Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2015 | Page 66

GROWING YOUR SYSTEM

It’s closing time
Debunking Sales Myths
The truth about top sales performers

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BY STEVE OLSON

n my 30-plus years in franchising I
have often wondered: What is the
“DNA” of a franchise sales superstar? Is it a natural selling talent fueled
by tremendous drive? Is it pure luck
based on representing today’s hottest
franchise? Are service brands easier to
sell than food brands?
After much pondering, I enlisted Rebecca Monet, president and chief scientist
of Zoracle Profiles, to help shed some
light on my questions. We all know that
making the right hire for your brand can
catapult growth—and that poor to mediocre hires cost many thousands in lost
time, marketing dollars, and royalties.
For our research project, 40 seasoned,
successful sales professionals were invited
to participate in an emotional and social
intelligence assessment that has an 87 percent accuracy rating. Some findings were
as expected. However, research revealed
substantial differences that set food, service, retail, non-retail, single-unit, and
multi-unit sales people apart from one
other. Franchise sales professionals are
not a “one-size-fits-all concepts” species.
Let’s start by addressing three common
franchise sales myths.
• Myth 1 – Successful sales people
are outgoing and “people persons.” Fact:
Top-performing franchise recruiters are
not extroverts or people-oriented. They
are project- and task-oriented. They are
true Director-Thinker types. This flies
in opposition to what many have been
taught. The assumption that one is more
influential when sociable or extroverted
is a logical fallacy. There are numerous
examples of introverts who were or are
highly influential and excellent sales
people, including Bill Gates, Dwight
Eisenhower, Jack Welch, Ray Kroc, Sam
Walton, and Andrew Carnegie. In our research, top-performer sales professionals
scored 20.7 percent higher in relationship management (a social intelligence
marker) than mid-performers; this while
scoring 54 percent lower in extroversion.
Our research also showed that top-per-

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forming franchise sales professionals a