Actuaries and engineers aren’t known for their sales ability.  They are seen as an introverted lot, more comfortable crunching numbers than with the kind of socializing that selling requires.  Though there is limited truth to this stereotype, we have found that some actuaries and engineers quickly become effective business developers.  This is true of some quite introverted and technical ones.  Some outperform professionals one might expect to have greater interpersonal skill and so more of a sales bent, such as strategy consultants or executive recruiters. Some become rainmakers.

Professionals are smart people and run the risk of confusing understanding with mastery.  Once they understand something, they want to move quickly to the next challenge.  Though understanding may equal mastery in some areas, it’s not true of selling.  Selling is a performing art, more like playing the piano.  Understanding how a piano works is easy, but mastery requires practice.  It requires going back to basics again and again.  Engineering and actuarial sciences require a similar discipline.  While there is room for creativity, rigorous attention to procedure is also essential if the actuary is to make sure that his numbers add up and the engineer that his bridge won’t fall down.  They aren’t above doing routine and repetitive activities.

Selling requires meeting and a call discipline, which is also based on routine and repetitive effort.  Some groups, which are perceived to be more dynamic than actuaries and engineers, are put off by such routines or feel compelled to vary and reinvent them.  They require constant mental stimulation, if they are to remain engaged.  Lacking that, they quickly abandoned their efforts.  But the actuary and engineer keep at it, with a routine of calls and meetings, which eventually leads to a sale.

Let’s hear it for old fashioned hard work and those willing to do it to find a new client!