This article is the first of a 4-part series about the different types of salespeople. In a world of so much information, so many tips and strategies about selling, it’s crucial to understand your unique shape and make-up as a person.
If you can do so, you’ll be clear about how you can grow and develop, and avoid the fads and stop chasing trends that don’t make sense for yourself.
Are you a Knight Salesperson? If you are not sure, you can take a test here, or you can leave your name in the contact form to learn more about yourself.
In this section, we will be looking at the key strengths and challenges Knight salespeople have.
Knight Salespeople tend to be proportionately lower in number in sales, especially if they are self-employed or full commission based.
This is because Knights tend to value stability and predictability in their work, and a large part includes having a salary at the end of the month.
You’ll be surprised that many Knights prefer earning lesser but having a predictable salary rather than have a chance to earn 2x or even 3x more in an uncertain job like sales.
Strengths
However, if Knights manage to overcome the initial fear and apprehension to make the brave step into sales, here are some of their greatest strengths:
1. Professionalism
Knights separate work and play clearly. During work, they are professional and serious in the execution of their tasks. They rarely commit the sin of overfamiliarity with their clients – They are unlikely to joke or play around in a sales appointment. As they say, there’s a time for work and a time for play. This clear divide provides clients that sense of assurance that their issues are well-handled.
2. Attentive to Details
Knights are attentive to details, either with the client’s needs or with the product itself. They rarely miss small details. In dealing with clients, they are thoughtful, noticing small nuances about client indicating subtle preferences. This gives them a heightened sensitivity when engaging clients. Clients at the receiving end of this often feel heard, understood and valued.
Besides this, they can be attentive to product details and facts. Some Knights have a 100 GB memory bank in their head; they can remember hundreds of facts and figures about their products, their organization and other facts related to their industry! They come across as knowledgeable and equipped, often impressing their clients.
3. Highly Reliable
A Knight’s self-esteem is tied to their ability to sell the product, manage clients and do their job properly. The more the clients trust them with bigger projects or a larger quantum deal, the better they feel. It’s not about the money per se, even though Knights enjoy the accumulation of wealth, it’s about the trust that their clients place with them that caused them to feel good.
These three key factors are key strengths that any Knight salesperson. Done right, these strengths can develop into solid reputations that allow them to consistently get referrals. Knights can do well if they craft a referral strategy from the outset to facilitate this to happen more efficiently.
Challenges
However, Knights have certain challenges they need to overcome to live out their potential as salespeople. Here are two things that Knights salespeople have to watch out for:
1. Inflexibility with Change
Knights like certainty in life – and often revert to past successes and their experiences to make today’s decisions. Knight salespeople may join a sales career in a state of flux – full of discomfort and confusion because they do not have the experience to fall back on. In that state, they try to take in as much information from others as possible. This is their discomfort or learning zone.
After a while, they begin to develop personal experiences and build a proven track record that they can put their trust in.
However, in a fast-changing world, this need to rely on experiences may work against them. Whether it’s a new competitor or a new technology that threatens to render them or their product obsolete, Knights often rather revert to the ‘good o days’ methods of making sales rather than embrace the new. For example, Knight salespeople may have an aversion to social media as a marketing tool, that is, until enough of their peers start using it.
This inflexibility causes them to miss out on potential income they can receive by embracing the new and adapting to it faster.
2. Lack Prioritization
While Knights are hard workers and are diligent, they are sometimes unaware of what to focus on. They are likely to ‘fight fires’ and deal with client issues as they come, to ensure they are faithful and responsible. They are needs-driven, basically. As such, they appear to be always busy, running to settle one thing after the next. While this often means they work efficiently, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are working on the right thing.
This inflexibility causes them to miss out on potential income they can receive by embracing the new and adapting to it faster.
2. Lack Prioritization
While Knights are hard workers and are diligent, they are sometimes unaware of what to focus on. They are likely to ‘fight fires’ and deal with client issues as they come, to ensure they are faithful and responsible. They are needs-driven, basically. As such, they appear to be always busy, running to settle one thing after the next. While this often means they work efficiently, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are working on the right thing.
By not focusing on the big picture, they can end up chasing sales, but not considering how they can build up their business in innovative ways. For example, building business assets like websites, social media, sales kits, or thinking of new strategies to prospect higher net worth clients or bigger companies. They may end up working hard, but not getting rewarded adequately for their efforts.
Learn more about Yourself
Are you a Knight salesperson?
Learning about yourself is crucial in your sales career. If not, you’ll end up chasing other people’s success, rather than craft your own path successfully.
To help you achieve that, I’ve developed a program named Self-Mastery for Sales. You can find out more about it here.