Emotional Intelligence for Sales People: The Power of Emotion in Sales

Emotional intelligence is an often-abstract concept that can be difficult to put into practice. But, as you might expect, that difficulty increases when you’re trying to apply that concept to your job as a salesperson. After all, your job is to show clients and customers that you understand their needs and that you can meet their expectations. But how can you do that if you don’t know what it is that your customers want and need?

The truth is that you can’t, so you must learn to harness the power of emotion to your advantage. It’s not enough to know what your prospects want and need; you must also know how to show that you understand and can provide that for them. Enter emotional intelligence — the ability to identify and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotional states of others.

Let’s take a look at how you can apply the power of emotion to your job as a salesperson by understanding the role that emotions play in human decision-making.

How Emotions Influence Human Decision-Making

We make decisions every day. In many cases, we don’t even know why we made a particular decision. However, there are some factors that influence us when making these decisions – and emotions are a big one. It is important to understand the role of emotions in human decision-making so that you can effectively manage your own emotions and those of others in the process of sales.

Everybody has an emotional spectrum: some people respond to new situations with intense feelings — those feelings could be joy, excitement, or anger — while others remain relatively neutral. Some people are more emotionally intelligent than others; they’re able to identify their own emotional state quickly and accurately, as well as the emotional states of others. Generally speaking, emotionally intelligent people make better decisions because they're able to manage their own emotional responses and read other people's emotional responses more accurately.

Emotional intelligence is an often-abstract concept that can be difficult to put into practice. But, as you might expect, that difficulty increases when you’re trying to apply that concept to your job as a salesperson. After all, your job is to show clients and customers that you understand their needs and that you can meet their expectations. But how can you do that if you don’t know what it is that your customers want and need?

The truth is that you can’t, so you must learn to harness the power of emotion to your advantage.

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Even if you’ve never heard of emotional intelligence, you’ve likely experienced its power. It’s what compels us to share a funny video with friends or donate to charity. It’s what inspires us to build a business and create new products. Emotion is why we do anything at all.

There are six reasons why emotional intelligence is so important for salespeople:

1) Sales people must be able to understand the emotions of their prospects in order to successfully meet those prospects’ needs and wants.

2) Salespeople need the ability to identify their own emotions and manage them appropriately in order to close deals and maintain trust with clients.

3) Salespeople need the ability to recognize when an emotional event has occurred in order to quickly empathize, show concern, and react accordingly.

4) Salespeople need the ability to control their reactions and stay calm even when they experience stress-inducing events like objections or difficult conversations with customers who refuse service.

5) Salespeople need the ability to understand what drives customer decisions in order to leverage that knowledge and make more persuasive arguments during negotiations.

6) Salespeople need the ability to read between the lines when customers express nonverbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, eye contact, etc., which often indicate that there is something more going on than just a simple “no."

The Role of Emotions in Sales

Emotions play an enormous role in the decision-making process. In fact, it’s often said that emotions can account for up to 90 percent of the decision-making process. That says a lot about how important emotion is when it comes to making decisions.

Salespeople are often tasked with influencing a prospect or client to make a purchase. And while you may have the perfect product and service, you need to know what your prospects feel as they go through this process. If you don’t understand their emotions, then you won’t be able to sell them your products or services.

So how do we use emotional intelligence in sales?

1) You must build trust with your prospects and clients by demonstrating empathy. Empathy is one of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence because it means understanding how others feel and responding appropriately. You want to show empathy by being an active listener and asking questions that are relevant to the situation at hand.

2) When communicating with customers, use language that is appropriate for their emotional state — whether they are calm or excited, whether they are frustrated or contented, etc., and address their objections appropriately so that they can be resolved more easily.

3) Finally, remember not to overwhelm prospects with too many details at once — give them time to absorb what you say before moving on to more information (you may also want to tailor your pitch based on where they are in their decision-making process).

Recognize the Signs of Emotional Intelligence in a Salesperson

There are many signs that someone is emotionally intelligent, so it can be difficult to know when you’re witnessing a truly emotionally intelligent salesperson. However, there are some key clues to look for to help you tell the difference.

One of the most common indicators of emotional intelligence in a salesperson is their ability to empathize with clients and customers. Empathy is one of the strongest determinants of success in sales and those who show empathy have higher rates of customer retention.

Another sign of an emotionally intelligent salesperson is their understanding of different communication styles. Different people communicate in different ways, whether that means they are extroverted or introverted, so being able to recognize these differences will lead you to more effective interactions with your prospects and customers. Those who can read body language will also be able to identify emotions by observing facial expressions and other nonverbal cues. Finally, those who exhibit patience and self-control are likely more emotionally intelligent than others; they understand their own emotions as well as how their emotions might come across to others. These are all qualities that allow them to manage themselves under pressure while staying calm and collected for the sake of their prospects.

Build rapport to expand your network and gain new opportunities

The first step in leveraging the power of emotion in sales is to build rapport. Rapport is an important part of any relationship, and it’s especially important in sales as it sets the tone for your interactions with prospects. You must show them that you understand their needs, wants, and expectations if they are going to trust you enough to buy from you. When you have a strong understanding of your customer’s emotions, the next step will be easy.

The second step is to take advantage of these emotions by expanding your network and gaining new opportunities. In order to do this, you’ll need to listen closely to what your customer has to say about their problems or other needs. When you really listen and pay attention, it becomes easier for you to sense what they’re feeling at any given moment — whether it's frustration or excitement — so that you can better match those emotions with a solution that meets their needs. Once your customer has expressed how they feel about a problem or need, you should also share how you feel about it as well. Sharing similar emotions helps create a bond between the two of you which will ultimately lead to more opportunities in the future.

Use an emotional graph to map clients and prospects emotions

Emotions play an important role in human decision-making, and you can use an emotional graph to map their emotions.

An emotional graph is a visual representation of your client or prospect’s emotions. It allows you to see where their current state falls on the spectrum between love and hate. You also get insights into what type of conversation might be best for them at that time. For example, a client who is feeling frustrated will appreciate a solution that solves their problem. But a client who is feeling indifferent won’t care about anything you have to say because they aren't looking for anything in particular from you.

Simply by understanding where your prospect is emotionally, you can tailor your interactions with them accordingly, leading to more successful sales pitch.

Final Words: Going from cold calling to warm calling

It’s hard to make a sale when you’re not even able to get the customer to answer your call. Cold calling is far less effective than warm calling, so if you want to increase your sales, there are some things you need to know first.

According to Harvard Business Review, cold callers interrupt people at their work and home. The article also states that it takes five or more calls before someone will answer a person's cold call. This can be frustrating for both the salesperson and the prospect.

Warm calling is an excellent alternative for these reasons because it increases your chances of getting through and having a conversation with the prospect on the other end of the line.

Warm calling starts by identifying prospects who may have already shown interest in your product or service by visiting your website or social media page. You need to use personalization techniques when contacting this prospective client since they've already given you some indication that they're interested in what you have to offer. It shows that you care about them and want to talk further with them about their needs. And don't forget: you should always be polite! A cold caller might sound rude, but a warm caller sounds friendly and welcoming.