But can one person possibly have all of these ‘traits’, since some of them are almost opposites? And if we can’t have them all, which ones are most important – which can’t we do without?

And what is personality anyway? The phrases above may look great on a job description, but some of them have little to do with personality. They’re learned skills. In theory, anyone can learn and use great sales skills, regardless of their personality. So where does that leave us?

Wouldn’t it be more useful to know which aspects of personality are connected with the willingness and ability to learn and use great sales skills? Then we would kill all the birds with one stone, so to speak.

These questions are not as difficult to answer as you might think. Last year, I carried out a small study, using a well-known psychometric test, hoping to find some clues. I got more than I bargained for. I was expecting vague and inconclusive results, open to interpretation. Instead, I got strong, statistically reliable correlations. The results were startling. They indicated significant correlations between sales performance in that organisation and four personality traits. Just four.

‘So what?’ you might ask. Any psychometric company worth its salt can tell you which personality traits are correlated with success in sales. Yes – but this is based on a ‘norm group’ of people working in all kinds of sales roles. What about the sales roles in your business, selling your product, to your customers? No-one can tell you, reliably, which traits are important there.

This may sound pedantic but it’s actually pretty important. There is a great deal of research out there which identifies personality traits that are linked to success in ‘sales roles’. But unlike some other roles, sales roles vary enormously. Each sales organisation operates in an environment that is unique in terms of product complexity, sales cycle length, average order value, customer type, organisational culture and so on.

Consequently, the key ‘success traits’ in one sales role may be completely irrelevant in another sales role. Anecdotally, this is borne out by the sales manager who has hired a salesperson with a ‘proven track record’ in sales, only to find that they fail in their new role.

Sales managers know that you need a different ‘type’ of salesperson to work on the big deals than the small deals. This is self-evident if you imagine the cliched double-glazing salesman trying to sell a multi-million pound aeroplane to an international airline. They’re both sales roles, but they couldn’t be more different. The ‘stereotypical’ salesperson will only be successful in ‘stereotypical’ sales roles, which don’t really exist anyway.

Most modern sales roles and most modern salespeople are not stereotypical. Consequently, in your business, success could be dependent on a few, perhaps unexpected, personality traits. The typical, bubbly, outgoing, enthusiastic salesperson may interview well and talk a good game, but have they got what it takes to succeed long-term in a modern sales role? According to my study, the answer is: probably not.

So if there is no such thing as a ‘typical salesperson’, no such thing as a ‘typical sales role’ and we can’t rely on our notion of the ‘ideal salesperson’, where does this leave us?

We need an objective way of predicting what personality traits will lead to success in a sales role. But not any sales role. The sales role in your business.

My study establishes a simple model for doing this. It may have been a relatively small study, but the results were significant enough to prick up the ears of a well-known psychometric testing organisation who asked to use the data to further prove the validity of their flagship psychometric tool. The results were compelling enough that the financial services organisation in which I conducted the study has already changed the criteria for its recruitment. They now recruit a breed of salesperson that is quite different to what most people intuitively felt was ‘right for this business’.

So, it’s possible to create a model that identifies objectively which personality traits contribute to success in a particular role. But why bother?

Personality testing is an objective way of assessing a candidate’s suitability for a role. But like any tool, it is only as good as the user. In order to test personality traits objectively, one must first identify objectively which traits will lead to better performance – which traits are we looking for? Unfortunately, the way in which we do this, in most organisations, is rather subjective. After long discussion and debate, we basically ‘guess’ which traits are important, based on our subjective opinions. Therefore, even though the psychometric tool is very objective, we use it in a subjective way, removing its value as an objective assessment.

Sometimes we kid ourselves that just because we’ve worked in sales for years we have developed some kind of ‘sixth sense’ which allows us to know intuitively who will be successful in our sales organisation and who won’t. We’ll cite all the successful salespeople we’ve hired – and conveniently forget about the other half who ‘didn’t work out’. We can come up with all kinds of good reasons for this, but a bad hire is a bad hire. And how many people have you decided not to hire because you didn’t ‘hit it off’ in the interview? Think of all those lost opportunities…

No system is perfect, and clearly psychometrics can never be a cure-all for the minefield that is sales recruitment. You’ll always need interviews, role plays and CVs. But if we use psychometrics better, we only need to interview the people whose personality already predicts a good a fit for selling in our business.

Many Canadians are staying more frugal than ever to gain control of their debt.  It’s true that consumer debt has reached an all time high and doesn’t appear to be lowering while the recession is looming over us.  Even basic monthly bills have become harder to pay on time.  Unfortunately, with each late payment, consumers accrue overdraft charges and late fees as a penalty.  These fees increase the overall hardship on already struggling consumers.

Where can Canadians turn to get help?  Now, there are unique opportunities that exist allowing consumers to sell jewelry online for cash.  The more consumers send in, the more they stand to make when they choose to sell jewelry in this way.  It makes perfect sense to take advantage of this fantastic relief for anyone suffering from monthly debts.

Individuals choosing to sell jewelry early in the month may produce enough cash to avoid a single late payment.  This will be a great help indeed, considering how a simple $50 bill can nearly double for being only a day late..

It’s so easy to sell jewelry online right now.  There are many sites on the web, but , Dollars4Gold.ca, offers a safe and guaranteed service with 100% customer satisfaction.  Visitors only need to complete a very brief, online form to start the process.  Within days, customers will receive a package containing all the necessary details to sell jewelry quickly and safely.

Dollars4Gold.ca also offers a guarantee for the highest payout among competitive companies with mail-in service and television advertising.  Consumers simply can’t go wrong when they work with this industry leader. In the event that they are not satisfied with the payout sent they only need to return the cheque and request items to be returned without further obligation.

It’s safer to sell jewelry to Dollars4Gold.  All submission packs are tracked and insured with a unique identification number that allows consumers to watch the routing of their package from start to finish.  Smart consumers will want to take advantage of this unique opportunity to sell jewelry and reduce personal debt.  Most people have some old or unwanted gold jewelry laying about their house and this is the perfect time to cash it in for something of real value in 2010.

Enter Bids4Gold into the market place. This exciting new company is out to switch the way the gold purchasing industry operates. They work with over twenty five companies who will instantly bid on your gold jewelry. You simply ship your items to Bids4Gold for free and they handle each detail of your transaction. After they receive your gold jewellery they enter the details of your items into their system including weight and K. Once your details are entered into the Bids4Gold system you are instantly matched up with over 25 bids. That very same day they will email you the details of your bids including the high bid, the quantity of bids and the average bid. You then decide if you need to expect the high bid or have your items sent back to you. You’ll have companies fighting for your business and fighting for a right to purchase your gold jewelry. You gain advantage from this competition because these corporations will drive up the price they offer for your gold jewelry.

Why let one company decide the value of your valuable items when you can have over twenty-five firms competing for your business. Bids4Gold has opened up the gold buying market place and the shopper is going to greatly benefit with higher costs and market transparency.

Bids4 Gold will get you the most money for your unwanted gold jewellery and they don’t charge any charges. Even shipping covered. They’re paid a fee by the firms who want to join the Bids4Gold network and compete to purchase your jewellery. The company who submitted the highest bid also pays them a little share of your exchange. You get the maximum money possible for your items and you get a hundred percent of the transaction amount. You pay no costs and no shipping costs.

Now when you want to sell you gold jewellery do you need to send your items to the company who can afford super bowl advertisements or the company who makes other companies compete for your business? Now is the best time to sell your unneeded or broken gold jewelry. Bids4Gold now supplies the best way to make comprehensive sure you get the most cash for your items.

It pays to be a Confident Salesperson , and you are worth every penny! Over 100,000 Americans become new millionaires every year…

The great majority of these fortunes (over 85%) are made by someone selling a product or service.

In fact, America owes its growth to the efforts of these salesmen and saleswomen. This country is one of the few places in the world where a good salesperson is admired and respected – at least by his or her company, if not by the public at large.

The Confident Salesperson knows his company needs a constant flow of new customers to ensure it’s success. Otherwise, the business is doomed to failure or to be among the majority of businesses – those that do little better than breaking even and covering their expenses.

In the presence of a prospective customer, the Confident Salesperson takes on the aura of a professional. As is the case with any true professional, he understands that he deserves to be paid well for the benefits he provides to others.

The bottom line is this; to succeed in a service, retail business, or in life, you must be able to sell your service, product, and yourself effectively. If you do these things consistently well, you will be richly rewarded for your talent and your efforts.

Who’s In Charge Here?

Too many salespeople never come close to reaching their full potential. Many of them rise quickly to a comfort level, achieve their goal for the year, and then suddenly come to a complete standstill.

It doesn’t matter if they reach their goal as early as May, they just can’t seem to do any better than they did the year before. They go on mental cruise control.

They repeat this pattern year after year, and thus never climb out of their comfortable rut. They make mediocrity their personal standard.

Why do most salespeople fail to live up to their full potential both in business and in life? It is because they have failed to accept the fact that they must take full personal responsibility for themselves if they wish to improve.

Conquering the 3 Great Fears.

Before the Confident Salesperson can set off in pursuit of her quest for excellence, she must overcome the 3 great fears that hold back mere ordinary salespeople. They are Fear of Money, Fear of Failure and Fear of Responsibility.

Until she has mastered them, she is destined to remain forever in the ranks of mediocrity. Once she has conquered them, she is free to live her life as she chooses.

Lets look at the three great fears and put them behind us forever! This week, we’ll discuss the Fear of Money. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll discuss the Fear of Failure and the Fear of Responsibility.

Fear Of Money.

Believe it or not, many salespeople are afraid to ask for money. I was giving a seminar in South Carolina last year when I realized that the salespeople I was dealing with were victims of this dreaded affliction.

I devised a simple little exercise where they paired off, and each of them said to the other, “That will be just $3,000 please.” I had trouble deciding if the results were tragic or hilarious!

The first few times we did it, three of the salesmen actually couldn’t get the words out of their mouths. We practiced for half an hour, going up and down in various increments until they could say” $10,000″ just a easily as “Ten bucks.”

By employing this exercise, and then explaining the reasons for their problem, we were able to conquer this long held fear.

Why are some salespeople afraid to ask for money? It may be because they themselves never had enough money to buy the product they are selling.

When this is true, the fact that they are selling a product they themselves could not afford leads them to believe at least subconsciously that other people can’t afford it either.

Frank’s Story.

Frank, a good friend of mine, ran a successful karate school in Southern California. He was located in a middle-to-lower income part of town, but he still had over 170 students, each of whom paid $50 to $60 a month for group tuition.

In addition to this, at least 50 of these clients managed to find an extra $50 per month to pay for private lessons.

One day Frank called to invite me to his wedding. After congratulating him and chatting for a while, I asked him where he was going on his honeymoon.

At this point he grew quiet and confided in me that he did not have enough money for a honeymoon. I asked why he didn’t just upgrade one of his students to the Black Belt course that usually sold for around $2,500.

(This would allow the student to take lessons for some three to four years with no additional fees, thus saving a good deal of money.)

At the same time, Frank would have $2,500 in cash to enjoy while he was on his honeymoon.

He said that he had tried this approach, but people in his area simply could not afford the $2,500 fee for the course. I told him I could help him if he would dedicate an hour of his time to me.

The next day, the first thing I noticed as I walked across the parking lot and entered his school was a Mercedes coupe. In it sat a young boy wearing a karate uniform. Then I noticed that one of the parents waiting in the lobby was wearing a gold Rolex watch.

When class ended a few minutes later, Frank and I sat down in his office and I pointed out that his poor students’ parents could afford a Mercedes and a Rolex. He assured me these two people were exceptions to the general rule, and that most of his students were indeed from lower income families.

I decided to let it go for a while and began to ask him some questions. First, I asked if he really believed karate lessons could help someone improve their life. He responded passionately that they could.

Next, I asked why one or two of the 50 or so students who paid him $50 a month for private lessons could not afford to pay $2,500 and never have to pay for a lesson again. He replied that it was just too expensive. I then asked if he thought it was too expensive.

He thought briefly and then said that he could not have afforded that much money when he was paying for karate lessons.

I had unearthed problem number one; he was assuming by projection that his students shared his financial problems. Because he could not come up with $2500 in cash, he automatically ascribed the same difficulty to them.

This, of course, was a false assumption!

Then I asked how much he thought his time was worth. He replied that he charged $25 per half hour for a private lesson, and that he believed he was worth every penny. Then I inquired how long it took a private student to reach black belt.

To this he replied,” About four years.” I pointed out that $100 a month for four years came to almost $5,000, and if he sold a student a prepaid black belt program he would save that student almost $2,500 over the course of study.

This savings meant that if the student stayed with the program all the way to black belt rank (only 1 in 50 does so) he would be paying about $10 per private lesson, rather than the $25 he was currently paying.

When I asked Frank if he thought that was a good deal, he replied that he thought it was a great deal! Maybe too cheap!

I reminded Frank that, because only one in five completed the program, he stood a good chance of making considerably more than $10 per lesson. He glowed with delight at the improved prospect. Problem number two was solved.

Frank had been focusing on the cost of the program instead of the actual savings and benefits to his students would receive. As soon as he realized his error, he saw the whole matter in a different light.

Now that he was focused on a program that saved his students a considerable sum, instead of worrying about the overall cost, he began to approach his students with new zeal and quickly sold the cash program to several students before his wedding day arrived.

This story is repeated a thousand times a day across the country by countless salespersons selling cars, shoes, paper, information and other products and services. Salespeople too often place a mental barrier on themselves, and in doing so, thwart their own efforts to obtain the success they deserve.

In my work with the PGA I have found that despite the fact golf professionals are working with some of the most affluent individuals in the country, many of them are desperately afraid of asking for money.

In this case, it’s not because they don’t make decent money themselves but because they don’t want to be thought of as salesperson. What they don’t seem to appreciate is that 90% of the people they deal with are businessmen or former businessmen. They won’t be offended by being asked for money. They expect it!

According to the National Golf Foundation, 86% of the golfers in this country would spend more money on green fees, play more often, drink more beer in the clubhouse and buy more clothes if ONLY they played better!

The same report also points out that, of the people surveyed, only 13% actually took a lesson from a golf professional in the preceding year!

If that’s not a market waiting to happen I don’t know what is, but you have to ask for the sale in order to get it!

Overcoming Fear of Money.

It’s OK to make money selling!

The more people you help by providing your product or service, the more money you deserve to make. You don’t become a better golfer by thinking about taking a lesson. You have to actually take one!

Whether or not you can afford to buy your product does not mean that others can’t and won’t. Whether or not you think it’s expensive doesn’t matter at all. Put your personal thoughts and prejudices behind you.

Let your customers decide whether or not they will spend their money, but make sure you give them the opportunity.

A real estate short sale occurs when a property owner sells their property for less than the mortgage amount owed to their lender(s). On the surface, this may seem like only the borrower benefits from such a transaction. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Note:  See our “Are You a Short Sale Candidate” to find out if you or someone you know are short sale candidates.

 For discussion purposes we are going to assume a homeowner is a short sale candidate.

 For the homeowner, a short sale makes it possible to sell their home for less than the total amount owed. The sale of the property releases the homeowner from their debts and obligations without having to file bankruptcy or endure foreclosure. The homeowner is able to save their credit, regain their dignity and their peace of mind. Lastly, the homeowner will be closer to rediscovering the American dream of homeownership because they are able to amicably resolve their lender(s)’ concerns.

 For the lender(s), a short sale can be less costly than foreclosure and can provide an acceptable hedge against future price declines within the market. Also, for lenders that have become insolvent and need to liquidate assets, a short sale is a way to quickly raise capital when compared to the foreclosure option – a process that could take a year or more to accomplish. Lastly, for lender(s), a short sale means a guaranteed loss now as opposed to an uncertain loss in the future. This may be in many instantances a much larger loss.

 For the investor buyer, a short sale offers them the opportunity to “Buy a property for as much as 40% or more below market value.” This discount means that they are able to make substantial profits.

 For the home buyer, a short sale offers them the opportunity to buy a more affordable home. For some, this is the only way to experience the American dream and obtain homeownership, as the lower price relates to a lower and more affordable monthly mortgage payment.

 For the Realtor or consultant, a short sale provides the opportunity to earn a fee or commission for helping a struggling homeowner. In many down markets short sales are the only viable option for continued real estate sales. During difficult economic times and recessions, one or two extra sales per month may be the difference between earning a living or looking for another job. Those extra sales each month can come from negotiating a short sale.

 If you are a Property Owner and realize the benefit of negotiating a short sale for your property instead of facing foreclosure or bankruptcy, then we encourage you to Become a Property Owner Member today!

 If you are a Realtor and realize the benefit of being able to negotiate short sales, sell discounted properties, and increase your ability to take future listings, then Become a Realtor Member today!

 If you are an Investor and realize the benefit of having access to a step-by-step system that teaches you how to successfully negotiate and purchase properties, discounted up to 40% or more below market value, then Become an Investor Member today!

 We offer dozens more free articles on our site as well as the Internet’s first step-by-step, “how to” guide that walks everyday people as well as seasoned professionals through successfully negotiating their very own real estate short sales – and at a price you can afford.