Alison Hartley

When talking to professional or commercial service firms about business development, more often than not I hear folk saying “there are some people I would not put in front of clients.” I usually explore this because I believe some assumptions can be wrong when it comes to selling. For example, it’s often cited that ‘shy’ or more reserved characters will be unable to do business development.

In fact, this need not be the case. At PACE we talk about building the motivation to buy, rather than any sort of pushy selling. To do this, you need to truly understand your clients so you can offer the most tailored and valuable advice. You need to be able to ask questions and listen carefully. I find that often it’s the ‘shy’ or reserved folk who are more inclined to do this. They don’t have a need to be the centre of attention, or to share their expertise (at length..) to prove their worth.

What doesn’t work is someone who knows it all, and who thinks that arguing with clients displays competence. Generally it just displays arrogance. A quiet self-assurance can be reassuring to others, and allow them to speak. I suppose it’s the good old 80/20 rule. The 20 percent at the extremes of shyness or extroversion will find showing interest in others very difficult. Those of us somewhere along the continuum can learn skills and behaviours which complement our technical expertise, and motivate potential clients to want to work with us.