special person we're talking about. And it's important to keep in mind that optimism is not about motivation per se. Optimism is the inner confidence your salesperson has to be able to cope with rejection and focus on the reward that is surely coming through perseverance.

[01:46]  A terrific study on optimism was conducted by Peter Schulman, a pioneer in the study of optimism in salespeople. He measured differences in optimism levels of salespeople in several industries, including real estate, banking, car sales and office products. Schulman found that across all industries, optimists out sold pessimists by 20 to 40%.

[02:13]  It's important to point out to you as a manager that optimism is not a lack of fear. Optimists fear the feelings of failure and rejection, just like the rest of us. The difference is they turn it into a rocket fuel for their next attempt. They don't let it stop them. They don't dwell on a strikeout or a missed shot. They're already focusing on their next chance to hit a home run or to close a deal.

[02:42]  Here's a great interview question that gets right at optimism. "Tell me about a time when you remain persistent, even though everyone else around you gave up. Now tell me about another time." Make sure you get several consistent examples.

[02:57]  And remember, even in the NBA, there are only a handful of players who want to step up and take that last shot when the game is in the balance. Michael Jordan demanded the ball because he had supreme confidence and optimism that he would make it. And he usually did.
 
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[03:20]  Chris Croner: Thank you for listening to the Sales Psyched Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to click the subscribe button and leave us a five-star review. If you found this information helpful, please consider sharing it. We'd love your help in spreading the word.
 
[03:38]  Until next time, take care!