MAR4400

1. Nicole Hartman
MAR4400
Presentation 1
18 May 2018
Characteristics of a Successful Salesman: 1961 vs Now
What makes a good salesman? What makes a person be able to sell? What keeps him
selling? What knowledge does he need to encompass? What do we as a company need to do to
make sure he stays and succeeds? These are all questions that business’s have asked at one point
or another. So, what are the answers to these questions? Are there answers? Well Robert N.
McMurry has done some research for businesses and he had some answers.
I absolutely agree with the findings of Mr. McMurry and I find they are still applicable in
today’s professional selling environment. McMurry states his basic theory is that a good
salesman must have at least two basic qualities, however I believe there are three. I believe
having empathy, ego drive, and a balance between both are essential to being successful in sales.
I believe these are necessary for three reasons: reason number 1: buyer’s satisfaction is 63%
reliant on psychological attributes which includes but is not limited to: empathy, trust,
dependability, etc., this research alone shows that empathy is an absolute necessity to be
successful in sales; reason number 2: in order to succeed at anything in life a person must have
something that drives them to overcome any obstacle to reach their goal and in sales the best way
to motivate sales is an ego drive because it is everlasting and it takes a lot to push through
failures and overcome objectives and the one thing that can make it through the test of time is a

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strong ego drive; and finally, reason number 3: nothing and no one can be successful without a
good balance.
As I mentioned before, having empathy is important to being successful in sales because
63% of buyer’s satisfaction come from psychological attributes such as empathy. Empathy is
when a person has the ability to feel what other people feel whether you agree with the feelings
or not, it is merely having an understanding and being able to relate. If a person encompasses
good empathy, he/she has the ability to create a sale based on the reactions of the customer,
he/she will be able to read the buyer and understand what they need and how they are feeling
during the sales pitch. Without good empathy a salesperson would most likely just go by the
book and give a basic sales pitch which will not always be successful. Being empathetic can
ensure that each sales pitch is individualized to the buyer and sets the salesman up for success
right out of the gate.
Now having good empathy can set up a salesman for success but to succeed they must
close and they must overcome all objectives and obstacles to close and that takes a drive. This
particularly necessary drive is called an ego drive. This type of drive makes a salesman want and
need to make the sale in a personal or ego way. He must get some fulfillment from making the
sale but he cannot have such a fragile ego that lets a failure break that confidence and drive.
When a person is getting the fulfillment he is desiring for through sales, it pushes him/her harder
to keep obtaining that fulfillment, and it pushes him harder to become better while also giving
him a job satisfaction that keeps him loving his career path and keeps him with the company he
is at. Furthermore, staying in the same company as a salesperson develops your knowledge and
skills within the company which only makes you better at selling.

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Finally, establishing and maintaining a balance between good empathy and a good ego
drive is essential to prospering in such a cut throat profession such as sales. Empathy and ego
drive reinforce each other in the sales world. Someone with a strong ego drive with do whatever
it takes to get that sale which in turn means he will be motivated to utilize every ounce of
empathy he possesses, as McMurry puts it. The more empathy he occupies, the easier it is to
bring that buyer to close on a sale and be satisfied with the purchase. The more satisfaction a
buyer has the easier it is to retain them as a customer, which turns into that customer
recommending you by word of mouth, social media, etc., and ensures they will be back to buy
more and retain customers is essential to sales. Having this strong balance between these two
characteristics will make a salesperson unstoppable.