EQFIT® Smart Selling Advantage

I usually don't use the blog space as a blatant advertisement for our products and services, but I feel so strongly about our EQFIT® Smart Selling approach that I want to share that with you.

Genesis of EQFIT®

If you have read my blogs or listened to our podcast, you will know that I have been in some form of sales all my life. As a matter of fact, most of us have. In its simplest form, selling is trying to influence someone else to make a decision you would like them to make. We all do that.

In my 30+ years of using assessments I knew that something was missing when it came to the ability to provide an assessment that measured how someone is attempting to influence others. Here are some lessons learned from my experience in working with hundreds of organizations, specifically in the area of revenue generation:

• The mindset of the salesperson is critical to sales success.
• Buyers have emotional drivers that make up the largest percentage of their buying decision.
• Personality based assessments are NOT primary predictors of success for sales positions. 75-80% of sales assessments are based in personality measures.
• Ultra high performing salespeople have very high EQ and use it well. ("Sales EQ" by Jeb Blount)

If I asked you the question, "Where are the most sales made?" What would you say? I ask that question often when I work with salespeople. I get all kinds of different answers. Here is my take on this:

Sales are made in the shared mind space (the emotional and rational environment) where the salesperson and the buyer meet.

Why do I think this? Because I have seen it happen countless times. So, how does a salesperson create an inviting and comfortable shared mind space for the buyer to enter?

• Connect with the buyer in a genuine way. Let the buyer see you as a person, not just another salesperson. This begins the trust building process.
• Use emotional intelligence to understand the strong emotional drivers present for the buyer. Then make those a priority going forward. Bringing the buyer the desired resolution/results to their emotional drivers is a fast track to sales success.
• Understand that the mind space may change due to circumstances. Continue to cultivate connection and trust building. Watch your influence increase dramatically.

This brings us back to the genesis of the EQFIT® Smart Selling approach. I knew that nothing existed that answered the questions that I had, so I created the EQFIT® Sales Profile and the EQFIT® Smart Selling approach. It is unique in that it is the only sales empowerment process based on a combination of 3 key elements not found in other sales training:

1. Leveraging neuroscience (emotional intelligence) to enhance sales success.
2. An assessment (EQFIT® Sales Profile) based on the most widely used and highly validated EQ assessment in the world.
3. A clear path for learning and developing EQ based sales skills.

At this time, there are about 75 certified EQFIT® Sales Profile professionals around the world administering the assessment, providing targeted coaching and training, and supporting their clients revenue generation efforts.

Beyond what I ever expected

The past 3 years have seen rapid growth of the EQFIT® Sales Profile and the EQFIT® Smart Selling approach. Our first EQFIT® Smart Selling online course has been released to provide salespeople with a clear path to growing their EQ based sales skills resulting in increases sales success.

Here is what I did not expect...how powerful the EQFIT® approach would be. Let me give you some examples:

• One client was able to increase sales 28% year over year and double net profit.
• Another client saw their average revenue per salesperson increase by 12%.
• One top performer who use to average twice what the next best performer did, increased that gap to four times what the next best salesperson accomplished.
• A group of consultants increased the revenue generated through their business development efforts in one year by 37%.

These are just a few of the success stories of EQFIT®.

The EQFIT® Smart Selling approach works with ANY other sales training, experience, or approach. It is a multiplier of success.

Here is something else I did not expect. The EQFIT® Sales Profile has become a very effective tool for predicting the success of a sales candidate in a specific type of sales. We are using the EQFIT® Sales Profile in all of our pre-hire assessment packages...even for leadership positions. Why? Because we want to know how someone is "showing up" to influence other people. That is certainly sales, but it is also many other roles, including leadership. In today's world, influence is critical to success.

A deeper look through research

I am collecting data for an extended research study. This study focuses on a combination of 3 key measures—EQ, EQFIT® Sales Profile, and sales performance. While the study is ongoing, there are already some fascinating trends showing up. Let me share one of those with you now. Starting with performance as the baseline, the vast majority of participants who are top performers have high EQ scores and are utilizing the 8 Success Factors in the EQFIT® Sales Profile in reasonably equal amounts. Just a little background, the EQFIT® Sales profile is based on measuring 8 critical Success Factors in sales. The actual measurement is in percentages. Think of it as what percentage of their energy and focus is going into each of the 8 Success Factors. From these measures the salesperson's sales style is determined.

Why is this important? It is becoming clear that a roadmap to hiring the best salespeople and developing salespeople that are already employed can be greatly enhanced. Even better, it can be customized for the type of sales that a specific organization does. This is a massive advantage!

This is why it is called the EQFIT® Smart Selling Advantage

Today, salespeople face more change and challenge than ever before. There is more emotional complexity in the workplace. Here are some sobering facts:

• 50% of U.S. workers experience a lot of stress every day (Gallup Global Workplace Survey)
• Emotional distress has increased 300% (Six Seconds - State of the Heart study)
• 66% of people self-identify as being lonely (Mental Health study)

There are many more stats like this, but I would prefer to focus on the positive.

People who have higher EQ are better able to navigate emotions, focus, use energy wisely, practice empathy, achieve more, and are more satisfied.

If the sale happens in a shared mind space, would having a positive and healthy mindset be an advantage?

That is the heart of the EQFIT® Smart Selling approach. Growing EQ skills and competencies, then putting them into practice accelerates sales success. What can an EQFIT® Smart Selling approach do for you?

• Provide a clear path to development.
• Create a healthy and vital mindset.
• Manage your emotions and those of others.
• Remove roadblocks and negative self-talk.
• Identify the emotional drivers present for the buyer (the largest component of the buying decision).
• Create an inviting and comfortable shared mind space where the sale happens.
• Learn how to influence anyone.

My desire is to Equip People to Prosper. That is the first thing you will see when you visit our website. So no, I don't feel guilty about shamelessly promoting the EQFIT® Smart Selling approach. I know how much this transformation has done for me. Even in difficult times, I have a method and proven practices to renew my energy, focus and efforts. I can look at a no as, "Not yet." I can keep going.

I will leave you with this:

The internal resources that you have built are what will be available to you to face the next challenge or take advantage of the next opportunity.

Start building and storing up those internal resources today. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but we can be prepared to meet that future with confidence!

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Copyright © 2022 EQFIT® - Author: Steven Goodner All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [email protected]