Page 22 - GSABA Builder Brief September 2020 Issue

How High is Your EQ?
Your Sales Performance with Emotional Intelligence
By Stephanie Scheller, Speaker & Author
Emotional Intelligence is the ability of an individual to understand and influence the emotions of themselves and others. Based on this definition, it makes sense that multiple studies have found that high performers across the board have higher Emotional Quotients (EQs).
Consider this: People buy based on emotion. We only change phone providers because we finally get frustrated enough. We buy that cool gadget off the Facebook ad because we get excited about how much fun we can have with it. We don’t buy
unless there are emotions involved.
Specifically, we must experience both
the negative emotion associated
with the current situation without
that product or service, and then a
taste of what it will be like to have that
product or service. A higher emotional
quotient allows you to understand
your prospect’s dissatisfaction, then
help them clearly understand that
dissatisfaction so they can glimpse
the relief available on the other side of
their purchase.
Additionally, the ability to understand and influence emotions also allows you to recognize when you’re having an off-day, or when a prospect creates a negative reaction in you, and then bring yourself back to a prime selling state. Most importantly, the higher your EQ, the easier it is to understand what’s really going on with your prospect. We’ve all heard that words are only 7% of our communication. A higher EQ increases your ability to understand what is being communicated through the other 93% and shift your sales approach accordingly! The great news about EQ is that it is not static! With a little work, you can increase your EQ, and your sales too!
Emotional Intelligence operates similar to a muscle in your body. The longer you spend in the gym or working out, the more those muscles grow. The best way to increase your EQ is to spend time in the EQ
gym: Clear Glass Mode.
Clear Glass Mode is that headspace you’ve experienced where you’re feeling strong enough to take on that new challenge. Where you feel more creative and your motivation is at an all-time high. This is when you operate at the highest version of yourself.
Obviously, we don’t all operate in Clear Glass Mode all the time. In fact, most of us operate in Red Glass Mode more often than not. Red Glass Mode is where your stress hormones are elevated and your body
transitions to some level of fight or flight mode. Your blood is siphoned away from your digestive tract and brain to the major muscle groups. Your brain is not getting proper nutrition to function as it’s highest level. You find yourself aggravated over minor infractions and responding defensively when your prospect objects, which shatters your chance at closing the sale.
The challenge is that anything can be a drop of red in your glass and take you out of Clear Glass Mode. Until it becomes intentional, we tend to
operate in some variety of Red Glass Mode constantly. The key is to ensure that we are scheduling time for those activities that help clear our glass weekly, and have a plan to notice when we are hitting higher red- glass levels at work so we can take a break. When you find yourself hitting Red Glass Mode, go for a walk, do some journaling, meditate, or take a quick nap. Believe it or not, 15 minutes of any one of these activities has been proven to drastically reduce the stress hormones in our systems, moving us substantially closer to that cravable Clear Glass Mode and a healthier EQ.
Developing your EQ is a life-long commitment and there are a variety of tools you can use to increase your Emotional Intelligence. Commit yourself to seeking out more information. For the sales rep that is serious about their craft, it’s a skill set that will prove it’s worth again and again.
22 SEPTEMBER 2020 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION