We received an interesting question from Pamela that is applicable to all salespeople no matter their experience level:

“I have been told I can sell wood to a beaver.  How do I find the right product to become a successful salesperson?”

First, Pamela, I want to compliment you because you’ve asked one of the most important questions any salesperson can ask.  So often, salespeople think that a good salesperson can sell anything.  That is far from the case. 

Every salesperson has their own behavioral and skill strengths—and weaknesses.  And each product/service and market requires the salesperson have certain behaviors and skills in order to become a top producer selling that product or service or selling into that market.  In addition, you have to make sure your strengths fit within the company for which you work.

Consequently, it is imperative to match one’s strengths to the product/service they sell, the market they sell into, and the company they sell for.  Many salespeople fail or are just average in their sales performance not because of lack of effort, but because of a mismatch of their skills and behaviors with the demands and requirements of what they are selling.

For instance, if you have a short attention span and require constant change, you may be better suited to selling a product or service with a very short sales cycle as opposed to one with an extended cycle.  This salesperson would probably be more successful and find their job more satisfying selling a one-time close product than selling a highly sophisticated product or service that requires working with the prospect for months or even years before consummating the sale.

Likewise, someone who requires a great deal of intellectual challenge may find it difficult to sell a product or service that is sold primarily by script and where the opportunity for intellectual challenge is minimal or even non-existent.  On the other hand, that salesperson would probably be well suited to sell a product that demands a great deal of study, analysis and problem solving.  Selling complex networking solutions, consulting, or business financing solutions would be viable options for this person to explore.

You’ll also need to examine the company you are considering joining.  For instance, some companies that sell financial services are looking for salespeople who are independent, thrive in an intellectually challenging atmosphere, and have the behavioral characteristics suited for long-term relationship building.  Others, selling much the same product, look for salespeople who will sell from a script without deviation and who are very short sales cycle oriented.  These companies have much the same product on the surface, but very different sales processes and objectives, not to mention company cultures.  You may do very well in one and fail in the other.

Before deciding what to sell, examine your behavioral strengths and weaknesses and determine which products and markets they seem to be best suited for and what type of company culture you’ll work within best.  You may want to enlist the aid of those who know you well or even hire a professional sales coach to help you analyze your strengths and develop a plan to seek out the position best suited for you.

Analyzing your strengths and weaknesses isn’t a particularly easy task.  We each have hundreds of behaviors that affect our selling style and ultimately our success.  However, self-knowledge is a powerful thing and can save you a tremendous amount of frustration.

Although self-analysis based on your past behavior is the best indicator of what products, services, and markets you will thrive in, you have many strengths and weaknesses that won’t be readily apparent but will affect your sales performance.  I’d advise you to supplement your self-analysis with one of the fine sales assessment tools you can find online.  Although some companies look as sales assessments as gospel, they are nothing more than a very useful supplemental guide. 

In addition, acquiring the necessary sales skills will require seeking out sales training in a number of areas.  Unfortunately, most companies do a very poor job of sales training, so you’ll more than likely have to find the training you need on your own.  Even if you are fortunate enough to go to work for a company that does provide top-notch training, you’ll still have to seek out specialized training in your weak areas outside of what your company provides.

Ultimately, no one can answer your question but you based on your personality, your innate behavior, and whatever selling skills you have developed.  Selling skills can be learned.  Your behavior, however, is difficult or impossible to unlearn.  Putting yourself in a position to take advantage of your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, whether behavioral or learned skills, combined with commitment and a dedication to learning the sales craft is the quickest way to becoming a top producer.

If you have a sales or sales management question or issue, submit it and one or more of our expert sales trainers will be happy to address it.  Just as a reminder, here is a list of our training experts and their areas of specialization:

Paul McCord–prospecting, referral selling, and personal marketing
Wendy Weiss–cold calling
Brian Carroll–lead generation
Frank Rumbauskas–personal marketing
Jill Konrath–prospecting and selling into large accounts
Sharon Drew Morgen–the sales process and Buyer Facilitation
Ed Brodow–negotiation
Dave Lakhani–persuasion and communciation
Dave Anderson–automotive sales and leadership
Randy Pennington–management
Anne Miller–presentations and communciation

These are some of the top thought leaders in the area of sales and sales training.  This is a great opportunity for Sales Careers Online users to get advice from some the top trainers in the world free of charge.