Review of "The Introvert’s Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone," by Matthew Pollard with Derek Lewis

Review of

The Introvert’s Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone, by Matthew Pollard with Derek Lewis, ISBN 9780814438879

Five out of five stars

 As an organizing premise, Pollard splits salespeople into two groups. The person that uses their assertive personality as a bludgeon to aggressively pursue sales, in other words the cliché of the used car salesman. This would be the extravert. On the other side is the more disciplined, less assertive personality that will not pursue a sale to the point of annoying the potential customer. In this case, the introvert.  In popular literature, it is the extravert that clinches the sale, while the introvert struggles to make a living.

 It is Pollard’s position that if they are properly guided, it is the introverts that will make the greater number of sales. By proper guidance, he means following a proven process, which is where the introvert can outperform the extravert. For the introvert concentrates on satisfying the customer’s needs, explaining the valuable ways that the product can be used. While the extravert relies on the power of their personality and employs an often annoying hard sell strategy.

 However, for the introvert to outperform, the sales process and policy must be explained. Pollard openly describes creating a provenly successfull script, practicing it to perfection and then following it while on sales calls. There is no doubt that the soft sell that relies on hearing what the customer needs rather than telling them what they need is a more effective sales practice.

 This is a great book for companies and individuals that must go out in the field and sell to customers where there is no prior relationship between the two.