I was waiting to be seated at a restaurant when I overheard this conversation between a consultant [c] and a client or prospect [cp] .. I couldn’t tell which.

C:  The people you are talking with that you want to buy your service … are you connecting with them?

CP: Yes of course we are!

C: Are you feeling their pain? Do they know you feel their pain?

CP: Yes of course we are!

C: Are you expressing emotionally that you are feeling their pain?

CP: What?  I’m not sending my people to “emotional school” [said incredulously].

With that, the CP quickly changed the subject, back to the left-brained, logical sales attack.

Although this was not verbatim, you get the picture.  The CP felt very comfortable “pushing” their service onto their prospects.

Feeling your client’s pain, emotionally, doesn’t mean crying or hugging.  It can mean being empathic, acknowledging and understanding, and really listening to what they have to say.  If the other person begins a conversation with a financial statement — such as ’sales are down’, ‘economy is taking its toll’, ‘hope we don’t have to lay anyone off’ — that should be a huge red flag and you need to immediately drop your own agenda and focus on the other person’s pain.  In a sense, they are screaming at you what is top on their mind.

This all ties into emotional intelligence …. EI has been shown to increase sales upwards of 127% and 63% less turnover in salespeople.   Those salespeople high in ‘learned optimism’ outsold their counterparts by 37%.

On the leadership side, the ability to know  your emotional strengths and weaknesses was found to be a key contributor in top performing executives.

So let me ask you …. what level is your emotional intelligence?  and that of your staff?  what difference would it make if you were higher in your EI level?

Call Shari @ 281.992.4136 to get more information on “emotional school” and the benefits you can soon experience.