ESP for Sales

ESP for sales is not extra sensory perception...but in a way, maybe it is. In a recent study, behavioral economists have found that 70% of the buying decision is based in emotion and 30% in logic or rational data.

EQFIT® Selling Process (ESP) is what I am referring to.

If you knew the emotional drivers of a specific buyer, would that be helpful?

Absolutely!

One of the best known sales trainers and authors, Harold Tracy, says this in his book The Psychology of Selling, "All buying decisions are emotional...people decide emotionally and then justify logically." Why do so many sales training approaches leave out this critical aspect? Because it gets into understanding the human brain and human behavior. It is far easier to teach techniques than neuroscience.

What if we could understand the human brain in the context of selling?

We can! That is what the EQFIT® approach is all about. Better yet, it works with ANY sales training, experience, or techniques. EQFIT® Smart Selling is a multiplier and accelerator of success. But let's go back to where this journey began.

Story

Many years ago when I was a new sales manager, I sat in a sales training session with my salespeople. A little backstory...my Dad, the psychologist and D.Ed., was a great source of learning and insight. I had always been exposed to the tools of psychology, but more importantly, how they work and what insights they can bring. He allowed me to work with him on several projects, and eventually I worked with him directly. Back to the sales training. As I was sitting in the conference room with my sales team, the facilitator kept talking about techniques. Probing questions, trial closes, confirming questions. I kept thinking, "something is missing." What about:

• The right mindset to be successful as a salesperson?
• How to understand what is driving the buyer to make a buying decision?
• How could we better understand how to influence buyers?
• How do we get more influence?
• How do you successfully approach buyers with different personalities?

I finally asked the facilitator, "How do we understand what is important to the buyer, what is key in their buying decision process?" This is the answer I received, "Ask more questions." OK, I guess there is some value in that but what questions? So I ask the facilitator, "What question should we ask to identify the drivers of the buying decision for a specific buyer?" To which he responded, "It depends." I waited for more of a response but that was all I would get.

The journey to clarity

This started a journey for me. I was not satisfied with the answer I received that day. I was already aware of the tools of psychology and what was possible through those. Something was still missing. There was something deeper that was impacting the success of selling efforts. This began a 25 year journey to answer the questions that were not answered that day.

Simple but profound

I have always been a student of people, behavior, and how the brain works. About ten years ago, I began researching neuroscience at a much deeper level. My goal was not to become a famous neuroscientist. I was just curious about how our brain works and how that impacts success in life and work. That is when I started to explore EQ (emotional intelligence).

Epiphany...if you drill down deep enough, all of my questions from that day in sales training can be answered with emotional intelligence.

•  What is the right mindset to be successful as a salesperson? A success mindset comes from the ability to be agile and resilient in selling. This happens when you can navigate your emotions and the emotions of others for better outcomes, create abundant internal motivation, and exercise optimism consistently. 3 emotional intelligence competencies.
• How do we understand what is driving the buyer to make a buying decision? You do need to ask the right questions, then listen and observe carefully. Emotions are driving each buyer's decision making process. Understanding what those are for a specific buyer will open the door to greater sales success. Recognizing patterns and increasing empathy are two emotional intelligence competencies that directly apply here.
• How could we better understand how to influence buyers? Influence comes out of the EQFIT® proprietary process called the Investment Model - Connection + Trust = Influence. Sales techniques are the application of influence. You have to have influence with someone before you can "spend" it. Increase empathy, enhance emotional literacy, and recognizing patterns are critical emotional intelligence competencies for understanding how to increase our influence.
• How do we get more influence? Make more deposits of connection and trust building into the "Influence bank account". Navigate emotions, exercise optimism, intrinsic motivation all apply.
• How do you successfully approach buyers with different personalities? By realizing that emotional drivers are the critical element in the buying decision, and that these are largely independent of personality type. Different buyers will have different emotional drivers. They may change over time as well. Identifying the emotional drivers is key to enhancing sales success. Enhance emotional literacy, recognize patterns, navigate emotions, increase empathy, pursue noble goals (stay focused on what is important).

EQFIT® is created

This is where EQFIT® comes in. Several years ago, I partnered with the world's largest EQ community - Six Seconds. Through that partnership I was able to finally bring to reality the EQFIT® Sales Profile, the only sales assessment based in emotional intelligence (neuroscience) that measures how a person is currently showing up to influence others. Even better, this is a real time measure that provides immediate feedback on where a person is investing their energy and focus in the 8 Success Factors most important to sales success. This profile is based on the highly validated and utilized SEI (Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence) assessment. The EQFIT® Sales Profile is a truly unique assessment that has proven highly effective in hiring and developing salespeople.

EQ - emotional intelligence + FIT (fitness) = EQFIT®

We started this with ESP. Maybe that should stand for Emotional Sensory Perception. With so many sales experts around the world talking about the critical role of emotions in sales success, having a way to measure and develop sales people to better understand the EQ of selling seems to be a significant enhancement. The beauty of this...it will work with any sales training, techniques, experience, or approaches.

Personal note:

The EQFIT® Sales Profile and approach has been so well accepted that we now have close to 100 certified EQFIT® Sales Profile professionals around the world who can administer the assessment and provide results coaching. I never thought this effort would grow so rapidly and have such an impact so quickly. However, with the increase of emotional impact in our lives today, it makes sense that this approach is rapidly gaining acceptance and utilization.

We have recently released our first online course, EQFIT® Smart Selling, with additional courses to be published soon.

For more on EQFIT® see:

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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]