Here's how I answered himA Selling is a skill, comparable to accounting or engineering: Specific actions, properly applied in a proscribed order, produce the best results Given enough motivation, almost any skill can be learned without formal training Two of General Motors's top engineers never took an engineering course Michael Dell didn't major in computers and dropped out of collegeB Similar aptitude patterns are seen in highly successful salespeople, trial lawyers and teachers Salespeople who lack the right aptitudes and attitudes can substantially improve their sales skills, if they are willing to change their behaviors The changes they need to make are simple, yet it requires a lot of self-discipline to make those changesC The type of training that is most likely to produce dramatic improvement is based upon the latest understanding of how the human mind works It eliminates persuasion in favor of committed agreementsD The theory that salespeople can assess a customer's personality type, and then adapt their selling techniques accordingly, has been widely promotedHowever, we have never seen a salesperson that can demonstrate that skillNo one (or customer) has a static personality; we all change continuously, reacting to stimuli as we receive them It's hard enough to figure out anyone's personality type; it's extremely difficult to analyze and react to it moment-to-moment I believe that only trained, experienced psychologists are likely to be able to make practical use of that theorySo, Are Top Salespeople Born or Made?We studied the top 1% of salespeople across 23 different industries Some are self-made, learning what works best through intuition and experience Many were trained, learned several selling systems, and eventually settled on the selling system that produces outstanding results The ironic thing is that most of the top salespeople are doing the same things, and what they are doing is radically different from the other 99% of salespeople Our conclusion is that top salespeople are clearly made ©Jacques Werth, High Probability® Selling - All rights reservedJacques Werth, author of "High Probability Selling," is an internationally respected Sales Trainer and Sales Consultant HPS graduates are excelling as Top Producers in over 70 industries Visit http://wwwhighprobsellcom to read more articles, preview the book, and learn more about High Probability Selling Article Source: http://EzineArticlescom/?expert=Jacques_Werth ?>