Do you have the personality of a successful salesperson? To find out, answer the four questions below, with marks of 1 for strongly disagree through to 7 for strongly agree. Then add up your scores:
1) I am the life of the party
2) I talk a lot
3) I don’t stay in the background
4) I talk to a lot of different people at parties
If you scored 23 or higher, then you are an extrovert. If you scored 14 or lower, you are likely to be an introvert. If you scored somewhere in the middle with 15 to 22 then you are an ambivert (ie, in between). So, do you have the personality of a salesman?
You might think extroverts would make the best salespeople. But if so, then you would be wrong. A 2013 study of call centre workers in the United States found that ambiverts actually brought in the most money – an impressive average of $155 per hour – as opposed to $125 for extroverts and $120 for introverts. Ambiverts offer the best of both worlds: like extroverts, they are assertive and enthusiastic, but are less likely to come across as overconfident or overexcited, which can put customers off.
For a fully referenced version of this article, go to benambridge.com. Fancy some more quizzes? Order Psy-Q by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, £8.99), or £6.99 from bookshop.theguardian.com
