Vital Skills for Converting More Clients & Successful Business Meetings
Cheryl Thacker, PCC, BCC, Coach Educator, Business Coach
Providing ICF Accredited Coach Certification and CCE Programs | Helping Coaches and Consultants Launch and Grow Successful Businesses.
There are many different emotional intelligence skills that can help you improve sales and turn prospects into clients. One of the biggest is what's called "delayed gratification."
Delayed gratification means that you're willing to do the background work before you get the reward. You're patient enough to wait for as long as it takes to make the sale. Sometimes it can take a while. Sometimes it seems like it's taking forever.
Self-Restraint
This is part of the self-restraint that people with high emotional intelligence have. EI teaches you to recognize and control your emotional states. In sales, there's a feeling of urgency that pushes you to close the sale now. It tells you that it's now or never, and you feel intense pressure to close the sale no matter what the cost.
The self-restraint of EI quiets that urge so that you can approach the prospect calmly even in the heat of the moment and handle the situation in a way that's appropriate and effective.
You may well understand that the long term is what you should aim for. You know that making decisions hastily and quickly closing the sale isn't a good strategy. You realize this is instant gratification and it's impulsive. But when you're actually in the thick of a sale, it's sometimes very difficult to appeal to reason.
Delayed gratification is a skill every salesperson should learn. If you're calling and emailing prospects but getting no instant results, you may feel inclined to give up. But those who stay the course expecting delayed results are the most successful salespeople.
Networking
This is also the case with networking. When you meet a new business contact, you may want to follow-up with them with an offer immediately. However, it's better to wait until a better offer comes along than to approach them with something hastily put-together or not completely thought-out.
Content Marketing
Content marketing, which is a highly effective method of online marketing, is based on the idea of delayed gratification. You offer free content to your prospect over a period of time and eventually start making offers.
High emotional intelligence allows you to map out a strategy and look to the long-term. People with high EI are patient, motivated and focused on the future. They tend to be good at time management and they know that the sale will happen eventually.
Delayed gratification is summed up in the old saying – "The race is not to the swiftest, it's to those who keep on running."
So, how can you improve in this area?
The principle of delayed gratification is one of the key reasons why people with high EI are generally successful, especially when it comes to sales.
?
Are You Letting Your Emotions Run Your Meetings?
One of the secrets to running effective meetings that most people don't realize is emotion management.
When strong emotions are stirred up during a meeting, they can completely derail the meeting and steer it away from its goals. Defensiveness and anger have no place in a business meeting. They can only damage it and they never produce good results.
Since the meeting room isn't the place for outbursts and meltdowns, strong emotions have to be managed well.
Prepare Thoroughly
There is less chance for emotional explosions in a meeting that's tightly structured. Prepare the meeting well and create a detailed schedule. Try to anticipate which areas may be emotional and create a contingency plan for dealing with them if trouble arises.
领英推荐
Employ Empathy
When strong emotions erupt, try to handle it calmly. Start by putting yourself in the other person's shoes. What are they feeling that is causing the outburst? Rather than condemning them for letting their emotions get the best of them, try to see the situation through their eyes. Remember that they are "right" in their mind.
If you can see it through the other person's eyes, you'll better understand how to defuse the situation. You can also let them know that you understand, and this can also calm them down.
Take a Break
A great strategy for dealing with strong emotions during meetings is to simply take a break and cool down. This is the business meeting version of counting down from ten and taking deep breaths.
Leave the meeting room and let everyone go their separate way so that they can decompress. Give it five or ten minutes, or however much time you deem necessary for everyone to cool down and process their emotions. Come back to the meeting when everyone is feeling more calm and collected.
Apologize Quickly and Easily
It's very easy for people who are emotionally intelligent to say that they're sorry. These simple words can defuse many tense situations. An apology may be all the upset person wants to hear.
The outburst may not be your fault, but learn to apologize easily. Apologizing shows sympathy and it shows that you understand how the other person feels.
?
No Blame
Things get heated quickly when there are accusations and blame. Try never to blame someone in a meeting, even if they clearly did something wrong. This is almost sure to trigger defensiveness and all of the strong emotions that come with it. Instead, identify a problem that exists for the meeting to solve.
Know Your Own Emotions
Get to know your own emotions and emotional triggers. Even if a meeting gets out of hand, keep yourself calm and learn to deal with your emotions appropriately. Develop your own emotional intelligence and let it help you keep things under control.
?
Want some quick tips you can easily implement to improve your EI, and in-turn, your emotion management? I have something for you! Download my FREE 5 Quick Tips for Improving Your Emotional Intelligence HERE!
PROGRAMS:
?