Quantitative Intuition: It’s Not Counterintuitive (Nor an Oxymoron)
Katrina Lamb | June 5th, 2009Filed under: Managers View, Modelers Mechanics | Tags: application of quantitative methods to marketing and sales problems, consumer goods, David Mayer, demand markets, empathy, Eric Beinhocker, Harvard Business Review, Herbert Greenberg, market awareness, marketing, quantitative methods, quantitative methods in marketing, sales excellence, The Origin of Wealth, What Makes a Great Salesperson | 1 Comment »
Think of the best salesperson you know: if you’re fortunate, perhaps someone in your company or, less happily, in a competitor’s firm. What are the qualities that make this person excel at the job of sales? In a classic Harvard Business Review article “What Makes a Great Salesperson” (July-August 1964) David Mayer and Herbert Greenberg likened a star salesperson to a heat-seeking missile: “Sensing what customers are feeling, they [the sales stars] are able to change pace, double back on the track, and make whatever creative modifications might be necessary to home in on the target and close the sale.” Whereas most of us have intuitive abilities to a greater or lesser extent, excellent salespeople lever this intuition with strong empathy skills (sensing what the customer’s needs are) and the relentless personal drive necessary to cross the finish line. If they could, managers would bottle this elusive elixir of talents and have all their salespeople drink it, every morning of every day. Read the rest of this entry »