Matthew Pollard, Author of The Quiet and Shy Business, Reveals How Introverts Can Leverage Their Strengths to Gain a Competitive Edge

da8: Thriving as an Introvert in a Noisy World. Insights into Succeeding in Sales and Beyond.

Being an introvert, I always wondered how introverts could thrive in a noisy world. I had the impression that high-profile positions need a certain amount of extroversion. And I was convinced there is no room for introverts, especially not in sales. Do not get me wrong. Introverts are well-respected members of teams and companies. They do the heavy lifting. They build and lead projects and teams. But when it comes to selling their accomplishments or sales in general, they seem unable to reach their full potential, which can substantially affect their career.

To gain insights into how introverts can thrive in sales and all walks of life, I started networking with experts on this topic on LinkedIn. I came across the excellent book "The Introvert's Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone" by Matthew Pollard and bought.

Mathew describes a process of how an introverted person can be more of a consultant to the client than a classical salesperson by establishing trust and providing an agenda, asking probing questions, speaking to the right people, selling with a story,...

Germany on May 26, 2023

Andreas: Do like selling? If it comes to me, I, honestly didn't like it so far. I never knew, why exactly, but I dreaded it. It was exhausting, I needed a lot of preparation each time I was to step in front of a customer. And worst of all, my results were far from optimal.
I knew "sales literature" per se, I attended trainings but while my results were not bad, they were also not good - and I simply hated the process of selling.
And as unrealistic it might sound, The Introverts Edge from Matthew Pollard changed my whole perspective on the topic. Why? Because the book addresses ALL of the pain points of my sales approach. It addresses my introverted nature, it addresses hating the smalltalk, it addresses the long and awkward pricing discussions and many more topics.
Not only are the topics addressed, heartwarming stories underline them. This makes the concepts down-to-earth and easy to remember. Last but not least the book is not only theory and stories - it is packed with actionable items and clear strategies how to be more successful in sales.
While the book title suggests to be a book for introverts, I can only recommend it also for our extroverted colleagues.

Germany on Jan 19, 2022

GarethGareth: I don’t usually leave reviews, however I want to put the message out as to just how good this book is.

As some one who classifies themselves as an introvert, the sales arena can be an intimidating area to work in.

The help and advice that is given in this book is fantastic. I usually read relatively slowly, however I devoured this book.

If you are in sales (or consultant as Matthew Suggests), thinking of getting into the role or simply an introvert that would like to handle general situations better this is the book for you.

I have spent a lot of my life wishing I was more of an extrovert - however, you are what you are and the recognition of this fact allows you to do what you do best - to be natural, authentic and to speak from the heart.

Thank you Matthew.

United Kingdom on Feb 17, 2021

Cliente Amazon: I am an introvert coach. Like many of us, I was looking for a book or a course that helps people like me to find a good selling style or strategy. The market is so plenty of extrovert that I never found something that resonates with me. Then I found Matthew's book and I read. I was so happy that I was the only introvert who experienced the same frustration and challenges in sales processes that this book was a true light in my darkness. This book should be considered a beacon for introverts that run businesses and I mean all kinds of businesses. Small, medium, and big, likewise companies and corporations. The process described in detail is really simple but requires strong capacity of empathy and listening, not to mention the importance of this process in any kind of negotiation. I highly recommend the book to anyone who really wants to improve and implement a great sales strategy.

Italy on Jul 24, 2020

Nick: Like many business owners I was caught up in so many things that I ended up losing direction and was missing the simple things that were right in front for me. I connected with Matthew on linked in after my accountant referred me to him but I'm not much of a reader of books so i was very hesitant and reluctant to "read a book". I actually found this book very easy to read and really enjoyed some of the stories and the whole concept of storey telling and ended up reading it in 4 stints, which for me is very good !
I dont think its a magic bullet or anything that hasn't been done before its just put together in a way that makes you think about your business and products and you end up adjusting your focus and direction and that in itself gives you a new found confidence, well that is how it worked for me anyway. It helped me re focus and make some slight adjustments and I have already seen some good results. It also gave me a new purpose during the COVID lockdown, I decided to "sharpen my axe" so that I had things in place to hit the ground running. I still have plenty to work on so I am expecting some great results in the future.

Australia on Jun 30, 2020

Tom Sales: I spent my career as an instructional designer building training content, selling systems and best practices structures. In the late 80's, I worked for a company that built selling simulators that were ahead of their time. The new-hire sales employee sat in a kiosk where a series of video segments of customers came up on the screen. At the end of each segment 4 options appeared on the screen, and the sales trainee had to select the right choice. If they selected an incorrect option, they got text feedback about why there was still a better choice. Once they made the correct choice, a camera light came on, telling them they had to respond to what the customer had just said on video. This was a painstaking process, but the end product was a seamless, back-and-forth video role play of the traineee selling to 3-4 customer types. The trainee was typically required to take that video back to his or her hiring manager and debrief their performance.

Imagine the pressure on the new hire. They quickly learned the right choices, so they could navigate seamlessly through the choices. But they wanted to put their best foot forward, so they would literally repeat each simulation tens of...

United States on Aug 07, 2018

mattdbergman: As I write this, 74 folks have reviewed Matthew Pollard's extraordinary effort - and 74 folks have rated it five stars. As someone who spends significant time sorting/curating marketing books based on Amazon metrics, I can say with certainty that that's special. Virtually never will a book have that combination of quantity of reviews that are literally all perfect.

But goodness, "The Introvert's Edge" is more than worthy and I'm delighted to add my own five-star review (and I'd give it more stars if I could).

Think folks will look back in a decade and include this work among the handful of titles in the pantheon, that are simply required reading. Here' are the two overarching reasons why:

FIRST, in writing, Mr. Pollard is reaching out and hoping to extend a helping hand to the very many introverts who have terrific business capabilities but continually find - or at least, conclude - that the particular nature of their introverted personalities is a crucial barrier to sales success, a barrier so steep that some may well believe it's fatal for their businesses. Additionally, there are large swaths of outstanding service providers with introverted tendencies who...

United States on Jul 23, 2018