What is BQ?

BQ, the behavioral quotient of behavioral intelligence, is the conscious decision to show up and perform every day at your highest ability. BQ is fueled by your thoughts, which turn into feelings, which dictate your actions, and result in your performance. 

According to Matthew Jones (@M_tthewJones, 2016), “Your talent means nothing without consistent effort and practice”. 

As it relates to BQ in a sales role, BQ is negatively impacted by lack of infrastructure, clunky internal processes, mixed messages from management, lack of a high-performing culture and innovation in the company’s product or service.

In my 8 year B2B mid-market SaaS sales career, I was surrounded by hundreds of sales reps and managers. Most of us in the top 20% were technical, knowledgeable, talented, high urgency, well-spoken, emotionally self-aware, able to sell consultatively, demo our own technology, sell to multiple personality styles, and tactfully crush the competition. However, we were not all consistent in our performance and results. It wasn’t because we didn’t know how to do it or weren’t doing it effectively. Trust me, we were sales ninjas.

Our behavioral quotient (BQ) was impacted by several factors throughout the years. Some top reps would have quarters or sales years at 50% of what they’d done previously. 

How You Think

Mental mindset and preparedness fuel your BQ. How you think determines how you feel, which determines how you act, and how you perform.

How You Feel

How you think determines how you feel. If you let negative thoughts stay in your mind too long, they start to alter your emotions.

How You Act

Your mental mindset fuels your emotional state which sets you up for how you act. Action is everything in a sales and sales management role.

How You Perform

Your performance is the outcome of your actions. Low performance is typically a result of not doing the work required to succeed.

How To Track Your BQ

Take the new Sales BQ? Quiz and receive a custom output for your score with a plan for improving your BQ!

Sales activity is one indicator of future sales results. A rep can track their BQ daily based on the decisions they make throughout the day. Reps with high BQ plan their day before it starts. They wake with a plan and execute the plan. Reps with high BQ stay focused and continuously prioritize tasks throughout the day as urgent items pop up and attempt to derail them. Reps can measure their BQ daily by how well they execute their plan, how they handle high-stress and high-urgency situations, and how focused they remain as they get bogged down or overwhelmed. BQ can be measured with sales activity metrics and tracking of high-performing behavior.

Example: if a rep receives word they lost a deal, they may become discouraged and want to “check-out” for the remainder of the day and be upset about it. It may crush their energy and desire to put forth the behaviors needed to close out the day strong. A rep with high BQ will process the loss, learn from the facts and not be consumed by the emotional story they’re creating in their mind, and continue to focus and close out the day strong by executing the necessary behavior to achieve their goals and results.

Take the Sales BQ? Quiz now to get your Sales BQ? Score and plan for improvement.

Register for an upcoming webinar on this topic, presented at 9 am MT on January 24th, 2020.

Subscribe to our Quota Crusher? Podcast.

Subscribe to our newsletter for sales tips and happenings at Sales BQ?.

Mary Grothe, CEO Sales BQ?

linkedin.com/in/marygrothe

Twitter @MaryLGrothe

MEET MARY GROTHE, THE CEO OF SALES BQ?

Mary Grothe is a former #1 MidMarket B2B SaaS Sales Rep who after selling millions in revenue and breaking multiple records, formed Sales BQ?, a firm of fractional VPs of Sales, Sales Ops, and CMOs who serve companies across the nation with one driving goal: profitably rebuilding their sales and marketing departments to grow their revenue by focusing on BQ, the behavioral quotient.