The salesman was brimming with confidence. The engineering consultant of perhaps the best organisation in Pakistan was asking one question after another; the Director Technical and Director Projects and the whole team of engineers was bombarding the salesman with highly technical and commercial queries. The salesman was equal to the task. He knew his product; its features, advantages and benefits inside out. He knew too well about the competitors’ products also; there wasn’t any question regarding the market conditions and economic factors which was not being answered by him. There wasn’t a single instance wherein he appeared to be concocting answers. At one or two occasions, he did concede that he would check back and answer in the next meeting. All in all, he displayed very good knowledge of his own company, his own product and that of competitors; market conditions. The icing on the cake was that he understood the customers’ requirements, perhaps, even better than the customers themselves.

Although, he was much younger than the group grilling him; his responses drew appreciation and envy of everyone. The decision was a foregone conclusion. He walked away with a several million dollars order with dignity and honour.

This is a perfect example of a tiger salesman. At no point of time, he bragged or boasted or talked negatively about anyone including his arch rivals.

This is the kind of salesmen; customers want and love to do business with. At the same time, they want to avoid the other kind which neither knows about its own company and its products nor about market, customers and competitors. They are the pussycat type.

However, the good news is that pussycats can be transformed into tigers. It is a cakewalk! The first step is start seeing you as a lion.