Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

“Salespeople are born, not made”- true or false statement?

According to a Harvard Business Review article by Steve W. Martin, 70 percent of top salespeople are born with natural instincts that make them successful, and the other 30 percent are self-made and must learn to be successful without natural sales instincts. Martin goes on to state that for every 100 people who enter into a sales job without natural sales traits, 40 percent will fail or quit, 40 percent will perform at an average level, and only 20 percent will perform at an above average level.

Natural instincts or not, born salesperson or self-made salesperson, success comes down to one thing…how much do you want it? Successful salespeople are successful because they work continually on eliminating the most common reasons for failure. When a sales person fails or quits it can normally be attributed to one or more of the following damaging behaviors:

Researched and Edited by Jeffrey Meyers

If you’re a baseball fan, then you’re likely very excited at this time of year. Pitchers and catchers have reported to their team’s spring training facilities to prepare for the coming 6-month season, and position players are starting full-blown practices and workouts. Before long, exhibition games will give way to the official opening day in April. If there’s a central theme for Spring Training, it’s talent management.