In a recent workshop I gave on high impact business writing, a real estate agent complained how difficult it was for her to write e-mails and letters. She said she made a lot of errors, and it frustrated her that she couldn’t catch them more easily.

She also told me that she was the number one salesperson in her office, three years in a row, and had sold over a hundred million dollars worth of property since she started in the business.

I asked her the secret to her success, and she admitted she was very driven, result-oriented, and a real go-getter. Though she could delegate e-mail and final drafts of contracts to her assistant, sometimes it was just easier to do it herself than to go through the process of giving lengthy explanations. But, because she was busy and juggled so many projects, she often made mistakes. Recently, she forgot to delete a paragraph from an offer and misspelled her client’s name three different ways.

It comes as no surprise that some salespeople have trouble slowing down to proofread a document. Most often, it has nothing to do with skill level or intelligence; it has more to do with personality.

According to Bill Wagner, an organizational therapist and CEO of Accord Business Systems, the typical personality of a high-powered salesperson, a real “closer,” includes four distinct qualities that can be measured by a personality assessment such as The McQuaig System or Predictive Index.

Generally, successful salespeople who are paid by commission require autonomy, authority, and power. Their level of dominance is above the norm. Otherwise, there would be a fear of confrontation and rejection. (Agents don’t necessarily want to be like Rambo, but they don’t want to be Mr. Rodgers either).

Their level of sociability, also, may be above norm. This means they relate well to people. That’s why they’re in sales. When sociability is below the norm, the individual prefers systems to people (they go into accounting and engineering). When it’s too high, the individuals are too chatty and never close a deal.

High-powered salespeople tend to have lower levels of relaxation. They’re fast paced as opposed to slow and methodical. They often require freedom from repetition. Ever meet an agent who loves to address hundreds of envelopes? Doubtful. They’re often driven, high-strung, and intense. If their level of relaxation is too high, they give up selling around 11:00 a.m. and go to the multiplex to see a movie.

A typical agent with a low level of relaxation might say: “You want me to proof that e-mail before I send it? I don’t have time for that. I have four open houses going on this Sunday, an offer coming in tonight, and four appointments to show property this week.”

Finally, when we measure personality, we look at levels of compliance. Salespeople with high levels are by-the-book. They can follow rules, and they’re probably good at details. They know when and how to slow down and look for errors in their writing. Salespeople, however, with lower levels of compliance, tend to create their own rules. They can be “big picture” visionaries who are unstructured and independent; as a result, they can be somewhat disorganized.