The World Economic Forum ranked Emotional Intelligence as one of the top skills to have by 2025. Yet, the vital role that emotional intelligence plays in sales, is often overlooked. Even research has shown that salespeople who received emotional intelligence training brought in more sales and closed more deals than those who did not receive training. 

EQ in sales consultants refers to the ability to understand the emotions and thinking of prospective customers, because the consultant themselves are self-aware, can self-regulate, have social skills, empathy, and motivation. 

How to Equip your Sales Consultants with the Emotional Intelligence they need to Close the Deal:

A lot of companies concentrate on training the salesperson on the hard facts and features of the product or service they must sell. Soft skills in presentation, negotiation, communication, and emotional intelligence are often put on the backburner because management presumes sales consultants have these skills in place. However, constant and regular training is crucial for a holistic approach in closing the deal.  Techniques and methods change because as the world evolves, so does our target audience and we must adapt with them to remain competitive. 

Equip your sales consultants with EQ as follows:

• Make sure your sales consultants know why EQ is important for sales staff and how it can bring in more sales.
• Teach them how to get to know their target audience’s inner feelings. Equip them with techniques to ‘get into their customer’s mind’.
• Encourage your sales staff to explore their own emotions. By getting to know themselves and becoming self-aware, they will be able to understand the emotions of others better.
• Teach them how to develop empathy…even in a challenging situation. They must know the difference between sympathy and empathy. If a customer feels understood, they become more open-minded but nonetheless the sales consultant must not be taken advantage of. 
• Give your sales staff some independence. Let them make their own decisions and give them some room to adjust their sales techniques and processes. This will give them ownership and motivation, then eventually a mutual understanding of trust between you will develop.
• Do regular check-ins with your sales consultants. Don’t expect performance if you’re not involved. This is part of becoming self-aware and teaching self-regulation. Regular check-ins help sales consultants discover their strengths and weaknesses. You would also be able to see where you can assist with extra training or where they need more guidance. 
• Take an interest in each individual consultant and tailor-make training according to what they need. If you invest in the salesperson, they will invest in you.
• Let them become the ambassadors of the brand. When they feel part of something, they take ownership, and their passion becomes their drive and motivation. 

If you have been in sales, chances are you must have felt unfriendly vibes from prospective clients at some point or another. People become irritated when a salesperson goes on and on without grasping what the potential buyer truly wants, needs and how it will make an impact or difference in the buyer’s life.  Highly Emotional Intelligent sales consultants can communicate how the product or service will be able to help the client, instead of rambling on about the various features and how amazing the product or service is. They understand that the potential buyer needs support and enough time to think it through and only then will the customer decide, without any pressure, from the salesperson.