There are many traits that a great salesperson has. Some would argue that charisma is an important trait. It gets our foot in the door to have a great smile and sparkling personality. Others would say that strong drive and motivation are the winning tickets to close deals.
However, sales aren’t just about getting a client to buy a product. In reality, there is much more to sales than just that. The ultimate goal for sales is a collaboration between a client who has a problem and a salesperson who has a solution.
For this collaboration to be successful, a salesperson would have the ability to connect well with their clients on a personal level. Here is where emotional intelligence comes in: learning how to effectively communicate as well as building a meaningful relationship with them.
Studies show that sales reps with high emotional intelligence produced twice the revenue of those with average or below average scores. A case studies in EQ with Sanofi-Aventis and L’Oreal tested whether the EQ training helped their reps to close more deals. The result was sales reps who received the emotional intelligence training outsold the control group by an average of 12%. That equated to over USD 55,000 each. Meanwhile, the ROI for the EQ training was USD 6.
There are 5 components to emotional intelligence:
- Self-awareness. Recognizing and understanding our moods and emotions and how they affect others.
- Self-management. Being able to control our impulses and moods and think before acting.
- Social skills. Manage relationships, build networks, and connect with people.
- Empathy. Recognize and understand others’ motivations.
- Motivation. Driven to pursue goals for personal reasons.
Let’s do a deep dive into what empathy means for a salesperson. Empathy is the ability to understand how others feel. When it comes to sales this takes us to the next level, to sense and understand their emotions while we communicate with clients. In basic terms, empathy comes down to putting ourselves in their shoes.
This means we understand their problems and needs. When they talk to us, not only hear, but we actively listen. Being fully present in the conversation makes people feel seen and heard while we learn more about them. This information can help us connect and adapt our approach to a specific client.
The skills of self-regulation and empathy correlate highly to jobs related to sales. It’s a career where it’s important to learn how to constantly deal with rejections and overcome obstacles in conversations. Having a good grasp on how we feel and know what we need to do to cope can work wonders for our mental health.
It’s also worth considering how self-management allows us to have a better handle on our mood and emotions allowing us to come into every conversation as our best selves and not let negative moods or personal matters interfere with our work.
In conclusion, a career in sales entails a great number of challenges such as connecting with new clients, overcoming objections, and building trust as part of our daily interactions. Developing our emotional intelligence skills can help us not only become a better salesperson but also help us handle the hardships and stress that come with the job in a much better way.
Tiara Hoquee
Psychologist and Emotional Intelligence Coach
Our SALES MASTERY PROGRAM lays out the foundation of what it takes in order to succeed in selling any product or service in any industry. Our Master Coach, David Yeh Junior, will also share his golden rules in managing his EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE during his selling process in the program. See the video below from 04:48 for how to exercise our MENTAL TOUGHNESS in a harsh deal.