Are Salesmen Made or Born

You will hardly notice this once you'll get married to one..!!

Sales person are good in communication, in convincing and with cool temper.. these are the skills which one can also acquire after proper training. There could be in-born skills in a person but needs training or proper guidance to improve them or to expose them.

it can be acquired.through understanding about expectations of people.from the experience.

Yes Sales Talent can be acquired via a through understanding the customers need and complete product knowledge.

There are different group of people with different kind of attitude and understanding. The power to understand different set of people comes from experience and experience comes from practical world not it's a database that can be mugged up.

Of Course !

Only one's existence is natural while all the abilities can be acquired.Rest to go for salesman profile depends on person's interest.

Salesmen are never born..it is the exposure to one's job, failures, ability to learn..which makes a salesman. So, selling skilss are accquired by trainning, exposure to challenges in jobs.

I am a salesman now, selling sanitary ware. I choose this job is because it easy to find a job as sales and highter pay, the biggest reason is sales work is not boring.Actually, my father is a business man, every minute he was preparing for work, answer the call, bargain and to search the market lastest new. I think he tired. When I had just come out of school, family and I are eager to find a stable civilian job. At the first yesr, I had changed 11 companies! I found clerical work is monotonous, tasteless and colleagues have only just busy chatting.Later, I found a foreign salesman job, I need to keep learning, understand the product, understand the market, the business operations, the customes ,the cultures and even the economic information.

it can be acquired  because nothing is impossible  a human beinig could be be trained  to the utmost level provided  the person have desire

 sales  is no longer an art it's a  science now  with advent of  so many IT infusion. And IT has brought lots of tranparency in sales system especially in data management. Sales is all about logical  n tactical approach to customer or consumer. one just need to understand the behavior of customer or consumer of particular mkt and a/c  plan it's sale.

It's definitely not  a birth trait. It can always be acquired.

yes, it can be acquired..

Its not natural. It is just the level of interest they have in selling. Any job profile done with lot of interest and dedication keeps you on top. If sales is your work then you will automatically develop interest and start performing. But, Yes, there has to be one character in ourselves which is being aggressive and a go getter attitude. That is it...

It grooms like a habit of salesmanship. People starting from a zero level can go to hundred by trying to build the mentality of thinking him/her self a sales person and can realise that by his/her own life in the field. But before that one should follow the basic rules of sale.

All good salesman are good leaders.The fact that leadership is a quality which can be developed over a period of time provided the person has the zeal, passion and practises hard to gain the functional skills required to lead and win.

It is not only about fulfilling sales quota only which is the end result but it is about customer relationship and how much honesty and sincierity you show towards developing and sustaining that relationship.

It is all about creating value chain across each and every channel partners you come across, making everyone win and profit in the long term.

Good salesman are not born, it has got nothing to do with genes.Swami Vivekanandas father was a lawyer yet we count on him as one of the great leaders.

I agree with the point of view that it can be acquired and totally depending upon the mentor.

The salesman is not a born talent. It is rare as a born talent.

Salesman are made by providing them right training, guidance, forcast analysis, projecting, reading human behaviour, expert in communication. Salesman is all about understanding the need of customer, your product, and the best way to convience the customer to use your product than others.

Salesmen are made because if you do not have the knowledge of saleing then it can be learn and learning make person perfect. I was not knowing the saleing skill but when i have joint the marketing with FMCG i learn the selling skill and in two months i become expert in this field so only i say that salesman are made not born.

Dunno which side to vote-  as circumstances and society we live in, helps us develop the talent and thus acquiring certain skills, which we use for our living.

So it can be acquired.

It could be a natural talent for those who believe in re-birth!!

made always..... salesmanship is an ability a man developes through various channels of education, training experience, hance always made not born

The only talent that a human is born with is "capability to learn and adapt".  There is no other "born talent".  You can learn to be a salesman or technician or something else.  It depends on personal interests and the degree to which there will be dedication, will, efforts and application.

I believe skills of being a good salesman can also be acquired. Maybe there are some people who have this talent right from their birth but we shouldn't forget that nowadays institutions giving training on sales are bring out many successful sales personalities who have become successful in their career. Had sales talents being just a matter of birth, these MBA colleges wouldn't have been there.

If salesmen are born and are not upgraded in the fast dynamic global world then the end result wouldn't be encouraging enough for the the companies that want to be competant and consumer friendly that is the reason so many lala companies/kirana shops/traditional pawns shops/jewellery shops etc are loosing out business to more modern consumer/customer oriented outfits. Though standard business formulas are same these have been segmentised with branding building/sales/marketing/logistics/finance etc. & are focused individually thereby honnig these skills more thoroughlly and in detailed manner giving the companies edge over others.

Hence though natural talent helps but it is the upgraded and updated skills that make a winner.

yes i do agree it can be acquired over a period of time,throught training  & field training

i m in 100% agreement with the view. according to me, everyone in this world is a salesperson by birth. the only difference between a good vs. bad salesperson lies in the training. the better the quality of the training the better will be the result.

at birth only, everyone is aware of how to sell him/herself to his mother so that they get feed. likewise,  every part of the life consists of selling something to  other one.

some people take sales as profession some take it as passion but the true part is that without product traning and skills, no one can be a professional in this line.

What I believe is that we all learn some skills from our natural surroundings, like family members, society and from our school or college mates. If we look at successful sales persons, they have few distinctive qualities, like good presentation, smooth and empathetic communication and ability to listen and to influence with his ideas. As a part of society we all are some how connected with all this traits. But all this qualities will be polished once we choose a career path. Supposed you have decided to build your career in sales, and you strive for success, then with time all this traits will be polished and you become successful. Finally, it’s your choice and endeavors that counts, not what you have born with or what you have learn.

A sales person can be taught by you sir. 

very nice thanks for sharing. what an article or discussion indeed.

What is perceived as "natural talent" by many, is in fact acquired consciously or subconsciously right from the time a person is born. Just because nobody witnessed a "talent" being taught, does not mean that it was not learnt, in whichever form of consciousness. A child may not be taught to walk, but eventually learns to stand up and walk. This is because the child observes people around, walking on their two feet. And, some will call it natural talent.

I was an MA in History and was selected as Tour Mnager in 1982 at ITDC.But after few months our CMD realised I have great potential as sales man and put him in Marketing of Ashok Group Hotels,based at Banaglore.
I was one of the best Marketing guy in ITDC till my superannuation.
I would like to mention two aspects.
One is natural flair,and other quick learning attitude.
Always sales man  feels he is the best and think no one can teach.This is where the problem comes.
I personally feel that a sales person can be sharpened to hight with occassional training,otherwise his shelf life will be limited

"Nobody is Born" with anything..... when a Child is born we in the family teach the every aspect of everyday life to him. Now to justify the statement of 'ONE Being' a "Born Salesman" is very eluding because when you say somebody was BORN with certain Skill Set means that before selling for the first time that person didnt learn about it........................

This is what is very perplexing as everybody knows the learning is not just the textual learning but also the practical learning which is learned behaviorally...... if you a BORN SALESMAN believe me that's where you are learning from...................................... 'Behaviorally'

However if you are just 'Salesman' you still have got the knowledge from somewhere...... maybe it has been derived by you from your family,may be your own interest or a professional B-school........ the knowledge might have been forced on to you as well....lol..... but still if you are aware of something it has been learnt........ ITS All ABOUT Interest

everythng in the busness is acquired ....only by learning anyone is not born with talent of business from childhood...so how u learn and cultivate your growth with the sales thats more important than born talent.....give me a break..

it can be acquired

certainly one cannot be a genius by birth.one's intelligence depends how they are bought up by thier parents/sorroundings.we have seen so many examples of person becomming talented even he is not so resounding background.if any body is born genius, then, a doctor's son/daughter will automatically become doctor without reading medicine!! can we believe it? becomming genius in any field requires hard working, putting sincere efforts in the work,possitive mindset,good education, ability to learn from mistakes and greatest of all, not to turn back to failures.

The phrase "born salesman" is used to express recognition, in lieu of the achievements, of a sales person. The very idea of a new born with sales capablities is difficult to digest. The character of a new born develops while growing, induced by conscious as well as subconscious learning & retention, while experiencing circumstances during the development of mental faculties. Wit, presence of mind, mental capability to process information, are the results of that gain during the development process. These are charateristics which one experiences, recognises the appeal, then learns and continues to practice. It is a gradual process of character development. Therefore, we consciously or subconsciously have acquired our present mental status, while experiencing multitude of circumstances and instances. If there is an appeal for sales and a keen interest, even that can be further developed.

If you want to look out for a good saleman then look for a person who has few of these qualities in built in them

1. he is people person [ He can practically read you when you walk down to him or by first few small talk with him]
2. A very good listener and always maintain eye contact
3. knows about the product in and out
4. And has one ear on the ground he has insight into the product he sells.

It all comes down to one thing. when you have the passion for this type job then anybody can do this job

I have come across many people who think that they are born with sales talent.  My client has sold many concepts but is unsuccessful.  His tactic is that in the first meeting, he woos the prospect so much that he achieves what he has set out to achieve.  I was shocked to see many mature and very highly placed people fall for him. 

But they would soon realise that his promises are hollow.  A fantastic deal actually worked out, falls out miserably over a period of time. 

Sales is something where the target should believe that the seller is speaking truth and that the seller is interested in genuine needs and interests of the target.  This sale may not be big in terms of quantum but the confidence and relationship built is something which fetches excellent rewards for a long period of time. 

Such capability is neither taught nor is a birth gift.  It comes from being honest.  It comes from understanding the product or service that you sell - very well.  It comes from identifying the right target group for the product or service.  It comes from being open minded at the sales meeting since not all persons and their needs are similar although they are part of a homogenous group.  It comes from a capability to make quick changes in the proposal to suit the target.  It comes from confidence.  Confidence comes from knowledge and experience. 

I DO AGREE SOME ARE BORN WITH SILVER SPOON AND GENES IN THEIR BLOOD

LIKE MARWARIS.BUT OTHERS ARE NOT LUCKY THEY HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE TALENT

THROUGH TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE.

Great Debate guys.....

Honestly we all have become such nice actors like shah rukh khan, Aamir khan...hehe. We know how to act & pretend in different situations bcoz our director (training & manager) has scripted it well........

Majority wise salesmen are not born but made. This is what I understand. This old belief, still persists in certain quarters, is that the ability to get along with people and physical personality are all important, and that the selling ability is something intangible which a person may or may not have but there are great management techniques in developing salesmen, the emphasis being placed on appropriate training and sufficient supervision. And yes selection plays an important role from the training aspect as it would be a waste of good money to train bad material. We cannot see all the qualities at one go....we have to dig & groom them well & we have to make them great actors !!!

Selling skills can be learnt. When one is describing a "born salesman", one is actually describing the competencies that the person has, which range from good listening to excellent interpersonal skills.

Selling is a process, a skill, which, like any other process can be imbibed and learnt. The degree of effect may vary and depends upon the person's own learning abilities. I have seen a number of sales persons who are shy in the beginning but once their enegies are channelised towards selling as a career, they begin to open up and turn into excellent sales persons.

During my training programs, I have come across a number of sales professionals who have entered the sales profession, not having come in close contact with any other sales person in their immediate vicinity( family or close friends). Most of them actually flower into excellent sales personalities 

If person has the capabilities and behaviour, he can acquire the sales skills