How to Build Sales Skills as an Extrovert

An extrovert is an outgoing person who thrives in a stimulating environment. Whether at work or doing social activities, extroverts shine in group settings and feel energized by the company of others. This personality type enjoys being the center of attention and tends to be unreserved. Extroversion is a personality type that was introduced by noted Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who theorized that people could be divided into groups based on their distinct attitudes. These attitudes include extroversion and introversion (which refers to a preference for introspection and solitude). Jung believed that while both of these attitudes are present in every individual, one type is generally more dominant. People with extroverted tendencies usually enter career paths that deal with people in group settings, such as sales, public relations, politics, medicine, teaching, and customer service.

Extroversion can be a strong personality type with some notable characteristics, such as:

• Talkative: Extroverts are chatty and love to talk. They are usually natural icebreakers and are great at carrying conversations. Charming extroverts can make new friends easily and are considered more easygoing than other personality types.
• Sociable: Extroverts perform well in social situations and prefer spending time with others. They can often be the life of the party. Unlike introversion, extroverts don’t need a lot of alone time and usually have large groups of friends.
• High energy: Extroverts become charged by social interactions, so this personality type is usually searching for a gathering or social situation to recharge their energy.
• Optimistic: Extroverted people tend to be slightly more optimistic. While introverts can sometimes get bogged down by negative emotions, extroverts are better at mood regulation, which means they can control how affected they are by these negative feelings, leading them to be more cheerful.
• Quick deciders: Extroverts are known for their quick (and sometimes spontaneous) decision-making skills. While introverts may spend more time with their own thoughts, extroverts tend to think out loud and come to decisions quicker than other personality types.

While extroverts are more likely to get hired for sales jobs, that doesn’t mean they automatically make the best salespeople. Below are some tips on how extroverts can improve their sales techniques:

1. 1. Be willing to listen. One downside of extroversion is that those with this personality type may prefer to talk instead of engaging in active listening. In sales, the salesperson needs to listen to the customer to pinpoint their needs. Customers want to know that the product they’re purchasing suits their needs and that the salesperson understands that.
2. 2. Stay on track. High-energy extroverts can sometimes be easily distracted from meeting their goal. They may get sidetracked by work conversations or focus too heavily on networking and bond-building instead of closing the deal. To ensure that you hit your goals, set daily reminders to keep yourself on track. When dealing with a customer, remember that your job is to sell them a product or service, not just to build a good rapport.
3. 3. Tailor your technique to your audience. An extrovert selling to an introvert or ambivert will likely require a different approach than an extrovert selling to another extrovert. Look at the customer’s body language or listen to how they communicate to determine if they will benefit from a more reserved sales approach. Try to identify ways to fit your pitch into their personality.

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