The Secret to Managing Salespeople? Start with Their Myers-Briggs Personalities
As a sales leader, you‘ve likely noticed that your reps seem to fall into "types". There‘s the smooth-talking extrovert who could chat with a brick wall, the data-obsessed analyst who builds airtight pitches, the thoughtful empath who tunes into customers‘ needs.
Managing a team of diverse personalities is one of the great challenges of sales leadership. But it‘s also the key to building an unstoppable sales machine. Because here‘s the secret: There‘s no one ideal "sales personality". With the right management approach, any personality type can be a sales superstar.
The key is to identify your team members‘ unique strengths and motivations, and adapt your leadership style accordingly. And one of the most powerful frameworks for doing just that is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
Decoding Personalities with Myers-Briggs
The Myers-Briggs theory proposes that people fall into 16 personality types, based on their preferences across four spectrums:
- Extraversion (E) vs Introversion (I) – Directs energy outward or inward
- Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N) – Focuses on concrete details or abstract concepts
- Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F) – Makes decisions based on logic or values
- Judging (J) vs Perceiving (P) – Prefers firm plans or flexibility
Your unique four-letter combination of these preferences (e.g. ENTJ) provides a blueprint of your personality – what drives you, how you communicate, how you respond to stress and more.
Over 2 million people take the official MBTI assessment each year, and it‘s particularly popular in sales organizations. One survey found that 44% of sales teams use personality assessments like MBTI in hiring and training.
Why the fascination with personality in sales? Because unlike other roles where technical skills reign supreme, sales success is heavily dependent on "soft skills" – the ability to communicate, to persuade, to build trust and relationships. And those skills are deeply intertwined with personality.
Which Personality Types Dominate Sales?
While any personality can succeed in sales with the right training and environment, the field does attract certain types in droves – especially those on the Extraverted and Thinking side of the spectrums.
According to a study of over 17,000 salespeople who took the MBTI, the types most drawn to and successful in sales careers are:
- ESTJ "The Supervisor" (19% of salespeople)
- ENTJ "The Commander" (14%)
- ESFJ "The Provider" (10%)
- ESTP "The Dynamo" (9%)
- ENTP "The Visionary" (8%)
What do these types have in common? They‘re all extroverted (E), attuned to the outer world of people and action. They‘re also heavily Thinking (T) and Judging (J), driven to achieve goals, deliver results, and solve problems objectively. ESTJs and ENTJs in particular are known for their assertiveness, leadership skills, and work ethic – all crucial in sales.
However, some of the most legendary salespeople of all time have been introverts, like self-help guru Dale Carnegie (INFJ) and Alibaba founder Jack Ma (ISFP). Introverts may not get energized by constant social interaction, but they often have superpowers in active listening, building intimate relationships, and thinking before they speak – vital sales skills.
Ultimately, sales takes all types. The most effective sales teams have a diversity of personalities who can connect with different types of customers and tackle challenges from multiple angles. Your job as a sales manager is to create the conditions for each member of that diverse team to excel.
Managing Salespeople by MBTI Type
So how do you bring out the best in each of the 16 personality types? Let‘s dive into some specific management tips for each type, with real-world examples from sales orgs.
Analysts: The Strategic Thinkers
INTJ: "The Mastermind"
INTP: "The Architect"
ENTJ: "The Commander"
ENTP: "The Visionary"
Analysts are the strategic problem-solvers of the MBTI universe. They‘re logical, objective, and forever questioning the status quo in pursuit of a better way.
As salespeople, analysts thrive when they can dive deep into products and industries and devise innovative solutions for customers. ENTJs and ENTPs are particularly magnetic speakers, quick on their feet to reframe a sales conversation. INTJs and INTPs may be less flashy, but their intellectual firepower is a huge asset in navigating complex deals.
To motivate analysts:
- Let them take the lead on challenging accounts that require creative deal structuring
- Provide ample resources for learning about your industry, market, and competition
- Push them to question stale processes and experiment with new tactics
- Offer frequent feedback, but give them autonomy to tackle problems their way
Example: Gong, a leading sales intelligence platform, has a notably high proportion of ENTJs on its sales team. They‘ve found that these strategic thinkers excel at crafting compelling visions for prospects, deftly overcoming objections, and constantly optimizing their approach based on Gong‘s trove of call data.
Diplomats: The Empathetic Coaches
INFJ: "The Counselor"
INFP: "The Mediator"
ENFJ: "The Teacher"
ENFP: "The Champion"
Diplomats may not fit the Hollywood stereotype of the brash, high-pressure salesperson. But don‘t underestimate the quiet power of these empathetic, perceptive types to build deep customer bonds.
Diplomat salespeople are masters at asking insightful questions, listening closely to customer needs, and guiding them to solutions. They‘re attuned to the human and political factors behind a purchasing decision. ENFJs are inspiring speakers who can stir an audience to action, while INFJs are adept at curating information for each prospect.
To motivate Diplomats:
- Show them how their work directly helps customers succeed and achieve their goals
- Give them time to connect with and nurture relationships across a whole buying team
- Recognize their contributions with personal notes, not just numbers and leaderboards
- Provide a psychologically safe environment for them to express concerns and ideas
Example: Reachdesk runs one of Europe‘s top SDR teams by hiring reps from non-traditional backgrounds – musicians, caregivers, even an ex-monk. These Diplomat types didn‘t have classic sales resumes, but their empathy, curiosity, and passion quickly made them star performers. Reachdesk found they could train the sales skills – the human touch came naturally.
Sentinels: The Conscientious Organizers
ISTJ: "The Inspector"
ISFJ: "The Protector"
ESTJ: "The Supervisor"
ESFJ: "The Provider"
Sentinels are the detail-oriented rule-followers of the MBTI. They‘re organized, conscientious, and unfailingly dependable – the cornerstones of any sales org.
Sentinel salespeople dot every i and cross every t in the sales process. They keep meticulous notes, thoroughly qualify prospects, and reliably deliver on their pipeline and revenue projections. ESTJs and ESTJs are vocal leaders who keep the team on track, while ISFJs and ISTJs work tirelessly behind the scenes to serve customers.
To motivate Sentinels:
- Provide clear goals, expectations, and feedback on their performance
- Recognize their contributions to creating order and stability on the team
- Include them in building repeatable sales playbooks for them to follow
- Show them reliable career paths and opportunities for advancing into leadership
Example: Atlassian, the enterprise software giant, credits much of its sales success to ISTJ and ESTJ types. These process-oriented reps excel at operating a high-volume sales model with razor-thin margins for error. They‘re sticklers for clean CRM data, airtight contracts, and holding the whole company accountable to delivery and customer service.
Explorers: The Energetic Persuaders
ESTP: "The Dynamo"
ESFP: "The Entertainer"
ISTP: "The Virtuoso"
ISFP: "The Artist"
Explorers are the tireless adventurers of the MBTI world. They‘re spontaneous, energetic, and laser-focused on tangible results.
As salespeople, Explorers are the relentless hustlers. They‘re fearless in pursuing new accounts, adaptable in overcoming obstacles, and contagiously enthusiastic. ESTPs in particular are masters at thinking on their feet in live sales conversations, while ESFPs can charm customers with humor and likeability.
To motivate Explorers:
- Give them freedom to experiment with new leads, pitches, and use cases
- Engage them in active problem-solving sessions rather than dense trainings
- Recognize wins with high-energy spiffs, ring bells, and celebrations
- Let them bounce around between different types of customers and industries
Example: Shopify has built a top-flight sales team by leaning into Explorer energy. In pursuit of aggressive growth targets, they encourage reps to move fast, take smart risks and iterate constantly based on real-world feedback. High-performer rewards like lavish President‘s Club trips keep the ESTP Dynamos firing on all cylinders.
Beyond MBTI: Universal Traits of Sales Stars
Theories like MBTI provide powerful insights into what makes each salesperson tick. But no personality test can capture the full scope of what it takes to succeed in sales.
In my two decades of sales experience, training hundreds of reps spanning the full range of personality types, I‘ve found that the true superstars share a core set of traits and skills that cut across the MBTI divides:
- Curiosity – Constant hunger to learn about their customers, industry, products
- Resilience – Unflagging optimism and perseverance through inevitable rejection
- Adaptability – Quickly pivots their approach in response to customer cues
- Preparation – Meticulously plans and practices for each customer conversation
- Accountability – Takes ownership of results and fulfilment of promises to customers and team
The best sales managers hire and train for these evergreen traits, while adapting their management approaches to the particular wiring of each salesperson.
Bringing Out Their Best
At the end of the day, the best approach for managing any salesperson is to get to know them as a whole person – their unique ambitions, their communication style, what feedback resonates with them.
MBTI provides an invaluable starting point for decoding those individual needs. But the magic comes from observing your salespeople in action every day – the emails they send, the discovery calls they run, the energy they bring to team meetings – and calibrating your leadership accordingly.
Perhaps your goal-crushing ENTJ needs space to devise big strategic swings with major accounts, while your diligent ISTJ thrives with a consistent routine of upselling current customers. Your ambitious ENTP may need you to co-pilot negotiations on their first big deal, while your warm ESFJ craves public kudos for going the extra mile with an onboarding.
According to the Harvard Business Review, reps supervised by a manager who focuses on their individual strengths have 7.8% greater sales than those with managers focused solely on correcting their weaknesses.
In other words: The best sales managers play to each team member‘s personality, not against it. With a little MBTI wisdom and a lot of empathetic observation, you can build a sales dream team fueled by a diverse group of reps each empowered to sell to their unique strengths.
