TQ... Why IQ and EQ are Not Enough

You may be intelligent (IQ) and also self-aware to the point where you truly know yourself and are good with other people (EQ)... but unless you have TQ, you are destined for career extinction. This is because technology is changing everything.

Unless you can harness the tools, technologies, and platforms needed for hyper-productivity, you’ll lag behind the herd and be picked-off by a bot that automates you out of existence.

An obsolete balancing act.

For years, businesspeople and sales reps have been battling the EQ and IQ balancing act. The Emotional Quotient (EQ), more commonly labeled as emotional intelligence, refers to your ability to empathize, relate, and perceive the behaviors of others. Then evaluate and adjust your own behavior accordingly. Those with high EQ are often great leaders because they identify triggers and traits in others that enable motivation and inspiration for greater achievement.

The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a universal grading for academic aptitude that is determined by a series of linear and standardized tests. Your ability to learn, comprehend meaning, apply abstract thinking, and logically determine a path forward when confronted with a problem all relate to your IQ.

It’s very rare to rate highly in both EQ and IQ. But those that do are our best performers. This is why employers have been trying to label people by these quotients for decades, so they could pinpoint the best of the best. Of course, some roles require more of one than the other. Leadership and relationship-driven roles lean towards the EQ side of the seesaw, while problem-solving and creative roles flip to the right. But one cup of each used to bake a sales cake that everyone was happy with.

In today’s sales and business environment, it’s a moo point. A cow’s opinion… it doesn’t matter. Because we have a third and more penetrable Q that has come to the party. TQ.

The perfect storm of Q’s

Your Technology Quotient (TQ) rates your competency to both apply and maximize the use of current technology as well as adapt and capitalize on future innovations with speed. At a time where change is rapid and sales professionals are riddled with anxiety that a robot will steal their job, TQ has never been more relevant.

What used to be a balance of two powers, a seesaw of Q’s that combined to be one almighty superhero of a salesperson is now a trifecta. Without TQ, your EQ and IQ are unlikely to progress your targets, your goals, or your career. We need to prepare for a not-so-distant future where robots sell us shoes and the technology we know and love today doesn’t exist anymore. This is scary for most salespeople because your life, job, family, and ego are all at risk. For those with TQ, this is exciting. We’re ready, willing, and able to adapt and flourish in a sales environment where the perfect storm of Q’s still matters. Even with technology, humans need emotional connection and innovation needs intelligence to happen.

Ramping up your TQ

TQ is all about your ability seamlessly blend with the technologies that enable your efficiency and effectiveness execute success in your role. It's about readiness and education, and keeping up with trends and leaping from one Sigmoid Curve to the next in your career. appreciating how they can apply to you and your journey.

Here are some of the technology trends that are likely to directly influence your job in 2018 and beyond:

1. Cloud-enabled everything and the Internet Of Things (IOT)

Businesses of all shapes and sizes can now afford cloud-based technology that was once reserved for big enterprises. Coffee shops are even investing in facial recognition technology to deliver personalization. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM... they’re fighting for their slice of the cloud pie. For you, this means more accessibility to the information and insights you need to open relationships and close bigger deals, wherever you are and whenever you need it. Devices as simple as Tile can tell you where you lost your car keys, and vending machines already tells suppliers automatically when they need to be refilled. It's a potential trigger event feeding frenzy for the techno-savvy.

2. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning

AI is already prevalent in a number of industries. You’d be hard-stretched to find a sales and business professional that hadn’t had a human-like text-based conversation with a chatbot in the last week. But AI goes beyond chatbots in technical support and customer service, it is being used by tech-giants to generate data-driven customer insights, dashboards, and sales enablement through machine learning. Complexica is a real example for FMCG (fast moving consumer goods). Apptus is another just one example of cutting-edge machine learning technology that is enabling eCommerce businesses to automate and predict product recommendations and fulfillment. OutboundWorks with their Hexa AI acquisition is yet another for augmenting the ISR/SDR role for sales lead generation.

Here is an example of how Salesforce delivers accurate forecasting. Einstein can also provide deal coaching for salespeople by highlighting trigger events that impact the probability of winning.

What you're seeing in Einstein is just the beginning. Make no mistake: AI accessing big data with machine learning, deep learning and guided learning is already equipped to recognize patterns, words, phrases and next steps that most predictably lead to ‘success’. Right now, as you read this, AI software is writing its own code and A/B tests to then discard the inferior version… the evolution of machine intelligence is already happening now, silently and relentlessly. Amazon recently had to pull to plus on two AI computers that created their own mysterious language and were talking with each other about who knows what.

Add to this, voice recognition with speech-to-text and then your own voice synthesized for your AI avatar that represents the best possible 'sales you' in online chat and then on the phone… it’s all awesomely powerful and scary stuff. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are all in a race to perfect 'conversational AI'.

In the not so distant future will the real you even be necessary to open the opportunity and close the sale?

True story: Brian walks into a car dealership and asks to speak with Cheryl. The receptionist says, "I'm sorry, we don't have a Cheryl working here." Brian was not deterred: "Yes you do, she told me you have the car I want in stock and I could come and have a test drive today." The receptionist gets a salesperson... Long story short: The salesperson says: "I'm so sorry if this upsets you but Cheryl is our website chatbot so that we can respond to people 24x7 with the information they're looking for. I can look after you if that's okay?"

We all interact with AI automation every day... Google, Siri, chatbots on websites, navigation apps, recommendation engines on Amazon and other sites. They are increasingly masquerading as humans. Lots of different technologies are enabling mash-ups of technologically-driven user experience that blows the competition away... even with their hand-raulic human interactions. Here is a collection of technologies to be aware of.

3. Wearable technology and geo-fencing

Wearable technology is gaining traction and will soon be embedded in our day-to-day existence. Fitbit, Apple Watch, Google Glass, these examples are just the beginning of what is to come. Research by IDTechEx predicts that wearable technology will significantly grow in popularity over the next decade. How will this influence your engagement with customers? Geo-fencing means that you will know when they are entering your domain, or that of your competitor’s so that you can push the right offer at the right time. These technologies are already being used in innovative ways to create highly interactive customer experience. Is this a scary proposition or an opportunity to create new channels of access?

4. Augmented reality

Augmented or virtual reality is far from a new concept but its application is on the rise. It’s used mainly for fun, games, and a little adventure, but things will change. Imagine if you could take your prospects on an interactive demo of your product, service, or software, without ever physically meeting with them or logging onto a computer. It’s already happening and before long, it will be mainstream.

5. Smart offices

We have been dreaming about smart homes for decades, ever since some ambitious Hollywood creative mustered up the idea of switching off a light by clapping your hands. They are a reality today, and this idea of connected technology experiences is moving from the home to the office. I recently visited my client, Flight Centre, in their brand new office in Sydney. I reception was a facial recognition kiosk to greet me and notify my contact that I had arrived... no human interaction.

What were once quirky secret-service style innovations for Maxwell Smart are now active security measures for smart offices. Fingerprint technology, facial recognition, and automatic temperature regulation. Smart offices mean better environments for salespeople but they also force us to think differently about how our customers tick and what their daily routine looks like.

Will you embrace TQ to achieve greater success? How do you define TQ and what are the most important technologies and platforms to understand and use masterfully? Please comment below.

I discuss the future of sales in my new book, COMBO Prospecting, published by The American Management Association (AMACOM) and you can purchase it here on Amazon. If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment. Please also follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles.

Main image from Flickr: Craig Sunter - An Overnight intellectual.