People buy on emotions first, justified by logic. This sales axiom has been evident for many years.
Emotional intelligence, however, has only been discussed for the last few decades. Much of the work around this facet of our human nature has been conducted by Daniel Goleman through his books, including 1998’s “Working with Emotional Intelligence.”
Emotional intelligence is the combination of interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills as noted through the works of Howard Gardner. When an individual can recognize and understand the emotions of the other person; recognize and understand the emotions of himself or herself; and then be able to manage both successfully, this reflects the emotional intelligence of that individual.
Nowhere is emotional intelligence more important than in sales. Failure to recognize, understand and then engage the emotions of the sale’s prospect can quickly turn a potential sale into a lost sale.
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In the book, “Sales EQ: How Ultra High Performers Leverages Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal,” author Jeb Blount explores EQ even further when he suggests sales performers possess four types of intelligence:
*IQ – How smart you are (Intelligence)
*AQ – How much you know (Acquired)
*TQ – How fast you assimilate and leverage technology (Technical)
*EQ – How you deal with emotions, your own and others
Blount believes top sales performers actively engage all four of these intelligences in their sales conversations and other interactions including the written word.
U.S. buyers have witnessed bad customer experiences via viral social media postings and the tone deaf responses by executive leadership. These tone deaf responses demonstrate how EQ is also lacking at the leadership level. This obvious lack of EQ creates additional and unnecessary obstacles for sales professionals.
President Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” In spite of the majority of sales training and development focusing on the technical skills of selling such as asking open-ended questions, exploring wants and needs, etc., salespeople must understand the importance of emotions within the buying decision process and learn how to engage their EQ for sales success.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith is an author, speaker and executive coach. Her weekly column explores issues that impact the bottom line of firms with fewer than 100 employees. She can be reached at 219-508-2859.