Just read The Introverts Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone by Matthew Pollard with Derek Lewis. It’s an absolute must read for entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs of startups and anyone launching, selling or promoting something.
If you’re an expert in your field, people need you, but you also need to sell them on your skills and services. Sales is a separate job, but as anyone who has built an empire can tell you –it’s often the person with the most skin in the game —you that it falls to.
“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” -Henry Ford
Pollard hits the nail on the head on how so many people who excel at what they do would rather focus on just that –skills and services, rather than sales.
Now, this is a health blog and you may wonder why I’m blogging about a how to sell book on it. It’s because people like me, who are seen as extroverts, but in reality are introverts, do experience a lot of anxiety when it comes to promoting themselves, rather than others. We can promote the heck out of someone else, but freeze when it comes to promoting ourselves. It’s the old fight or flight response. This book helps alleviate that.
“In selling as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.” -Jim Cathcart
Somehow, we introverts manage to attract clients effortlessly, but if we fine-tune the process, that success scales beyond unicorn territory.
Pollard steps in with a roadmap tailored precisely to people who don’t attend every networking event because they’re busy getting the job done. Their passion is in the work, not in selling. Yet, they have all the knowledge, so they end up being the best ones to sell it. Their WHY is strong. If you’ve ever met someone truly passionate about their business their face lights up like a Christmas tree when discussing it.
Pollard’s roadmap is based on his own success, after finding that introverts consistently outsold everyone on his own team.
Ironically, the author himself is an introvert, yet in 2014, after moving to the United States and knowing no one outside his girlfriend, he won several government proclamations for his work with small business and was invited to events as one of the most connected people in the city, all within less than a year.
He has transformed over 3,500 struggling businesses into success stories, and has worked with solopreneurs and startups to enterprises such as Microsoft and Capital One. He is the founder of the nationwide Small Business Festival, and has created five multi-million dollar ventures from scratch.
AND he’s a self-procraimed introvert at his core.
Most introverts are so great at their functional skills, they prefer to focus on the work. I’d posit to say Mark Zuckerberg is probably one of these people. Bill Gates too. Many lawyers, consultants electricians are the same.
“Introverts beat their (extroverts) ‘gift of gab’ counterparts, hands down. Contrary to all the myths and beliefs, I discovered that introverts make the best sales people.” -Matthew Pollard
According to Pollard, sales is simply just another skill geniuses and smart people can learn. Extroverts rely more on their personalities. He says introverts have an advantage because they rely on the system, and they’re not deterred by emotion.
So much of what he writes in this book resonates with me. One thing I’ve encountered on social media is being pitched constantly. A huge turn-off for me is when someone immediately pitches me without even establishing any sort of rapport. In his 7-Step System, establishing rapport and trust is at the top.
I have to agree, and I know colleagues will too. I even had to remove names from my Referrals on Linked In, because people I didn’t know were using my name to reach out to people who recommended me asking them for jobs. Since I’ve known these people for decades, they alerted me.
They weren’t even asking for entry-level positions, advice or an internship. No. They jumped right to “Can you get me a producer job on Good Morning America?” and they were often right out of school. To top that off, I didn’t know them. They were simply a social media connection.
They didn’t establish initial rapport with me OR the other person. No one wants to feel used. And that’s the exact feeling you get when someone you don’t know asks for a favor –and a huge one at that. One that has tremendous value encompassing all your knowledge, skills, experience, contacts and hard work.
Pollard talks about his early days and how he learned a lesson the hard way.
“…when I got in front of the business owner, I’d launch straight into my spiel. Without any kind of rapport –without any sort of personal connection –I was just a commodity, a nameless, faceless salesman trying to land a sale…establishing even the slightest connection on a personal level helped make a person’s attitude toward me more positive.”
So true. It made my mind flash back to those people I do respond to professionally on Linked In or Facebook, and it’s those people who do that. They are rare. The majority of people are like people who start working out at the gym without warming up. They end up in pain and ditch going back. Their fitness goals don’t get met. In business, your sale, pitch or promotion doesn’t get results.
Credibility is another biggie. Since introverts don’t self-promote, we as”sume anyone approaching us has done their homework and knows our background and that we’ve worked with the best and achieved results.
Authentic rapport + credibility is what establishes trust. Trust is at the foundation of all relationships, albeit business or personal.
“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” -Zig Zagler
When your intentions are right (and they absolutely should be), you are there to provide a product or service that people actually need or want.
“It (your product or service) should make their lives easier help them solve a problem, make them money, save them money, or in some way truly benefit them.”
“Think of it like going to the doctor. I’m not a medical expert; when something’s wrong, I just know that something’s wrong. I don’t go see the doctor already armed with the knowledge of my treatment plan, the prescriptions I need, and which tests need to be run. I need help, but I lack the expertise to figure out what that looks like…that’s why we pay for experts: Doctors draw on their experience with past patients to identify potential causes and the continue to ask more and more specific questions until they have a pretty good idea of the cause of the pain. Your back pain may actually be kidney trouble. Your weight gain could be indicative of a thyroid problem…”
You, the introvert expert must ask probing questions, so you can tap into all your experience, knowledge and skills to provide their solution.
Henry Ford is regarded as one of the greatest businesspeople and industrialists ever, beating dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of other automobile manufacturers to become a titan. He’s one of the top ten richest people who ever lived in modern history. His secret?
He never stopped improving the process.
I don’t want to give away the entire book here because it’s worth every penny for every introvert in business or person who wants to be in business for themselves or is an introvert closing deals on behalf of a larger corporation. Improving the process step-by-step is exactly what Pollard helps you do.
Best of all…
“The Introverts Edge” by Matthew Pollard is based on you being authentically you. That’s a healthy recipe in business AND life. -Maria Dorfner
“This book will be a game changer for any introvert who hates selling or believes they just can’t do it. You can!” -Neil Patel, New York Times bestselling author
For More Information visit:
http://www.theintrovertsedge.com
You can also join Matthew Pollard and other professionals committed to sales success in The Introvert’s Edge Inner Circle –an online community for introverts.
As a thank you for buying the book, you get a year’s subscription to The Inner Circle providing access to a lot more advice for free at http://www.theintrovertsedge.com/innercircle
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Pollards mission is to bridge the chasm between someone’s struggling dream and a rapid growth business they love. I’d say he’s doing so with this book because he himself has the introvert’s edge: focus, compassion, empathy, understanding and a unique ability to listen intently and thoroughly prepare.
I’m reminded on this historic day of The Royal Wedding how Princess Diana was quiet and shy. Yet, the entire world embraced her as The People’s Princess. There is also a quiet shyness to Prince Harry and Meghan.
Together, they quietly embrace doing great charity work together. In fact, it’s how they fell in love. Helping others. As Rev. Curry so beautifully stated, there is power in love. GREAT power. Congratulations to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex and His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex. You personify The Introvert’s Edge. ~Maria Dorfner
Book Available on Amazon
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TO BOOK AN INTERVIEW with MATTHEW POLLARD CONTACT HIM DIRECT AT:
matthew@matthewpollard.com OR (c) 512-993-5033
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