Why Narcissists are Drawn to A Career in Sales
Sales! Sell More... What's it all About?
Have you ever thought a narcissist was acting like a sales representative? And vice versa, the most recent sales rep you met, seemed to have a lot of similarities to a narcissist. Is there a correlation? Great Question.
Sales is at the heart of every successful company. In order for a company to be successful it needs salespersons (or sales representatives) who will be able to sell a product or service, repeatedly. Sales reps are typically commissioned agents, so their motivation is to obtain a sale.
According to an article, most salespeople, are either sociopathic or narcissistic, surprised? Intrigued? You are in the right place. The following contains reasons why narcissists in particular are drawn to careers in sales, followed by the interpretation.
Table of Contents
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They Appear to Be Your Best Friend
Have you ever met a salesperson you didn’t like? (Well, most of us actually!) Salespersons come across as friendly, likeable and you guessed it, charismatic. They want to win you over with an eventual sale. They are also full of charm, even wit, and are known to crack a funny joke to build rapport.
Interpreted: The Salesperson is an actor, just like the narcissist. They act in a certain way to win your favor. They will act like they are your life-long friend only if it will get them what they want.
They Don't Take 'No' Easily
Typically, in the sales industry many customers will say no, or ‘they need more information’ or have a question about the product or service. Some customers may say ‘they are not interested’ right up front.
A salesperson will not only have a quick response (since they are prepared for the customer to say no) but they will have a smooth transition back into reselling while overcoming the customer’s objection. But, they don’t stop at the first No – they try to overcome, and will do this several times, 2, 3, 84 times.
Interpreted: Have you ever told a narcissist, no? It’s as if this word is not in their vocabulary as the narcissist will resell you on how good they are or how caring they are, but it’s just a game to win.
They Resell From a Different Angle
A salesperson is like a chameleon, if the first approach to sell you a product or service did not work with you completing a purchase, they will try to resell from a different angle.
They may try to incorporate not just different benefits, but they may step down the path to deceptive measures, like mirroring your speech, and appearing to have interest in the same things you do to try to obtain the sale.
Interpreted: A narcissist will love-bomb from a different angle or flatter with new words, instead of them pointing out how great your shoes are, they will say your shirt looks nice. Just like a salesperson, a narcissist will try to make the other party feel good, but the words lack merit and are geared to obtain results only.
They are Engaging
People do not like to be talked at, but prefer to have engaging conversations where both parties are able to establish a connection on mutual terms.
The narcissist salesperson is not only persuasive in their techniques to try to get you to make the purchase, but they will wear the outfit of engaging with you and acting interested in what you have to say and share, but they really only care about the final results of making the sale.
Interpreted: A narcissist will wear the hat of whatever is needed at the time in order to win.
They Follow Up
Even if you told the salesperson No, to them, it just means they will try to contact you at some time in the future to try to reconnect with you to resell you then. They wish to remain in contact, so that one day you may make a purchase from them. The salesperson has mastered the art of following up and keeping record of contacts.
Interpreted: A narcissist will always seek supply. While you may not be their supply for the day, if you say no, but they hope you will be supply one day in the future. So they will keep in touch, and will follow up with you even years later to “just say hello”.
Note: Not all sales representatives are narcissists, and all narcissist are not sales representatives.
And, being in sales is not a bad thing or skill to have. It’s when the art of sales is not operated with integrity – that is important to note.
'No' Doesn't Mean 'No'
It’s almost like when the word, ‘No’ is uttered during the sales presentation, the salesperson becomes unable to hear it. It’s not acknowledged, the salesperson immediately goes into the reselling mindset. They ignore words that do not mesh with their desired final outcome.
With this also comes, the relentless passion or drive or pursuit for them to try to win you over. They will talk to you as long as the conversation remains to be moving forward toward the outcome they wish to have.
They will sell, and resell, and then sell again from angle #3 to keep you engaged, to keep you talking and sharing, and to try to continue to build rapport with you so the sale is eventually made.
To a salesperson, the word ‘no’ is just an opportunity to keep going. ‘No’ doesn’t really mean anything, they will keep on moving forward.
Interpreted: When a narcissist is told the word no, they somehow can’t hear it and instead they revert to modifying their behavior to get you to do what they want to you to do.
You have not met a true salesperson until you have been sold a pen. Salespersons have perfected the art of sales. They learn persuasion, (which is manipulation), they learn mirroring (this is deception), they learn to say what you want to hear, (this means they will lie to you to get you to complete the transaction).
Interpreted: A narcissist, will go to any length to accomplish a mission if they can benefit from it, which means it is not past them to be deceptive or operate with manipulation.
They Overstep Boundaries
A salesperson is deliberately not keen to the boundaries others have, in fact, they try to read through them, with the intention that they just need to point out different benefits of the product/service in a new way and then the customer will purchase.
Many salespersons deliberately overstep boundaries and they justify their actions if they obtain the sale. They view a boundary as an opportunity to keep going, just like a narcissist.
Interpreted: Personal boundaries with a narcissist do not exist. If they find you have put up a wall to prevent them moving forward, they will jump over the wall, then laugh at you while in your front yard. A narcissist oversteps boundaries, often, frequently and sees them as challenges to overstep.
Can Lie With Ease
Have you ever tried to purchase something and the salesperson presented the item and it just seemed too good to be true? Perhaps so.
Many salespersons will stretch the truth, or may even make false claims in order to obtain the sale. They are not interested in you actually liking the product or service, they are after how they can benefit from the transaction.
Salespersons are known for lying with ease about an item.
Interpreted: Narcissists are known for being Pathological Liars
They Appear to Have Your Best Interest at Heart
A salesperson will attempt to view the product or service in the best light and how it can be implemented into your life and how you need the very product. So, the salesperson, will use a variety to tactics to give you the impression that they are thinking of you, they pretend to have empathy or may even share stories that are geared to give the impression the product/service will benefit you.
Interpreted: Narcissists are Known for Being “Masters of Disguise” and will change who they are to win you over.
They Will Drop you after your 45th Attempt to Say No
One of the fastest ways to detect you may be dealing with a narcissist salesperson, is how they treat you after your final ‘no’. This is where the hard discard occurs – watch to see how they transform from being likeable and engaging with you to disrespectful behavior.
Interpreted: There are three stages in the cycle with a narcissist. The Discard Stage is depicted here in that once the narcissist has reached a certain point, the discard phase begins.
Related: Do Boundaries Really Work with Narcissists? Learn Effective Strategies
Related: Why Narcissists Struggle with Empathy: Understanding the Science Behind their Behavior
Related: Understanding Why Narcissists Create Chaos
Related: You Must Protect Yourself from Their Emotional Manipulation, Learn Strategies
They Don't Care if Final Product Delivers
Typically a salesperson gets paid from the transaction and if there is a complaint on the back end, it may go to the customer service team to handle. The salesperson on the front end of the transaction does not care if the final product delivered on the expectations presented during the initial presentation. Their accountability is removed from it as another party is responsible to handle customer complaints.
Interpreted: Narcissists in real life, do not believe they have to deliver on what they sold to you – this goes also for interpersonal relationships. They told you wonderful things in the love-bombing stage, but they had no intention of delivering on it, nor being held accountable for it.
They Use Your Words Against You
Any objection to the product or service, the salesperson will listen for opportunities from what you have shared and used it to try to resell you. They are using your very words against you, but keep in mind, they do it using the rapport they have built, their charisma and charm and with a smile on their face.
Interpreted: Narcissists will only listen to you to extract information that they can use against you, not only in the present, but they save and deposit the information you tell them and retrieve it years later even and will use it against you.
Is there a Correlation?
Narcissists are drawn to the career of sales for many reasons, not only because the same life skills of deception and manipulation that they use interpersonally, but now these skills are used professionally just under different titles. For example, using your words against you becomes reselling benefits with a smile.
Narcissists choose careers in sales because it helps them to be master of their trade – and the trade is deception.
A career in sales for a narcissist means what they do in the dark, they can now do in the daytime.
Are you seeing the similarities between the tactics a narcissist uses in real life to the tactics a salesperson uses? Drop us a comment and let us know your experience!