Boosting sales by investing in emotional intelligence

What makes a good salesperson? We’ve all experienced being sold to and will have our own memories of both good and bad sales techniques – those purchases we didn’t even know we needed, versus those badly targeted sales pitches that hugely missed their mark.

For business leaders tasked with managing sales teams, finding the secret to an effective salesperson is essential for overall business success. After all, if your team is unable to nurture leads and guide them through your sales funnel, your business will not generate any income.

From a psychological point of view, emotional intelligence is the number one trait all salespeople must possess. It allows them to be empathetic to their potential customers, connect with them and establish a relationship built on trust.

Another key ingredient you need to develop in your salespeople is charisma. As the saying goes, people buy from people. If your prospective customers don’t like your salespeople, you’re in trouble.

While emotional intelligence and charisma doesn’t come naturally to all of us (as you will doubtless be aware from your own encounters with poor salespeople), the good news for businesses that want to boost their sales process is that these skills can be taught.

Pinnacle Wellbeing Services did just this for British cybersecurity company Sophos by coaching their UK sales team in emotional intelligence, specifically charisma.