Emotional Intelligence in Sales Part 6
It's been quite a journey writing these six articles on Emotional Intelligence in Sales. In this final installment of the mini-series, we’re going to summarize the skills of emotional intelligence and discuss ways to leverage tools to enhance your skills.
In this post-covid world, the independent retailers who survived have amazing skills in Relationship Management. Back in the 80s you could keep a black book and make it all work because everyone had a phone number for their home where you could reach them or leave a message. These days people are more difficult to reach, so more and more retailers are adopting digital tools to aid them with Relationship Management.
Emotional Intelligence, or the ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and those of others, is a crucial skill for success in sales. It allows salespeople to connect with customers on a deeper level and build strong, lasting relationships using self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management. However, emotional intelligence can only take a salesperson so far. In order to truly excel in sales, it's important to combine emotional intelligence with the right tools, such as a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
CRM software allows salespeople to track customer interactions, manage leads and opportunities, and analyze sales data. This information can be used to build stronger relationships with customers, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.
Here are some ways that a CRM can help salespeople improve their emotional intelligence and succeed in sales:
Understanding Customer Needs: A CRM system can help salespeople track customer interactions and gather valuable information about their needs and preferences. By using this data to tailor their approach, salespeople can demonstrate empathy and understanding, which can help build trust and rapport. Knowing your customer will improve relationship management. This is made easier with a tool like Wishfluence, where all of your customer’s important dates, family, preferences, and wishlist items are at your fingertips.
Managing Customer Relationships: CRM software allows salespeople to keep track of all customer interactions, from initial contact to post-sale follow-up. This can help salespeople identify opportunities to reach out and show customers that they care, even after the sale is complete. Tools like Wishfluence help sales staff have a plan of action for contacting customers with daily notifications and recommendations. Further, Wishfluence is branded and secured for your store, and loyal customers love that their data is being retained by your store mobile app instead of a third party.
Analyzing Sales Data: A CRM system can provide salespeople with valuable insights into their sales performance. By analyzing data on closed deals, lost opportunities, and other key metrics, salespeople can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions that can help them close more deals in the future. Tools like Wishfluence provide regular reports and data to owners and staff.
Streamlining Processes: A CRM system can help salespeople automate certain tasks, such as lead-nurturing and follow-ups. By streamlining these processes, salespeople can focus on building relationships and providing personalized attention to their customers, which can improve their emotional intelligence and lead to more successful sales. Always feeling authentic, Wishfluence puts the power in the staff’s hands to deliver personalized and timely messages with the click of a button.
Emotional intelligence is a crucial skill for success in sales. By combining emotional intelligence with the right tools, such as a CRM system like Wishfluence, salespeople can build stronger relationships with customers, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions that can help them close more deals.
If your staff can look up a client’s history, without leaving their side, they can leverage that information when it comes to their social awareness and relationship management with their client. If you can take in information from a customer, providing additional details on the item, taking a meaningful snapshot of the item, recording the occasion that is so exciting for the customer, then you can leverage that information to make emotionally intelligent decisions now and in the future.
If you want to prevent an important client from being overlooked on a back ordered item, looking at the fulfillment data, such as when they added the item, for what occasion, and how good of a customer over time they have been, then you can be assured that the decision to give that item to a certain customer is the best decision you can make, regardless of if it feels like only a slight distinction. If a client leaves the store and you are able to send them a photo of the item with details, automatically, and continue communicating with them via their preferred communication medium, then you can build the relationship over time.
There are many tools in the jewelry industry that can help with these techniques, and I’m really excited to discuss what I believe to be the most cost-effective choice with the greatest results within this realm of Emotional Intelligence in Sales, Wishfluence. And I don’t just believe this blindly, I believe it because I’ve been working with jewelers for many years, with measured results of increased sales revenue, transaction count, and customer retention. The ability to expertly manage the client relationship from its inception to repeat purchases and interactions over time requires training and consistency in your application of emotional intelligence skills. If you take out the emotional intelligence part and try just to use the tools, the outreach will not feel authentic to the majority of your customers.
Thank you for following this blog, and for all of the encouragement you have been sending! It means the world to me! Please reach out if you have anything you want to add to the conversation.
