Why You Need More Sales Sharks on your Team

The Sales Shark (Chondrichthyes Venditatio)

Here's to the sales shark. The Persistent. The Hunters. The Closers. The ones who smell that drop of blood that says yes in the face of hundreds of nos. A shark sees things differently. The sales shark plays by a different set of sales rules. You can ridicule them, you can be annoyed by their persistence, you can attribute stereotypes of mindlessness and greed to them, but you can't ignore them. Because they sell things. They push your bottom line forward. They are the movers and the shakers who make things happen. The shark gets things done.

The shark is not a used car salesman stereotype. They aren't trying to put one over on you. They believe strongly in the products and services they're trying to sell. The shark is not a liar. Make no mistake, the shark wants to sell to you many times over a lifetime, not just once. You vilify them as greedy? A shark is motivated and strives to be the best. They crave success. In our world that success is rewarded with money.

The shark is not a dumb animal lurking in the mud waiting to devour you. The sales shark is quick. Ready with answers. Prepared to overcome objections. Their brains are wired differently. Where most see rejection they see opportunity. When many salespeople let the door close, they put their foot in it and ask one more question.

The sales shark is the biggest bad-ass in the sales kingdom. The great white shark of sales.

So, think what you will of the sales shark, but you need them on your team. You need the closer who is focused on the win. You need the hunter who is always thinking about the next big deal. You need the person willing to make thousands of sales calls and shake hundreds of hands. You need the persistent salesperson who isn't willing to take no for an answer. These are the achievers, these are the goal exceeders, these are the revenue drivers.

Where the stereotype of them them is aggressive, loud, arrogant, and unorganized, we see see skilled tacticians. Ferocious practitioners of an ancient craft. And while some may see them as dumb sales people. We see the genius. Because the people who are dumb enough to think they can sell to anyone, are the ones who do.

So here's to the ferocious salesperson. Always swimming, always closing. #salessharkweek

*special thanks to Lee Clow, Ken Segall, Craig Tanimoto, and Steve Jobs (one of the greatest sales sharks) for the inspiration.