Emotional Intelligence is The Key to Success – APQ Aptitude Assessment and Corporate Sales Training Unlocks Your Team’s EQ Secrets
Is having a high IQ necessary to become a successful salesperson? Or is emotional intelligence the key ingredient?
In my experience, the latter is more important. I have met a lot of very smart people who could figure out all sorts of complicated problems, but they lacked the “it” factor to sell themselves out of a wet paper bag. That factor is natural aptitude – and in sales and corporate sales training, that means inherently possessing the right emotional attitudes to engage others and get them to buy.
Why aptitude is so important
Aptitude determines 50 percent of sales success. The other four factors are product knowledge, selling skills, motivation, corporate sales training and sales processes. It used to be that an organization could only directly affect three of these factors: sales skills and product knowledge (through training), and sales processes (through their development and refinement). Aptitude and motivation were “either she has them or she doesn’t” propositions, and there wasn’t a reliable test for natural talent until the Craft Personality Questionnaire (now the Advanced Personality Questionnaire (APQ) was developed in the 1970s.
How the APQ relates to Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ)
The APQ allows you to assess and develop emotional intelligence in yourself and your staff. It does so with four levels, as described next.
Basic EQ Level 1.0: Self Awareness
The Primary Traits section reveal who we are as individuals compared with everyone else. Test takers improve their self-awareness when these traits are revealed to them, which is the first step to self-improvement.
Professional EQ Level 2.0: Self-Management
Most of us possess trait scores which fall in extremely high or extremely low ranges. The APQ brings about awareness of the blind spots, which test takers can then self-manage for greater interpersonal success.
Sales EQ Level 3.0: Role Management
The third level of EQ achieved with the APQ is understanding how our traits affect our job roles. A report included with every APQ, the Sales Builder Report, brings awareness of how weaknesses might affect our specific job role, whether it be in outsides sales, management, or customer service. By understanding this, we can either opt for a different position or “stretch” ourselves to better fit the role.
Influencer EQ Level 4.0: Relationship Management
The four types of personality the test reveals are: Directive Driver, Expressive Communicator, Reflective Thinker, and Supportive Helper. Through coaching, one obtains the ability to stretch towards the other personality types rather than stay fixed. This allows test takers to improve relationships with both co-workers and their potential customers.
One of the most effective things you can do to improve your sales, right now, is to test your entire team with the APQ and consider corporate sales training based on the results. To get started on a healthier revenue stream immediately, call us at (866) 833-9939 or fill out this very short form.
