Understanding Emotional Intelligence in High-Performance Sales People

What are some of the aspects of emotional intelligence that differentiate the high performing sales people from the rest? Here we examine 5 key traits of great sales people.

• Intuition & Empathy. This is the salesperson’s awareness of the prospect’s feelings, needs, and concerns. This competency is important in a sales role for the following reasons:
  1. Attitude toward others: one’s ability to look positively and objectively upon others.
  2. Understanding others: an intuitive sense of a prospect’s and/or customer’s feelings and perspectives and showing an active interest in their needs.
  3. Customer service orientation: the ability to anticipate, recognize, and meet customers’ needs.

• Results Orientation & Decisiveness. This is the salesperson’s adeptness at inducing desirable responses from the customer or prospect. This competency is important in a sales role for the following reasons.
  1. Communication: sending clear and convincing messages that are understood by the customer or prospect.
  2. Influencing: using effective tactics and techniques for persuasion and desired results.
  3. Gaining commitment: one’s ability to develop a motivation act. 
• Self View. This is the salesperson’s level of courage and self-esteem that provides thick enough skin to persevere through various obstacles they encounter throughout the sales cycle. This competency is important in a sales role for the following reasons.
  1. Handling rejection: one’s ability to handle a no or a nonsale and to not take it personally and be able to recover and restart quickly to try again.
  2. Self-esteem: the higher the self-esteem the more passion and courage the salesperson will have in the social arena.
• Self Awareness. This is knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, strengths, and limitations. This competency is important in a sales role for the following reasons.
  1. Self-confidence: one’s ability to believe in their own abilities and strengths to personally take charge in achieving and exceeding their goals.
  2. Persuasiveness: one’s ability to stand their ground in negotiations and in handling sales objections to exude to the customer or prospect that their product or service meets their needs.
  3. Competitiveness: one’s desire to win and be perceived as competent in the eyes of others, as well as desire to be personally recognized for their accomplishments.
• Self Expectations. This is the salesperson’s emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals and their sense of personal commitment to responsibilities. This competency is important in a sales role for the following reasons.
  1. Achievement drive: striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence we impose on ourselves.
  2. Initiative: readiness to act on opportunities without having to be told.
  3. Optimism: persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks

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