There are two distinct schools of thought surrounding competitiveness and success. There are those who believe that certain people are born with a natural desire to win, an ability to sell and a gift for connecting with people; while others believe that, to a great extent, competitiveness, salesmanship and connection are a result of conditioning and environmental feedback.
If you are one of the lucky few for which human connection and sales comes naturally, then stop reading now; however, if you are one of the many who have to actively cultivate these skills or cultivates these skills in others, be encouraged!
Conditioning & Culture
As managers, owners and leaders, most of us are charged with the task of nurturing the skills of selling in others. While occasionally, you make a great hire that comes equipped with a knack for closing deals and building relationships, more often, it is the job of business leaders to create a culture of positive reinforcement for sales-building behaviors. What is practiced gets repeated, no matter how awkwardly; helping younger salespeople build a toolbox of dialog through role-playing and experiential coaching is important. Conditioning your staff and business to be a healthy environment for success takes mentorship, leadership and patience.
Conditioning & Competition
Throughout the years, many assertions have been made about sales acumen and the level of competitiveness between individuals – especially when comparing men and women in highly competitive sales driven roles. However, experience has taught us in recent years that when conditioned for confidence, men and women are equally likely to pursue competitive sales environments; the style of competition may vary, but the results are essentially the same. What does that mean for managers and business owners? What you reward gets repeated. You will always have one or two rockstar salespeople on your team who do not require much coaching to hit their goals. Nevertheless, don’t assume that others are incapable just because they might require a different set of incentives or motivation.
If you are operating a small business, a uniform incentive program might not be sufficient to motivate all employees. Tune in to the individual when possible, and understand that in the correct atmosphere, many of your underdogs and shy, quiet types might choose to shine.
Conditioning & Success
Creating a culture that is individually motivating for the various personality types on your team takes flexibility and creativity. It is true that there are certainly introverts among us who are better suited for work that does not require high levels of customer-facing interaction. Introverted personalities notwithstanding, it is reasonable to assert that teams as a whole could be brought to a higher performance standard with general conditioning to the culture and competition style, understanding that we don’t all respond to incentives the same way. Innovative and respondent employee management will allow for the true performers to rise and bring others with them, raising performance and productivity for the entire team.
For more on this topic, I highly recommend: Business Insider article: “How to Condition Yourself to Succeed,” published April 28, 2010; and The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Motives of Everyday Life, by Uri Gneezy and John A. List, published by PublicAffairs, 2013.
