Introverts Can Sell: Then you can go home and curl up with a book

" ... yu might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good book."  - Susan Cain, "Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking"

Maybe of you were initially attracted to studying the law because you enjoyed reading, thinking, analyzing, and even daydreaming about complex and ambiguous subjects.  You excel in law school.  You do well in your first three years or so as an associate.  It helps that you are low-key and without ego enough to accept impossible demands. 

Then comes the mutation of your role.  You have to bring in business.  No, "they" don't ask you just to write articles for publication or even a book. They want you out there hustling to bring in new business, one prospect at a time.  You bet, they means putting on seminars at a corporation, lunching with whoever, long dinners, and golf.

The reality is that introverts can be more successful salespeople than extroverts.  That's because we listen.  We ask questions.  We are there for the prospect, not showcasing ourselves.  The trick is not to be so uncomfortable that we focus back on ourselves.  Instead promise yourself you can retreat to your solitary bookish ways as soon as you nail this account.  That promise of heaven is enough to get you through.

Prospects have problems to solve. They don't want a relationship with their lawyer.  They want the someone who can put that solution together.

Selling tip: The best salespeople identify the prospect's pain points.  The prospect might not even know exactly where the pain is coming from.  The process of identification starts with listening to both the story the prospect is telling and the one he or she is not telling.  Sometimes it's necessary to put the question out there: What's keeping you up at night?

Comments

[Annlee Ellingson]

You're absolutely right: shy lawyers CAN become rainmakers. For more tips on how, check out this ABA podcast on this very topic: http://www.kohncommunications.com/seminars/marketing-seminars/shy-lawyers-guide-to-becoming-a-rainmaker/