Sales for Introverts: Stop Winging It and Build a Repeatable System | Matthew Pollard

Being introverted is not a sales disadvantage. Relying on confidence, charisma and improvisation is.

In this episode, Peter Boolkah speaks with Matthew Pollard, bestselling author of The Introvert’s Edge book series, about why introverts can become exceptional salespeople when they replace “winging it” with preparation, storytelling and a repeatable sales process.

Matthew explains why technical experts and highly skilled founders often struggle to sell their value even when they are capable of producing outstanding results for clients.

You’ll discover:

• Why process can outperform charisma in sales
• How preparation reduces anxiety and makes sales conversations less exhausting
• Why founders cannot teach or delegate a sales approach that exists only inside their heads
• How to identify the value you provide beyond your functional expertise
• Why a clearly defined niche makes selling easier
• How stories help customers understand complex products and services
• The difference between being the clearest voice and merely being the loudest
• How to build visibility without constantly living on social media
• Why teams need openness about individual strengths, weaknesses and working styles
• How a repeatable sales system reduces founder dependency

This is not simply an episode about introversion. It is about turning founder-led sales into a process that other people can understand, learn and eventually execute.

CONNECT WITH MATTHEW POLLARD

Website: https://matthewpollard.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpollardspeaker
The Introvert’s Edge: https://theintrovertsedge.com

CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAH

Website: https://www.boolkah.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkah
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Boolkah
X: https://twitter.com/boolkah

ABOUT PETER BOOLKAH

Peter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.

He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.

Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.

His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:

Do you own the business, or does the business own you?

Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com

Transcript

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PETER BOOLKAH [00:11]

It’s said that the majority of introverts cannot sell. Well, during this podcast, we are going to dispel that theory.

I’m Peter Boolkah, and welcome to today’s edition of The Transition Guy.

Joining me today in the studio is Matthew Pollard, author of The Introvert’s Edge. Thank you for joining me today, Matthew.

MATTHEW POLLARD [00:33]

Mate, I am ecstatic to be here, and I’m ecstatic to find out you’re an introvert. It’s great to speak to a kindred spirit.

PETER BOOLKAH [00:40]

There’s a huge stigma around introverts.

In my 20 years in business and working with business owners, I cannot begin to tell you how often I’m told by sales teams—especially in technical sales, where you’ve got engineers and similar specialists—“I cannot sell,” or, “I don’t make a great salesperson.”

Yet, from my experience, many of the technical salespeople I know are probably some of the greatest salespeople out there.

MATTHEW POLLARD [01:09]

Absolutely.

It’s really interesting. I’ve spoken at events for organisations such as Microsoft and Intel, and their whole issue is that they’ve got this outwardly spoken extrovert who does no planning or preparation, and a solution specialist who has been thinking about the meeting for weeks.

Yet the extrovert feels they need to command the room. They keep winging things, and it can actually make the sale worse because they’re not actively listening to what’s happening in the room or to what the solution specialist is trying to do.

Don’t get me wrong: the solution specialist didn’t necessarily come in with the right plan. They just came in with a plan, and we can talk about that.

But it adds to the belief among introverts that they can’t sell. They look at what an extrovert does and say, “I could never do that.” As a matter of fact, it doesn’t necessarily work that well. Even the best extroverts in the business follow planned presentations.

What always interests me is the fact that most people think introversion is something they need to recover from, or that they’re going to succeed despite their crippling introversion.

That’s why I wrote The Introvert’s Edge and created The Introvert’s Edge podcast. I was tired of people thinking that introverts are second-class citizens.

The fact is that we dominate in many of these supposedly extroverted arenas.

We say, “We can’t make small talk.” Well, Oprah Winfrey is an introvert. David Letterman is an introvert.

“We can’t sell.” Zig Ziglar was an introvert.

“We definitely can’t network.” Ivan Misner, the founder of the world’s largest networking organisation, is introverted.

What supposedly extroverted arena is there that we don’t dominate in?

The truth is that there are two groups of people. There are people who realise that introverts need systems and processes to dominate in these supposedly extroverted arenas—and that those systems can actually give them an advantage over extroverts.

Then there are the people who don’t realise that and have to suffer from low performance for the rest of their lives.

It isn’t just about discovering that you need a system. It’s about taking responsibility, considering the possibility that success is achievable and actively doing the work.

I’ve had people read my book and tell me that it changed their lives. I’ll ask, “How are you applying the system?”

They’ll say, “I haven’t yet.”

I’ll ask, “What stories are you telling? Storytelling is at the heart of sales and networking.”

They’ll say, “I haven’t really developed a story yet.”

I’ll ask, “What exactly have you done that has changed your life?”

They’ll say, “Just knowing I can has changed my life.”

No, it hasn’t. It has changed your perspective, but it isn’t changing your life yet.

I hope that by the end of this episode, we can get people not only to believe in themselves but also to identify tangible things they can apply tomorrow and start doing the work.

By the way, if you’re an extroverted CEO or senior leader, I believe you’re probably disenfranchising some of your introverted team members.

You can’t teach what you do if you just wing things. You have to have systems and processes.

All in all, process reigns supreme.

PETER BOOLKAH [03:59]

I agree with that.

It’s something Jack Daly alludes to in his book Hyper Sales Growth. He talks about how the best salespeople are very often introverts.

Anyone can sell. All they need is the system and process through which to sell. Once you’ve got that in place, selling becomes easier.

I think there’s an intimidation factor. Extroverts are gregarious. They put themselves out there and appear self-confident.

Then there’s the person who has probably been introverted throughout their life. This probably goes back to their school days. You know what it’s like at school: the extroverts tend to dominate. It probably goes as far back as that, and that’s where the belief structure begins to form.

MATTHEW POLLARD [04:49]

What interests me is that we often project extroversion onto anybody who is successful.

Hearing me speak right now, people might say, “Maybe you were an introvert in the past, but you’re definitely not now.”

That isn’t true.

Peter, you and I brainstormed for about 30 minutes about exactly what we were going to do before we pressed record today. We both planned and prepared. That’s something introverts are great at.

Secondly, we’re talking about something I’m passionate and knowledgeable about, so I’m not searching inside my head for something to say.

This is also probably my 180th interview, so I’ve had a little practice.

A strong system, planning, preparation and practice allow somebody to dominate—especially when they aren’t winging it.

Extroverts may be better at winging things initially, but they don’t always reach the level of professionalism that an introvert using a system can reach.

Even Jeffrey Gitomer, who is an amazing sales trainer and an extrovert, has said that until he gravitated towards a system, he couldn’t teach what he did to other people.

I went on his Sell or Die podcast, where he usually interviews people for about 20 minutes. We gasbagged for around an hour and a half because there are so many similarities between what makes an extroverted salesperson successful and what makes an introverted salesperson successful.

Extroverts often run from systems for dear life because they like winging things. Introverts need to hold onto a system for dear life. If they don’t know that, they fail.

What gets me is that people don’t lean into this. They look at the people who dominated at school and say, “I can’t do that.”

Whenever someone is successful in the workplace, they say, “That person is an extrovert.”

We were talking about a survey I conducted at the AA-ISP Leadership Summit. You’re talking about some of the best people in the sales profession—senior leaders representing logos you would probably recognise.

I conducted a survey to see how they perceived themselves. Rather than giving them a choice between introvert and extrovert, I left it as an open comment.

Around 20% didn’t know.

If you’re trying to help your sales team and you don’t know whether they are introverted or extroverted, you first need to create a place of emotional safety for them.

If they believe that identifying as an introvert means you won’t give them a strong career trajectory, put them into sales or see them as an equal, why would they admit it?

But if you don’t know, you don’t know how to help both groups of people.

Around 15% of the respondents gave answers that horrified me. They said things such as, “I’m a recovering introvert,” as though they were recovering from a disease, or, “I was introverted, but don’t worry, I’m not introverted anymore.”

You can’t simply change who you are. Introversion is about where you draw your energy from. There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert.

As a matter of fact, as I said, I believe we dominate in many of these supposedly extroverted arenas.

We’ve got to break that psychology, especially among people running their own businesses.

There’s something heroic about somebody having enough talent, skill and belief in themselves to start their own business. It frustrates me when they believe the cards are stacked against them, because it simply isn’t true.

PETER BOOLKAH [08:01]

I think a lot of it stems from the beginning.

As you said earlier, many people don’t know whether they’re introverted. There are some great profiling tools available.

One of my go-to tools for people at the beginning is DiSC. It’s a great tool for communication. We’ve gone as far as putting a free DiSC assessment on our website, so you can complete it and begin to understand yourself.

Unless you understand yourself, you’re never going to understand anybody else.

It’s about leaning into your strengths.

There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. There is something wrong with being introverted, thinking that isn’t normal, looking at everybody else and thinking they’re normal, and then feeling really shitty about yourself.

That isn’t great.

MATTHEW POLLARD [08:46]

No, and I have to admit that I’ve done it myself.

I remember watching a speaker called Dan Waldschmidt. I was speaking at the Selling Power 2.0 Conference, and I saw this guy when I was just starting to speak.

I’m honoured to say that I’ve now won several speaking awards, including Sales Kickoff Speaker of the Year. If you think you can’t speak or sell, hopefully that demonstrates that it isn’t true.

But I remember seeing Dan and thinking, “My gosh, this is the most dynamic speaker I have ever seen.”

I went home thinking, “There’s no way I’m ever going to be like this guy.”

Years later, he asked me why I hadn’t approached him to endorse my first book, The Introvert’s Edge.

I said, “I’m only asking introverted people for endorsements.”

He said, “Mate, I’m an introvert. Why would you think I’m an extrovert?”

I replied, “Because I saw you onstage.”

I had projected extroversion onto him, so I understand why people do it. We have this psychology that tells us we can’t do something.

He had spent years perfecting that art, and I now have too. But my energy levels are still affected by it.

When people think about introversion, they often say, “I can’t still be introverted because I enjoy networking now,” or, “I enjoy sales,” or, “I love public speaking.”

I love all those things too.

When I speak publicly, I now start by telling a story. There is some science behind that. When you tell a story, it activates the reticular activating system in your brain. The storyteller’s and story receiver’s brains synchronise, even in a virtual environment, and it creates artificial rapport.

Introverts have been shown to be amazing at creating deep rapport.

When I go onstage, I start with the same sentence and then say, “Let me tell you about Wendy,” or, “Let me tell you about Alex.”

The moment I start telling a story, I feel at ease. Everybody in the audience feels a little less frightening because I can see that they’re at ease too.

When I go on podcasts, I often tell a story to develop rapport, so people feel as though they have a relationship with me.

Storytelling is at the heart of sales and networking.

I enjoy speaking onstage now. I’ll stay and answer questions, and I’m probably the last person to leave. But when I get home, I feel as though I’ve been skydiving.

To this day, I don’t do Zoom sales calls because they take much more energy from me. I notice the difference.

I do phone calls, follow the same system and have a phenomenal closing rate.

I love sales, but I’ve had to discover and lean into what works for me.

Other introverts need to be on camera because they feel uncomfortable relying only on vocal cues. You have to analyse and lean into what works for you. Everybody is different.

But the one thing I know to be consistent is that when you follow a system and process, it takes less energy. There’s less anxiety beforehand and less negative rumination afterwards.

Introverts can use rumination for continuous improvement if they do it properly. But negative rumination is terrible and tremendously draining.

People who discover a system report that they enjoy these activities more and that they require less energy. They think they’re moving closer to ambiversion, and in some ways they are, but they’re still very much introverted.

Put them into something for which they don’t have a plan or strategy, and they’ll become exhausted again.

PETER BOOLKAH [12:11]

Matthew, I think you’ve identified your unique strengths—or the edges, as you call them in your book.

How can somebody identify their unique strengths and their edge so they can build confidence in their sales approach?

MATTHEW POLLARD [12:30]

I think there are two answers to that question.

As an introvert, I understand that my edge is my ability to plan, prepare, be thoughtful and empathise.

You might say that extroverts aren’t always the best listeners or the most empathetic, so I know I can reign supreme there.

I don’t want this to be considered extrovert-bashing. Extroverts can learn how to listen actively and empathise, just as an introvert can learn a sales or networking system.

The difference—especially inside global organisations—is that HR will send extroverts to active-listening classes, while saying, “Poor Sarah is an introvert. We can’t promote her or put her into sales.”

If you’re a corporation listening to this, you need to redefine introversion so people feel comfortable saying they’re introverted and can lean into the strategies that work for them.

I’ve worked with corporations and career professionals trying to move into senior management. Predominantly, however, my passion is helping introverted service providers.

What I find is that most of them define themselves by their functional skills. They want to discover their edge in sales, but planning and preparation mean removing much of the heavy lifting before you even start.

Let me give you an example.

I worked with a language coach from California who taught children and adults Mandarin. She charged between $50 and $80 an hour for private consultations.

It’s difficult to imagine a more commoditised market. People were moving to California and offering private consultations for $30 or $40 an hour. Because of the global economy, people in China were offering the service for $12 an hour on Craigslist.

Then there was technology: “I’ll teach you Mandarin, Peter, and you teach me English. Neither of us will charge anything.”

She was competing against free.

She came to me for sales advice and asked, “Can you show me how to sell better as an introvert?”

I said, “Yes, but do you see how much more inauthentic that is going to feel? I can show you tactics and strategies, but wouldn’t it be better if the sale were easier?”

We looked at all the clients she had worked with over the years.

I discovered two people whom she had helped with far more than language tuition. They were being relocated to China.

She helped them understand the differences between e-commerce in China and the Western world, the importance of respect and that simply learning the language wasn’t enough.

She taught them to reduce their accents, how to handle a business card and why it mattered so much in China.

More importantly, she helped them understand the difference in building rapport.

Let’s look at the Western world, Peter. If I were trying to sell you something and I was terrible at my job, at the end of 45 minutes I might ask something horrible such as, “Do you want to move forward?”

If you said, “Let me think about it,” and I contacted you a week later and you still wanted to think about it, what would be my chances of getting the sale?

PETER BOOLKAH [15:24]

Very slim.

MATTHEW POLLARD [15:25]

Very slim.

In China, they’re probably going to want to meet you five or six times before they even discuss business. They may want to see you drunk over karaoke once or twice.

But they’re talking about 10- or 20-year deals, rather than transactional 12- or 24-month contracts. They want to know the person’s character.

She helped her clients understand that.

I said, “Wendy, you blow me away with this. You’re doing so much more than your functional skill. What are you doing?”

She replied, “They’re just a few things. I’m just trying to help.”

She didn’t even give them value.

This is what I find: everybody listening has something unique they do. Otherwise, why would customers recommend you, refer you or pay you a premium?

There is always someone cheaper, so they are paying you a premium.

I said, “Wendy, you’re stuck inside your functional skill. Is it fair to assume that, because of the assistance you give these people, they’re going to be more successful in China?”

She said, “Yes. That’s the point.”

I said, “Great. Let’s call you the China Success Coach. Forget about Mandarin education for a second. Let’s create what we’ll call the China Success Intensive.”

She loved the idea, but asked, “Who do I sell it to?”

What she was really asking was, “Which niche should I market to?”

I asked who she thought the ideal client would be.

Like everyone, she went for the easy target: the executive.

That made sense. I moved from Australia to the United States and was terrified—and they speak the same language here.

But I said, “That isn’t your ideal client.”

She said, “Obviously, the companies would pay. They have millions of dollars riding on the executive being successful.”

I replied, “That makes sense, but I don’t think they’re your ideal clients.”

She became frustrated and asked, “Who, then?”

I said, “I think your ideal client is the immigration attorney.”

She looked at me as though I were speaking a foreign language.

I said, “Think about it. These people make between $5,000 and $7,000 for dealing with all the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in organising a visa. That’s their revenue. They might be lucky to make $3,000 in profit after paperwork, bureaucracy, staff, rent and the cost of acquiring the client.”

I suggested offering them $3,000 for a simple introduction.

She began networking with immigration attorneys, and they loved the idea.

They asked, “What do I have to say?”

She said, “All you have to say is: ‘Congratulations. You now have your visa. I just want to double-check, though: are you ready to go to China?’”

The client might respond, “Yes. We’ve found somewhere to live, we’re learning the language, the children are getting pretty good at it and we have the visa. We’re ready.”

The attorney could then say, “There’s much more to it than that. I think you need to speak to the China Success Coach.”

Wendy had been charging between $50 and $80 an hour. She now charged $30,000 for the China Success Intensive.

She paid a $3,000 commission when she closed the deal and made $27,000 from the easiest sale in the world.

That is rapid growth, but it comes from understanding the unique things you do beyond your functional skill.

That’s what gives you the easy sale and the easy introduction.

Then you ask, “What is the higher-level benefit?”

For Wendy, the components were rapport, respect and e-commerce. The higher-level benefit was success in China.

Look at me. I’m a sales trainer, networking coach, branding expert, master practitioner in NLP and introvert specialist.

Who cares?

Nobody does.

They don’t care how difficult those things were to learn or how long it took me.

But when I say I’m the Rapid Growth Guy and specialise in helping introverted service providers achieve rapid growth in a business they love, the simplicity of the message gets me heard in a crowded marketplace.

Think about how much easier selling becomes compared with saying, “I’m a sales and marketing expert.”

People hear “sales” and say, “No, I’m an introvert. I don’t want to sell.” They look at me as though I’m one step above a scam artist, rather than somebody who can help them reach their desired destination.

If I say I’m in marketing, they say, “I need that. How much do you cost?” That’s even more awkward.

Being the Rapid Growth Guy and serving a clearly defined niche transforms everything.

Becoming the China Success Coach and serving her niche made the heavy lifting of sales dissipate.

PETER BOOLKAH [19:02]

I learnt that lesson a long time ago.

You’re the Rapid Growth Guy and I’m The Transition Guy. When you serve a niche, it makes things so much easier.

MATTHEW POLLARD [19:12]

It does.

For introverts specifically, it’s also about passion.

The problem is that introverts often move towards what seems logical or practical.

Think about how much passion and energy I’m putting into this conversation. The reason is that I love what I do.

If you don’t have the same staying power, how can you possibly compete with somebody like me?

Many introverts get trapped in that practical mindset.

I worked with an insurance salesperson. If people sometimes look at a sales trainer as though they’re a scam artist, wait until you try to sell insurance.

He read my networking book and said, “Matt, I love the concept of a unified message. I haven’t developed mine yet. Every time I tell people I’m in insurance, it doesn’t matter whether I’m interested before I’m interesting, as you suggest. After 20 minutes, they ask me what I do. I say I’m in insurance, their eyes explode, and they try to run away. Selling obviously isn’t easy, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

I said, “Let’s lean into your passion.”

He said, “I just want to help everyone.”

That is either fear speaking or an inability to be honest with yourself.

I asked him whom he was really passionate about helping.

He said, “Everyone.”

I asked, “Somebody earning $50,000 or somebody earning $250,000?”

He answered, “The person earning $250,000.”

I asked why.

He said, “They can buy more insurance.”

We weren’t getting anywhere.

I said, “Let’s compare two people. One grows up poor, gets top marks at school and wins a scholarship to Harvard. They now have a C-suite executive job, earn $250,000 a year and manage ten employees.

“The other person dropped out of school, started a business, now has ten employees and earns $250,000. Whom would you rather help?”

He said, “Obviously, the small-business owner.”

I asked why and said, “I could never have studied and got into Harvard like the first person. That’s incredible.”

He replied, “I just feel that the small-business owner deserves it more.”

I asked him to tell me about that.

He opened up about his grandfather, who had started a business and opened a farm. He hustled for years and prioritised his staff.

During the last ten years of his life, he became sick, had to sell the farm and moved into a tiny apartment.

He said, “I watched my grandfather fade away in front of the television and die. I felt that he deserved more than that.”

I asked, “How would it feel to get up every morning and help the hustlers of the world—the people who create something from nothing—and protect them from a second-class retirement?”

He said, “That would be amazing.”

We called him the Hustle Lifeguard.

He had an amazing way of taking high-cash-flow businesses, putting cash flow into insurance products, leveraging the interest and then putting it into investment products.

I was mind-blown by how much he knew. He had developed that knowledge because he was passionate and had studied those products more deeply.

We discussed his passion and his mission to help those people, and that allowed his business to explode.

He would do it for free, and he’s honoured to be paid.

I would do what I do for free. But nobody can continue doing that for very long unless they get paid.

Some introverts say, “I just want to help people. It isn’t about the money.”

You won’t help the world for very long unless you can eat. You have to make money to save the world.

Nick would do it for free. He doesn’t need to, he shouldn’t have to, and he can’t—or he won’t be doing it for very long.

PETER BOOLKAH [22:14]

Exactly.

Most people only say they want to help people because they suck at sales and haven’t learnt how to sell.

We’ve had a few followers through our network ask questions.

Considering that you’re talking heavily about branding, the last couple of examples have involved strong brands.

Building a brand often involves having a strong social-media presence. Can introverted entrepreneurs succeed without constantly putting themselves out there online?

MATTHEW POLLARD [22:46]

That’s a great question, and it brings me back to networking.

I don’t reveal my secret mission until the final chapter of my networking book. If you’re going to pick up the book, I apologise in advance. You might want to stop listening because I’m about to give away the ending.

Some people need to read the final chapter before they’re happy to continue. I’m the opposite: don’t give away the twist.

The twist in my networking book is that I want to show you how to master the networking room so you never have to go back to one.

I believe sales and networking are systems, like anything else. Introverts need systems that allow them to leverage their strengths.

You don’t even need to follow my system. Thousands of other introverts are dominating sales.

I’m on a global list of the top 30 sales professionals, and so are many other introverts I know.

The problem is that they don’t put the word “introvert” on their books, so you project extroversion onto them.

The purpose of networking is to be able to articulate your value.

Most people can’t articulate their value when somebody is politely listening to them in a networking room. What chance do they have online?

They have to be the loudest because they definitely aren’t the clearest.

Once you get your message right—which does not mean talking about your functional skill—you can begin making progress.

When somebody is struggling to persuade people to buy, I’ll ask, “If you met someone in a networking room and they asked what you do, what would you say?”

They’ll either say, “That’s where I get stuck,” which is horrible. If they’ve had a business for five years, how is that possible?

Or you hear an elevator pitch: “I do this for this group of people, even if…”

It is all “I, I, I.” It’s incredibly transactional.

I call that transactional networking: “Do you want to buy from me? What about you? What about you?”

I hate that.

But it’s still better than aimless networking, which many introverts—and plenty of extroverts—do.

Somebody asks what they do, and they say, “Well, my day job is…”

They don’t want to appear promotional, but who wants to speak to somebody who says that? It isn’t inspiring.

I focus on strategic networking.

When somebody in a networking room asks what I do, I don’t say I’m a sales trainer or a marketing specialist.

I say, “Thanks for asking. I’m the Rapid Growth Guy.”

When they ask what that means, I say, “One of the things I love seeing more than anything in the world is an amazing, introverted, service-based business owner with enough talent, skill and belief in themselves to start a business of their own.

“But what I hate seeing is those people becoming trapped on an endless hamster wheel: struggling to find interested people, trying to make the sale and feeling as though customers only care about price. Do you know anybody like that?”

When they say yes, I respond, “I’m on a mission to help people like that realise they really can have a rapid-growth business doing what they love.

“But they don’t achieve it by focusing only on their functional skill. It usually involves three things outside the scope of that skill, which allow them to build a business that revolves around them, their family and their life—not the other way around.”

Notice that I didn’t tell you what I do. There was no mention of sales or marketing. It was all based on passion and mission.

If you’re selling something complex, such as highly regulated insurance, you may not be permitted to discuss all the details.

But you can talk all day about your passion for helping people exit their businesses and retire without losing all their money to the taxman. You aren’t giving financial advice.

When you can articulate your value clearly in a networking room, where somebody is politely listening, you can then leverage that message online.

When I moved to the United States, I had been responsible for five multimillion-dollar success stories, but they were all bricks-and-mortar, telemarketing and direct-sales businesses.

I’m almost embarrassed to say that I avoided the online world because I thought it was full of scam artists and people taking photographs of their dogs and doughnuts because they needed something to say.

It often is.

People are trying to say, “I’m still here. I’m still here.”

They’re trying to be the loudest.

When you’re the clearest, you can use automation to break through the noise.

We’ve used automation for the last decade. I spent three days setting up social media and then allowed everything to post for the next five years.

We refreshed it when I launched my first book, The Introvert’s Edge. We included some videos and additional content, and then didn’t touch it for another three years.

We refreshed it again when we launched The Introvert’s Edge to Networking.

People tell me I’m incredibly active on social media. I’m never on social media.

Don’t get me wrong: when somebody comments on something we post, I interact with them. But I don’t spend time thinking about what I’m going to post today.

I did what introverts are great at.

First, I planned and prepared in the networking room so I had something clear to say.

I validated it in the networking room, so I knew it broke through the noise and allowed me to be the clearest rather than the loudest.

Then I planned and prepared how to leverage it online through content that is now automated and running on autopilot.

People chase me. They come to me from all over the world through social media and podcast interviews.

When you have something profound to say and can say it eloquently, thousands of people can hear about you through a podcast. I can do this at home in my pyjamas if I want, and people will come and chase me.

Digital is where it’s at today.

I learnt how to sell by watching YouTube videos after losing my data-entry job just before Christmas and having no option but to fall into commission-only sales.

I developed a lot of pride around being in sales and being able to cold-call. My identity was almost completely shaped by that.

But now I can persuade people from all over the world to come to me.

To everybody listening, I hope I sound dynamic. There is nothing I’ve said today that hasn’t been planned, prepared and practised.

There may be slight differences because I’m synthesising different elements of things I’ve prepared. Introverts can do that well.

I’m not stuck inside my head trying to work out what to say. I’m deciding which of my planned and prepared responses is most relevant.

Like all introverts, when they’re talking about something they’re passionate about, they can’t wait to open their mouths.

It’s when they’re talking about sport or the weather that they don’t want to open their mouths.

It’s the same on social media.

Talk to your niche and make them feel like the most important people in the world.

Your current clients won’t fire you. You aren’t going to lose referrals.

Niching is a new-market-acquisition strategy.

Speak passionately about serving your niche, address their three core problems and share content about those things.

People will come from everywhere to work with you.

PETER BOOLKAH [29:06]

That’s a good answer.

One final question from our followers: how can an introverted entrepreneur build a team that complements their personality while ensuring strong team communication?

MATTHEW POLLARD [29:24]

There are two answers.

First, you shouldn’t necessarily hire a team that complements your personality.

Many introverts feel they need to hire a group of introverts so nobody feels they have to participate in collective meetings.

That isn’t true. I have extroverts on my team.

What’s important is that I’m honest and humble enough to talk about my Achilles’ heels. Everybody else on my team feels confident doing the same.

We help strengthen each other’s Achilles’ heels through education, by sharing training that might help and by allowing people to leverage one another’s strengths.

When I’m speaking at an event, my team knows they need to protect me for about an hour beforehand.

I can’t help myself. If they send me an issue, I feel I need to solve it because I’m already in a heightened state.

I’ll call them, and I won’t be my best self. I’ll be more like a five-year-old child having a tantrum, complaining about the problem and trying to fix it while I’m in the wrong mental space.

They therefore protect me during that period.

They also plan recovery time for me after I’ve been speaking. If I book something during that period, they call and make sure it is moved.

They know that if I don’t rest, I won’t regulate myself emotionally in the way I need to.

I was recently asked to speak in Hawaii. The organiser asked whether I would stay in a private house. He’s a millionaire with a large house and said, “Why would we pay for you to stay somewhere? Stay with us.”

My team responded without even asking me.

They said, “Matt would love to do that. The place is a mansion, so why wouldn’t he? But only as long as he isn’t hosted.”

People often feel they need to invite me to dinner. The next thing I know, I’m looking through family photographs from their last trip to Australia.

The problem is that I need time to recharge. Otherwise, I won’t be at my best.

I also work hard because I’m passionate about what I do. If we string me out, I won’t be as successful as I should be.

The organiser responded, “My gosh, I’m exactly like that. When I visit doctors, they think they’re doing me a favour by hosting me. They aren’t, because they’re always inviting me to dinners with their children.

“They’re extroverted and assume I must feel lonely, but it isn’t helpful.”

It created a kinship between us.

My team had highlighted my strengths and weaknesses. If the organiser wanted me to perform at my best—which they did, because they had hired me to speak—they needed to protect me too.

If you’re trying to build a good team, you need to understand people’s strengths and weaknesses. But you must make sure you don’t define people by them.

Some of my best salespeople are introverts. I have some great extroverted salespeople too.

Some of my best team members are extroverts, and some are introverts.

If you want to create a great team dynamic, you need a culture of learning and honesty.

Everybody should be allowed to discuss an Achilles’ heel, but they shouldn’t be allowed to define themselves by it.

One of the best presentations I deliver for corporations is Build Your Story Playbook.

I discuss the science of stories and why they work so well.

Most people in a sales environment believe they tell stories. They don’t. They tell case studies: “The customer wanted this, so we gave it to them.”

To me, a story is more like the story of how you met your husband or wife.

In the beginning, the story is a little bulky. You start removing things. People love particular elements, so you embellish them slightly.

The story of how I met my wife is now like a theatrical masterpiece. I say certain things, my wife says certain things, we say things together and then say, “That’s how we met.”

We don’t tell stories that way in business because we’re supposedly trying to be mindful of time.

That doesn’t stop us from spewing jargon at people, but we don’t tell stories because we don’t think they’re helpful.

The best way to get customers out of their own way—which is what sales is about—is to tell them a story rather than giving them jargon. It allows them to see the moral.

The true definition of sales came from a Scandinavian word meaning “to serve.”

The best way to serve your clients is to tell them a story that gets them out of their own way and helps them see a moral.

Stories have positive and negative power.

When you tell a story, it short-circuits the logical brain and speaks directly to the emotional brain.

That’s wonderful in sales because the logical brain is thinking, “That won’t work for me. My situation is different. Send me a proposal. I don’t have time for this. Hang up.”

When you tell a story, it short-circuits that part of the brain. The emotional brain says, “Story time,” listens, assumes the details are factual and hears the moral.

If the moral resonates—“We worked with somebody like you and achieved an amazing outcome”—the listener wants what Wendy or Alex obtained.

It’s transformational.

But if you’re telling yourself negative stories such as, “I can’t do this because…,” the same power operates in a negative way.

Your logical brain now knows that an introvert can sell by following a system. It knows you should focus on marketing before sales and that you can use social media.

But if you continue telling yourself negative stories, the logical part of your brain becomes diffused and you remain in an emotional state.

Team members should be openly honest about themselves. The best culture involves an open and honest understanding of one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

But when you hear people telling stories or giving reasons why they can’t improve a situation, you need to ask, “When did you decide that?”

When they respond with a well-structured story that you know isn’t in their best interests, help them with affirmations and help them believe they can change.

That’s a leader’s job.

It creates an incredible culture because you’re helping people become their best selves.

You don’t tell them to try a sales strategy created for extroverts, use a leadership strategy intended for somebody else or speak like an extroverted colleague.

You can say, “Johnny identifies as an introvert and is doing brilliantly. Why don’t you learn from him? He can show you that it’s possible.”

Creating an open, honest culture of learning—without allowing people to define themselves by their problems—is the best thing an introverted or extroverted leader can do.

Pigeonholing people and allowing them to live inside their stories creates the worst culture you can possibly have.

PETER BOOLKAH [35:20]

Thank you for that, Matthew.

If anybody wants to connect with you or learn more about what you do, what’s the best way to connect?

MATTHEW POLLARD [35:31]

For the introverted, service-based business owners listening, you don’t need to hire me for this.

Go to matthewpollard.com/growth. You can download a template to create your version of the China Success Coach, develop your unified message and discover your niche of willing-to-buy clients.

I delivered this exercise at the National Freelance Conference around a year ago.

Near the end of the session, I said, “Put your hand up if you now believe you have a unified message that will excite and inspire people to want to know more, and you’ve identified a niche of willing-to-buy clients.”

Around 97% of the room put their hands up.

That sounds great until I tell you the entire session was only 90 minutes long.

I then said, “Keep your hand up if this is the most time you’ve spent actively working on your marketing—not listening to marketing podcasts or reading marketing books, but actively working on your marketing.”

Around 85% of the room kept their hands up.

The template works if you spend time using it.

Go to matthewpollard.com/growth and download the template.

Get somebody else to listen to this podcast—or at least to hear the Wendy story—so they understand what they’re doing.

If you’re a business coach, don’t work with another business coach. If you’re a managed-service provider, don’t work with another managed-service provider.

You need to get outside your functional skill.

My bet is that if you spend an hour or an hour and a half working on their business, and they spend an hour or an hour and a half working on yours, you will transform both businesses.

If you believe you can’t sell or network, go to theintrovertsedge.com or theintrovertsedgetonetworking.com.

My publisher will hate me for saying this: you don’t need to buy my book.

I recommend downloading the first chapter of either book.

Using the sales book as an example, the first chapter will give you overwhelming evidence that you can sell as an introvert. As a matter of fact, you have the edge.

It will then give you a seven-step strategy.

If you do nothing more than take what you currently say and put it into that strategy, you’ll quickly realise that some things don’t fit. Throw them away. You shouldn’t be saying those things to customers.

Much of it is jargon that causes people to become overwhelmed, ask for a proposal or decide your solution won’t work for them.

You’ll also discover some gaping holes—usually around asking not just questions but the right questions, and telling great stories.

I don’t simply mean case studies or testimonials. I mean eloquent stories.

If you fill those gaps, remove what you shouldn’t be saying and put everything else into the right order—because people usually say things in the wrong order—you’ll double your sales within the next 60 days.

If you have a small business and do those things, you will transform your business.

If you’re a career professional, download The Introvert’s Edge to Networking.

You’ll discover that you’re probably participating in either transactional or aimless networking. Neither will help you.

The book will help you understand the importance of planning and preparing for strategic networking, so you never enter a room without knowing whom you want to speak to and what you want to say.

PETER BOOLKAH [38:08]

Once you’ve done that, buy the book.

MATTHEW POLLARD [38:12]

I will say that each book includes video implementation training.

I was honoured by this: the free programme in the bonus section at the back of the sales book was listed by Global Gurus as one of the top five sales-development programmes in the world.

Funnily enough, it’s the only one that costs less than approximately $3,000 or $4,000—and it’s free with the Kindle, audiobook or print edition.

If you can, buy the book. It’s very simple.

PETER BOOLKAH [38:40]

That’s why you buy the book.

If you want to know whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, head over to boolkah.com and check the comments below.

You can take the free DiSC personality assessment, which will give you a starting point for understanding your profile.

Matthew, thank you for being such an awesome guest. We’ve covered so much today that many members of our audience will need to go over the episode a couple of times to pick out all the golden nuggets.

MATTHEW POLLARD [39:07]

Mate, it’s been my absolute pleasure.

As you know, my passion is helping introverts. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to help more introverts realise that they aren’t second-class citizens.

They simply need to find a different path to success.

PETER BOOLKAH [39:19]

Thank you so much.

Remember: failing to learn is learning to fail.

Stay safe, and find out whether you’re an introvert or extrovert.