The Introversion vs. Extraversion Debate: Who’s the Better Salesperson?

This is one of the most common questions I’m asked when training professionals on personality and sales. Probably the most popularised of all the Jungian dichotomies, the extraversion and introversion scale is likely something you’ve heard of, spoken about and identified with before.

But what does it actually mean? When we think of an extravert, most of us think of the loudest person in the room. An introvert commonly conjures up an image of the shy or reserved one in a group. At the same time, I often have people saying to me, ‘I think I’m an introvert, but when I’m with my close friends I’m really loud… I don’t get it.’ And that’s because this dichotomy is not simply about how much someone talks.

Before we delve a little further, I should qualify that personality is a big, complex beast that could never be summated in a little article like this one. There are certain elements that can’t be quantified in any personality test; including our values, culture, intelligence, emotional intelligence, life experiences and a number of other things that inevitably affect our behaviour. All tools relating to personality and behavioural profiling will have their limitations, and ultimately we choose our actions so you should never feel restricted by some letters assigned to you in a profile. They can, however, give us some nice insights when we consider them in light of these limits, as one part of a much bigger whole ‘self’.