What Kind of Salesperson Are You?
Five CRM
Oct 07, 2025
∙
6 min read
Sales
A 2-Minute Quiz Inspired by Keith Rosen’s “10 Types of Salespeople”
TL;DR:
Every salesperson has a natural selling style that shapes how they prospect, build trust, and close deals. This quiz, inspired by Keith Rosen’s framework in 10 Types of Salespeople, helps you identify your dominant type and learn how to leverage it for better performance and coaching.
Take the quiz: What Kind of Salesperson Are You? (2 minutes)
Key Takeaways
-
Everyone sells differently. Understanding your natural style helps you work smarter, not harder.
-
Each type has a unique strength and a predictable blind spot. Awareness allows you to balance both.
-
Managers can use this framework to tailor coaching and team structure. Pair complementary styles for stronger outcomes.
Adaptability is the ultimate skill. The best salespeople flex their approach based on context and buyer type.
Sales isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some reps close deals through relentless drive. Others win trust through deep listening, storytelling, or analysis. Recognizing your type isn’t about labeling—it’s about understanding your instinctive behavior in the sales process so you can build on what works and improve where it doesn’t.
Keith Rosen’s typology gives teams a shared language to discuss selling behavior, coach effectively, and align roles to strengths. This quiz distills those insights into an engaging, two-minute self-assessment.
The 10 Types of Salespeople
Below are the ten archetypes featured in the quiz, including their strengths, weaknesses, and where they shine best.
1. The Talker
Strengths: Outgoing, energetic, and excellent at building rapport.
Challenges: Can dominate conversations or skip critical discovery steps.
Best used in: Outbound outreach, networking, early pipeline stages.
Growth area: Practice active listening and structured follow-ups to convert enthusiasm into results.
2. The Analyst
Strengths: Data-driven, meticulous, and logical in handling objections.
Challenges: Risk of over-preparing or delaying outreach in pursuit of perfection.
Best used in: Enterprise or technical sales with data-heavy products.
Growth area: Adopt “good enough” thresholds for decisions to avoid analysis paralysis.
3. The Hunter
Strengths: Thrives on new opportunities and competition. Persistent and fearless in prospecting.
Challenges: May neglect relationship-building after the close.
Best used in: New business generation, outbound prospecting, or expansion into new territories.
Growth area: Focus on customer retention and post-sale communication.
4. The Farmer
Strengths: Dependable and customer-oriented; maintains long-term relationships.
Challenges: Can become complacent or overly reliant on existing accounts.
Best used in: Account management, renewals, and client success roles.
Growth area: Schedule proactive prospecting time to grow the pipeline.
5. The Consultant
Strengths: Highly strategic; provides tailored insights and solves complex problems.
Challenges: Tends to over-analyze and move too slowly through the sales cycle.
Best used in: Solution or enterprise sales that require high trust and credibility.
Growth area: Use defined timelines to maintain momentum without sacrificing depth.
6. The Challenger
Strengths: Confident and unafraid to reframe customer assumptions. Inspires change.
Challenges: Can appear confrontational if not calibrated.
Best used in: Consultative B2B sales and industries where education drives adoption.
Growth area: Balance authority with empathy and obtain permission before challenging.
7. The Social Seller
Strengths: Leverages networks, social proof, and content to build credibility.
Challenges: Can spend too much time online engagement with limited conversion tracking.
Best used in: Brand-building, influencer-based outreach, or complex buying committees.
Growth area: Translate awareness into measurable pipeline metrics.
8. The Closer
Strengths: Strong negotiator, decisive, and thrives on results.
Challenges: May overlook early discovery or customer fit in pursuit of targets.
Best used in: Late-stage deal negotiation and contract management.
Growth area: Strengthen qualification and pre-close alignment to minimize churn.
9. The Instructor
Strengths: Educates buyers, builds trust through teaching, and simplifies complexity.
Challenges: Can spend too long explaining instead of asking for commitment.
Best used in: Complex or technical products requiring customer onboarding or training.
Growth area: End every lesson with a clear next step or CTA.
10. The Explorer
Strengths: Curious, adaptable, and resilient in uncharted territory.
Challenges: May lack focus or consistency across sales cycles.
Best used in: Startups, new markets, or innovation-led sales roles.
Growth area: Develop a repeatable process to harness creativity without losing discipline.
How to Use Your Quiz Results
If you’re an individual contributor:
-
Identify your top 1–2 styles and design your daily workflow around them.
-
Address your main blind spot—whether it’s structure, empathy, or urgency.
-
Use your strengths intentionally in specific deal stages.
If you’re a manager:
-
Use the quiz across your team to build a balanced skill mix.
-
Coach the gap, not the label—help each rep strengthen their secondary style.
Assign roles or deal stages that fit each type’s natural rhythm.
Take the Quiz
You’ll answer eight short questions about your preferences and behaviors. At the end, you’ll get your dominant type and a short playbook to help you grow from there.
Take the quiz now → What Kind of Salesperson Are You?
FAQs
1. Can someone be more than one type?
Yes. Most salespeople show a blend of two or three types. The quiz highlights your dominant style—the one you default to under pressure.
2. Is one type better than another?
No. Success depends on context. A Closer may thrive in transactional sales, while a Consultant excels in long-cycle B2B environments. The best sellers adapt to each situation.
3. What if my result doesn’t feel accurate?
That’s useful feedback. Compare the description to how you behave during your best and worst sales weeks. Often, the “shadow” side of your type explains the disconnect.
4. Can managers use this for hiring or training?
Yes—just not as a rigid test. It’s most effective as a conversation starter about role alignment and coaching focus areas.
5. Where did these types come from?
This framework draws inspiration from Keith Rosen’s 10 Types of Salespeople and expands it with contemporary insights into digital and social selling behaviors.
Final Thoughts
Sales success isn’t about copying top performers—it’s about understanding your natural strengths and building around them. Whether you’re a Hunter chasing leads or a Farmer nurturing accounts, mastery begins with self-awareness.
Take two minutes to discover your selling style and start shaping your next breakthrough.
Michael King says...
"I can’t think of a time where a client has requested something that we weren’t able to do with FiveCRM. Unlike most systems, it has a lot of flexibility."
Managing Director, Senior Response
JAINE HUSBANDS SAYS...
“Each client, and each of their campaigns, has its own unique specifications. We essentially needed to set up mini CRMs on one platform to meet those requirements.”
Operations Director, Team Marketing
Why wait?
Start improving your outbound efficiency now, with the most customizable Sales solution on the market.