Much has been made of the connection between fine-tuned emotional intelligence and sales ability. The relationship between the two is simple – if you have the ability to read people accurately, you can empathise with them, and in empathising you can make an emotional connection that allows you to influence, guide and persuade them. This ultimately gives you a greater chance of convincing them that they should buy what you are selling.
Exercise Your EQ Skills
Given this link, many a sales manager has asked themselves how they can improve the ability of their sales teams to read prospects. Think of all the sales that have dead-ended because the sales rep misunderstood the prospect and didn’t pick up on the subtle, non-verbal signs of emotion that were heading down the wrong path.
Imagine if you could turn each of those unsuccessful sales around by providing your team with the ability to read people better and, in real time, select the right EQ skills to close the deal, depending on where the conversation is headed and what they know about how the sales prospect is responding emotionally.
Learn to Read Minds
The good news is that you can. The American television series Lie to Me, about a deception consultant who is able to detect when people are lying by reading their faces, is not just another futuristic show. It is based on the real-life character of Paul Ekman, an American clinical psychologist who’s made his name by helping people master the art of reading people’s micro-expressions. Ekman, who was chief psychologist in the US Army, has advised the US Secret Service, and acts as scientific advisor to the makers of Lie to Me.
He also sells online training programmes that teach the ability for which he has become famous. It’s called FACE (Facial Expressions, Awareness, Compassion, Emotion) training and comprises the Micro Expression Training Tool (METT) and the Subtle Expression Training Tool (SETT).
The theory is that there are universal facial expressions for seven emotions – anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, contempt and happiness – regardless of race or language. These facial expressions pass across the face for just a micro-second, even if the person is trying to hide them, revealing critical information about what they are thinking and feeling. Similarly, they can appear when an emotion is just beginning, sometimes before the person is even aware of how they are feeling
Ekman’s training teaches you how to recognise these expressions, delivering dual benefits to sales leaders. Firstly, you can improve your team’s ability to read their prospects, thereby allowing them to access vital, early information about whether they are heading down the wrong track (so they can change direction) or are on the right track (and should keep pushing the same buttons to close the deal). It can also help you to read your team members better, and in so doing to empathise, make an emotional connection and inspire, persuade and influence them
Invest
Courses can be purchased online at http://face.paulekman.com/products.aspx
