Why Outies Go Into Sales (And Why Innies Should)

Guest Blogger: Rich Virgilio, CFO Apexx Behavioral Soultions Group, developer of the "Money Temperament Profile"

First let’s define “Outie” as a person who prefers to spend time and energy interacting with the outer world, engaging others, and is unhesitatingly capable of carrying a whole conversation alone.  An “Innie” is defined as a person who prefers to be introspective, spending time and energy internalizing matters, engaging few or one (or no) people at a time, and are those who often rehearse what they are going to say in their head before saying it out loud, regardless of the importance or triviality of the conversation.  Note that these are preferences of behavior and not some kind of unchangeable characteristic.

 Outies seem, at first glance, to be naturals at sales.  They are outgoing, gregarious, and effective at making contacts, bringing in prospects, and letting the world know about their product.  Conversely, Innies generally tend to undersell themselves.  But the common wisdom of sales training is that the key thing in sales is “closing the sale”--making the deal, collecting the check.  If that’s true, Innies probably have the advantage, because although it is about “selling yourself,” the sales person can’t forget that it’s “selling the product” that brings in revenue. 

Consider, for example, an Outie sales person with an Outie customer.  The salesperson’s poor listening predilection and constant talking may get in the way of closing the deal.  An Innie customer hardly has a chance with an Outie salesperson.  The Innie customer’s point of view will likely be overlooked (steamrolled?) and he or she will be subject to the Outie salesperson’s overkill approach. 

Now consider these situations with a salesperson who’s an Innie.  Outie customers will sell themselves, no sweat.  They will talk themselves into the product and only need some well-timed encouragement and someone to listen to them.  Easy enough.  On the other hand, Innie customers will relate to the Innie salesperson and will appreciate not being pressured; those customers can respond to the reflective moments as a chance to come to their own conclusions.  What’s important is a keen sense of timing and support from the salesperson, not the overwhelming (to an Innie), bold push to the close. 

It takes Outies to advertise something, letting the world know it exists and can be bought.  But Innies may very well be better suited to swoop in for the kill. 

A simple tool to help you determine if you’re an Innie or an Outie can be found at www.myapexx.com/assessments.

Derived from a portion of the book Type Talk by Dr. Otto Kroeger and Dr. Janet Thuesen.