A Shift in Attitude and Behaviors is Key to Building a High-Performing Sales Team
Does someone on your sales team wear their heart in their sleeve? While a certain level of openness, transparency, and vulnerability can be a good thing and are all signs of a high sales EQ, too much unfiltered expression can work against you. Passion and intense enthusiasm can easily cross the line to become moodiness and outright excitability when the pressure’s on. Nobody likes a crybaby. And in the business world, those who become particularly disappointed or discouraged when unanticipated issues arise are viewed as undeserving of a seat at the grown-ups’ table.
If you’re a sales manager and have any team members who suffer from too much emotional transparency, encourage them to reflect on which situations tend to trigger feelings of anger or frustration. Have them monitor their tendency to overreact in the face of setbacks. For example, if they wake up to a bunch of annoying emails, tell them to avoid responding immediately. Wait until they have had some time to calm down. Likewise, if someone makes an irritating comment during a team meeting, encourage them to control their reaction and keep calm.
While they can’t exactly go from being Woody Allen to the Dalai Lama overnight, they can be coached to avoid stressful situations and inhibit their volatile reactions by being aware of their triggers. And to increase sales performance in your team overall, start working on tactics that help them become aware of their emotions in real time, not only in terms of how they experience them, but more importantly, in terms of how they are being experienced by others.
For additional ideas on using Sales EQ to build a high performance sales team, get your copy of Igniting Sales EQ, available online at Amazon.
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