Selling as an introvert can feel like a real challenge.
It often feels SO unnatural and uncomfortable to “have a sales conversation.”
And don’t even get me started on things like cold calling/emailing and making small talk. Ew, David.
Although I’m extremely extroverted, I find myself having introverted moments in business that make me want to bang my head against a wall.
In fact, for the longest time I thought that running my own business wasn’t for me because I couldn’t, for the life of me, feel enthusiastic about the fact that I have to “show up every day” and “sell my services” to people I didn’t even know.
Even the word “sales” sounded super sleazy and uncomfortable to me.
And then I went through mindset shifts that helped me realize that, as an extrovert with introvert moments, I was actually great at sales.
Changing my relationship with sales transformed my business.
This is why I’m sharing these 5 sales strategies for introverts with you — it’s what I wish I’d known when I got started!
5 Top Sales Tips for Introverts
1. Use Your Listening Skills
You may have thought that being an introvert puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to sales, but it’s actually the exact opposite.
Being an introvert typically means that you prefer to listen instead of speak.
You like hearing what your prospects have to say and you don’t interrupt the conversation to share your own thoughts or opinions.
At the same time, you don’t just space out when other people talk. You practice active listening, staying present in the conversation and gathering useful information about your prospects.
Being a great listener is a powerful sales quality.
It allows you to gather useful information about what your leads struggle with, what they want, and how you can help them.
It also makes you REALLY great at market research, which is essential to craft a truly compelling message when you’re creating things like your sales page or email funnel.
You don’t have to become an extrovert to sell.
It’s not a requirement.
You don’t have to talk talk talk — it’s actually never a great idea to talk over your lead.
Instead of pushing yourself to be someone you’re not, structure your sales cycle/process in a way that works for YOU and lean into your natural tendencies and skills.
2. Realize That Selling Is a Good Thing
This may be my favorite sales tip for introverts…ready?!
This doesn’t necessarily only apply to introverted people. But many introverts tend to think that selling is a bad thing because, ultimately, you’re doing it to make money.
It’s what makes sales feel sleazy, right?
That feeling that you’re not being genuine when you’re selling your service or product because you — shocker — want to get paid for it.
Here’s the thing.
You are helping your clients by selling them your service or product. NOT hurting them.
This mindset shift really helped me stop seeing sales as something bad that I had to do to run my business and embrace it as something that I genuinely WANTED to do.
If your offer can make a real difference in someone’s life or business, making them realize that and convincing them to invest in it is actually a great thing!
Ultimately, selling is about making your leads recognize how your service or product can help them and giving them the support to make an informed decision.
(Of course, to apply this mindset shift you have to genuinely believe that you have a good offer that people will actually benefit from.)
3. Have a Clear Agenda
Nervous about hopping on a call with a lead?
Have an agenda so you don’t feel like you have to improvise on the spot.
For introverts, it can feel hard — or, should I say, impossible — to come up with things without having some time to brainstorm first.
Plus, having a 30-minute conversation with someone you don’t really know can spark anxiety, which definitely doesn’t make it easier to have the gift of gab.
Before you start that Zoom meeting, prep for your call by jotting down an agenda.
Sometimes I like to outline different “phases” of my calls — get to know each other, ask about the lead’s project, explain my process, talk about the timeline, etc — and any specific points I want to mention during our meeting.
Putting it all on paper (or, well, ClickUp) makes me feel much calmer — plus, it allows me to keep the call organized.
The coolest thing about this sales strategy for introverts is that I sometimes don’t even need to refer back to my agenda.
Knowing that it’s there already makes me feel much more confident! 😎
4. Focus on Building Quality Relationships
You may be associating sales with talking to a ton of people all the time and creating ingenious, transactional connections for the sake of “networking.”
Stats like “95% of professionals consider face-to-face communication vital to long-term business” can understandably make introverts feel…well, worried!
If you know that networking is important but can think of few things worse than attending huge events and being forced to make small talk with random people, here’s a sales strategy for introverts that works…
…and prioritizes quality over quantity.
Focus on building a few genuine relationships with professionals in a complementary niche.
For example, as a copywriter, I’m a big fan of partnerships with designers.
Find a couple of service providers that complement the services you offer and build high-quality relationships with them so they start referring potential clients to you.
You don’t need to know a million people to get prospects talking to you.
You only need a couple high-quality relationships…and last time I checked, building genuine relationships was something that introverts were excellent at!
Similarly, you don’t need to be going to five different networking events every week.
Find one or two groups or communities and really invest your time and effort into building long-lasting relationships with people in them.
In sales and elsewhere, quality > quantity.
5. Invest in Your Copywriting
This is a great sales strategy for introverts AND extroverts.
When it comes to sales, your copy can do major legwork for you.
If you have high-converting copy on your website, sales pages, and marketing channels (such as your email and social media), you won’t need to do as much work during a sales call…
…because your leads will already be sold on working with you before they even hop on that Zoom.
If you show your leads that you understand the problem they have AND have a genuinely functional and awesome solution for it with your copy, they’ll get on a call with you already excited to take the next step.
Want to WOW your leads with strong copy but don’t have the time to DIY or are just bad with words? Check out my copywriting services!
Sales for Introverts: Final Thoughts
I saved my biggest tip for dessert…👀
Remember that you get to structure your sales process in a way that works for YOU.
Don’t like getting on a ton of calls? Use alternatives like Loom to communicate with clients.
Not into in-person networking events? Network online in your sweatpants with a bowl of cereal by your side.
Cold emailing is not your thing? Build a small — but solid — referral network.
Your business, your rules. 😎
Looking for more tips on all things business strategy and copywriting? Join my email list!
