Retaining current customers is 6-7 times less costly than acquiring new ones and the average company loses 10-30% of its customer each year according to research conducted by The Brevit Group.
The key to sales success and retaining customers is your people but what makes someone a top performer, an average performer and a low performer? The difference between top and bottom sales performers may not be product knowledge or sales technique, but the ability to manage themselves and relate effectively to others: their Emotional Intelligence (EI).
Without EI, salespeople can struggle to establish rapport with prospects and clients, manage stress effectively, and stay motivated in tougher times.
The two core foundational skills underpinning the success of emotionally intelligent salespeople are Self-Awareness and Awareness of Others. Self-Awareness is the ability to recognise one’s own emotional reaction to what’s going on in the sales environment – how it’s affecting your decisions, behaviour and performance; while Awareness of Others is the ability to perceive, understand and acknowledge the way others feel. This skill helps us identify the things that make people feel valued, listened to, consulted and understood. According to The Brevit Group report, only 13% of customers believe a salesperson can understand their needs, this plays directly into these core emotionally intelligent skills.
A critical differentiator of effective and successful salespeople is the ability to effectively manage the impact that highly emotional events have on their stress levels whilst remaining healthy and motivated. Self-Management is all about managing your mood and emotions, time and behaviour. Mood therefore can be a powerful force in the workplace and sales environment. 80% of sales require 5 follow up calls after the initial meeting, 44% of salespeople give up after 1 follow up, so therefore those who improve their self-management skills will significantly improve their conversion rates.
Whether you’re a corporate salesperson or an independent business owner and entrepreneur – understanding and developing your emotional intelligence can be transformative for your life, business, and client engagements. Now is the time to inform and support.
Join us on May 21st at 3pm CET for a webinar to learn how to leverage the power of emotional intelligence to boost your sales teams’ performance, productivity and culture.
