Emotional Intelligence in Sales

I once saw a salesperson win a $50K deal without saying a word about their product. Crazy, right? Here’s what happened: The prospect walked into the meeting guarded. Standard objections. Price concerns. Past bad vendor experiences. But instead of rushing to pitch features or show ROI slides… This rep asked one question. Then listened. Like, really listened. He noticed where the prospect hesitated. The shift in tone when compliance challenges came up. The unspoken frustration about internal delays. He reflected their words back to them, clearer than how they said it themselves. Suddenly the conversation wasn’t about software anymore. It was about saving their team 12 hours a week and avoiding another boardroom embarrassment. The prospect literally said: "You get it. You understand what we’re really up against." The deal closed 3 days later. Moral of the story? In sales, active listening is white magic. When you make people feel understood better than they understand themselves — you become irreplaceable. 👉 Features sell. 👉 ROI convinces. 👉 But listening closes. Listen like a human. Close like a legend. #sales #activeselling #storyselling #B2Bsales #consultativeselling #relationshipbuilding

Does your brand trigger customers’ emotions enough? It should, because it is emotions that make a purchase. These six moral emotions provide the strongest triggers. In marketing and sales it is long known that customers don’t buy rationally. Emotions are far more important in the large majority of purchasing decisions. This means your brand, and for that matter your products and services, need to trigger your customer’s emotions. The strongest emotional responses are triggered when our moral values are touched—positively or negatively. We all every now and then have this feeling, when something simply is not right or how it ought to be, for example. In his book, The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt distinguishes six moral foundations that all people intuitively have. When one or more of these moral foundations are touched, this typically triggers strong emotions. And because it is strong emotions that cause us to act, it is these emotions that we want our brands, products and services to trigger. The six moral emotions are: CARE (vs. HARM) Adaptive challenge: protect and care for children Original triggers: distress or neediness expressed by child Key emotions: compassion Relevant virtues: caring, kindness FAIRNESS (vs. CHEATING) Adaptive challenge: reap benefits of two-way partnerships Original triggers: cheating, cooperation, deception Key emotions: anger, gratitude, guilt Relevant virtues: fairness, justice, trustworthiness LOYALTY (vs. BETRAYAL) Adaptive challenge: form cohesive coalitions Original triggers: threat of challenge to group Key emotions: group pride, rage against traitors Relevant virtues: loyalty, patriotism, self-sacrifice AUTHORITY (vs. SUBVERSION) Adaptive challenge: forge beneficial relationships within hierarchies Original triggers: signs of dominance and submission Key emotions: respect, fear Relevant virtues: obedience, deference SANCTITY (vs. DEGRADATION) Adaptive challenge: avoid contaminants Original triggers: waste products, diseased people Key emotions: disgust Relevant virtues: temperance, chastity, piety, cleanliness LIBERTY (vs. OPPRESSION) Adaptive challenge: keeping dominant individuals in the group in check Original triggers: bullying and constraining others Key emotions: anger at oppression Relevant virtues: freedom and self-determination, protection of victims Your brand can trigger more than one type of emotion, and the branding challenge is to focus on those emotions where you get the best response from your target group. Which moral emotions does your brand trigger? Are these the right ones? Does it sufficiently do so, or should your branding become more focused on these emotions? —- For more useful strategy and leadership content, join my Soulful Strategy newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eKjb8Uss #emotionalintelligence #behavioralscience #socialdevelopment

I warmed up a prospect for 3 months on LinkedIn before our first call. They signed a £75K deal in 3 days. Modern selling demands a new approach: cold outreach fails, warm relationships win. Think about it... That prospect had consumed 47 of my posts. Watched my videos. Read my articles. Engaged with my content. By the time we jumped on that first call? They already trusted me. They already knew my approach. They already understood the value. I didn't have to sell them. They'd already sold themselves. Here's my framework for turning content into closed deals: 👇 1. Build trust at scale BEFORE the pitch Stop spraying and praying with cold messages. Start building relationships through value. Each post builds trust. Your insights mark credibility. Stories create connection. Your content is doing the heavy lifting while you sleep. 2. Let buyers self-educate on THEIR timeline Modern buyers don't want to be sold to. They want to discover solutions themselves. ↳ 70% of the buying journey happens before they talk to sales ↳ They're researching you before you even know they exist ↳ Your content is either attracting or repelling them Give them what they need to make informed decisions. 3. Recognize the REAL buying signals Forget MQLs and SQLs. Think about PQLs (product qualified leads) Here's what actually matters: - Multiple engagements across different posts - Bringing colleagues into the conversation - Asking specific, detailed questions - Moving from public comments to private messages These aren't leads. These are pre-qualified buyers. 4. Keep momentum BETWEEN meetings Here's where most deals die: The 167 hours between your calls. While you're chasing other prospects, your buyer is: ↳ Getting cold feet ↳ Talking to competitors ↳ Forgetting why they were excited Smart sellers stay present even when they're not there. This is where tools like Consensus come in. They let buyers explore demos on their own time. Answer their questions at 10 PM. Share materials with their team. Stay engaged between touchpoints. It's how you keep social selling momentum right through the demo stage. https://lnkd.in/ePVWw-Bi 5. Close with confidence, not pressure When trust is already built? When value is already proven? When buyers are already educated? Closing feels natural, not like a battle. The best deals I've ever closed felt inevitable. Because the relationship started months before the opportunity. Here's what this approach delivers (in my experience): ✓ Significantly faster sales cycles ✓ Much higher close rates ✓ Bigger deal sizes (pre-sold = less negotiation) ✓ Happier customers (they chose you, not the other way around) Stop thinking of social selling as "nice to have." Start treating it as your primary sales strategy. Your next big deal isn't in your CRM. They're scrolling LinkedIn right now. What content are you creating to catch them? #ConsensusPartner

The spreadsheets never tell the full story. I’ve closed millions in deals across my career and let me tell you a secret most won’t: Your pitch deck won’t close the deal. Your feature list won’t either. The real sales superpower? Human connection. When I started in sales, I was obsessed with KPIs: - Call counts - Email open rates - Pipeline metrics But my biggest breakthrough came when I flipped the script. - The more I focused on people, not numbers… - The more trust I built, not just pipeline… - The more deals I closed without “selling” at all. That 5-minute “non-business” chat before a meeting? It closes more deals than most product demos ever will. Here’s what separates average salespeople from trusted advisors: - Genuinely caring about solving the client’s problems - Having the courage to say, “We’re not the right fit” - Following through even when there’s no short-term payoff The best salespeople don’t force-fit solutions. They adapt. They listen. They customize. And when markets shift (as they always do)... When new tech disrupts old models… When buyer behavior evolves... One truth never changes: People buy from people they trust. #SalesLeadership #RelationshipSelling #HumanConnection #SalesStrategy #Adaptability #TrustInBusiness #SalesInsights

Your sales managers are drowning in data—but starving for clarity. I was on a call last week with a VP of Sales who showed me his dashboard. 47 different metrics. I asked him : "Which number, if it moved 20% this month, would change everything?" Silence. Here's what I see happening: Leaders know *something* is off. Pipeline isn't converting. Reps are busy but not productive. Deals are slipping. But they can't pinpoint the actual behavior or skill gap that's causing it. Here's how to actually diagnose what's broken (and fix it fast): —— Step 1: Pick ONE North-Star Metric Not 10. Not 5. One. What's the single number that, if improved, would cascade into revenue growth this quarter? Could be: → Connect rate → Discovery-to-demo conversion → Demo-to-proposal rate → Close rate Pick the constraint. Ignore the rest for now. —— Step 2: Work Backward to the Behaviors Metrics don't move themselves. Behaviors move metrics. Ask: What are the 3–5 specific actions that directly influence this number? Example—if your North-Star is close rate: • Multi-threading (are reps building champion + EB relationships?) • Next-step clarity (is every call ending with a concrete commitment?) • Objection handling (are reps folding on pricing or timeline pushback?) Now you have a target. You know exactly what behaviors to inspect and improve. —— Step 3: Inspect the Work, Not Just the Outcome Most managers live in lagging indicators. They see the deal lost, the pipeline gap, the missed forecast—after it's too late. Top leaders inspect leading behaviors weekly: → Listen to 2–3 discovery calls per rep. Score them on your behavior checklist. → Review pipeline hygiene: Are next steps clear? Are close dates realistic? → Check activity quality: Are reps reaching the right people, or just burning through volume? You'll spot the gap in week one. You can course-correct in week two. —— Step 4: Use BIPSY to Diagnose the Root Cause When a behavior isn't happening, most managers assume it's a skill problem and throw training at it. But the issue might be: B – Behavior: They don't know they should be doing it. I – Issue Diagnosis: We don't know the CAUSE of the problem. P – Process: There's no clear standard or it's not reinforced. S – Skill: They know what to do but can't execute it well. Y – You (Impact): YOU as the leader aren't doing the right things. Diagnose correctly, and your fix is 10x faster. Don't guess. Diagnose. —— Step 5: Coach the Behavior Until It Sticks One conversation won't change anything. Great managers build a weekly rhythm: Monday: Inspect the work (calls, pipeline, activity). Tuesday–Thursday: Coach the gap in 1:1s with real examples. Friday: Measure early proof (did the behavior improve?). Rinse and repeat. This is system force, not brute force. The Bottom Line: Your team doesn't need more dashboards, more meetings, or more motivation. They need clarity and specific actions.

If you close $50k+ deals, I have news: Sales is not a numbers game. Sales is a skills game. 7 skills that grow your income without burning out on the volume game: 1. Finding 'the need behind the need.' Great salespeople dig under the surface. When buyers share their problems, they listen. But then they follow up with: "What's going on in your business that's driving that to be a priority?" THAT gets to the true priority. 2. Quantifying customer pain. No measurement, no money. Quantifying pain does three things: a) justifies the spend b) creates urgency c) helps your customer appreciate the magnitude of the problem. Try asking: "What metric is suffering as a result of these challenges?" 3. Creating champions. A great champion runs through brick walls to get the deal done. They sell your product internally when you're not in the room. Indeed: Salespeople don't close deals. Champions do. A league of champions is like a magnetic force for closing deals. 4. Business acumen. The best sellers in the world are actually businesspeople that happen to know how to sell. Don't just improve your SALES acumen. Improve your BUSINESS acumen. Senior execs will respect you 10x more than reps who only know the latest sales techniques. 5. Executive conversations You can close five-figure deals without this skill. But if you want to close six, seven, and eight figure deals? You better have gravitas when it comes to 'facing off' with senior execs. They're direct. They use plain language. They're efficient. 6. Negotiation. Negotiation is a 'threshold' skill. That means it makes almost all of your other skills more valuable. Becoming a great negotiator will pay dividends the rest of your life. Dig in and master it. 7. Writing. Clear writing indicates clear thinking. Sloppy writing indicates sloppy thinking. Your job as a seller is to persuade and communicate. Become a master of every medium that involves: - sales calls - written word - group presentations What skills would you add?

𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭: 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Behavioral economics studies the psychological factors that affect economic decisions and consumer behavior. A notable psychological phenomenon influencing our buying decisions is the Endowment Effect. We tend to place a higher value on things we own, often overestimating their worth due to sentimental or perceived attachment. Many brands sense a valuable opportunity here: consumers are inclined to value a product or service more if they feel a sense of ownership. Offering free trials or test drives, whether for streaming services or car dealerships, strategically leverages the Endowment Effect in consumer psychology. Initially, a potential subscriber might struggle to envision the value or justify the cost of a streaming service in their daily life. However, by granting a complimentary trial period, companies enable consumers to experience and "own" the service without immediate financial commitment. This sense of psychological ownership enhances the perceived value of the service, significantly boosting the likelihood of a subscription purchase once the trial ends. Another compelling example is the way Starbucks personalizes the coffee-drinking experience. By allowing customers to customize their drinks and even write their names on the cups, Starbucks taps into the Endowment Effect, making consumers feel a unique sense of ownership over their beverages. Apple uses the Endowment Effect through their showrooms, allowing consumers to engage directly with their products and cultivate a feeling of ownership. The Endowment Effect enables brands to forge deeper emotional ties with consumers. #EndowmentEffect #BrandLoyalty #Apple #Starbucks        Picture source: Facebook/The Decision Lab

Missing buying signals is costing you revenue. Every day, buyers send signals they’re ready—or getting ready—to make a purchase. If you don’t know how to recognize or act on these, you’re losing deals to competitors who do. Understanding buying signals helps you engage buyers at the right time, with the right message, so you can close more deals. 👉 Understanding the 3 levels of #BuyingSignals: - Level 1: Future Need - At this level, the buyer has a problem but isn’t aware of it yet. These signals show that the buyer may need your solution in the future, even if they’re not ready right now. 📣 The buyer is facing challenges, asking questions, or raising concerns, but they’re not searching for solutions yet. How to Use It: Educate the buyer. Share insights that bring their problem into focus. Let them know their issue could worsen or better options exist but don’t push for an immediate sale. When to Act: Build a relationship and position yourself as a trusted resource. Stay top of mind for when they’re ready. - Level 2: Problem Acknowledgment -   Here, the buyer knows they have a problem but isn’t sure how serious it is or if it’s worth solving. They may also be unsure of the best solution. 📣The buyer is asking more detailed questions, engaging with content, or showing some interest, but they’re not ready to commit. How to Use It: Help them understand the significance of the problem. Share case studies and expert advice to show the impact of solving it. When to Act: Engage thoughtfully. Dig deeper into their pain points and show them the value of addressing the issue soon. - Level 3: Active Exploration - Now, the buyer is researching solutions and comparing options. They’re showing clear interest and could be ready to make a decision. 📣 The buyer is downloading multiple pieces of content, repeatedly visiting key product pages, or directly asking for demos or pricing info. How to Use It: Act now! Be responsive, personalize your approach, and provide details to guide them toward choosing your solution. When to Act: Immediately. Buyers at this stage are ready to make a decision, and you need to be proactive. 👉 Recognizing these three levels of buying signals allows you to adjust your approach to where the buyer is in their journey. This ensures you’re not pushing too hard too soon—or missing the chance to close a deal when they’re ready. Knowing how and when to engage is the key to earning their business. P.S. Who am I SASSING in this pic?!! Drop your best guess in the comments. -- Enjoyed this post? Click here to follow me on LinkedIn 👉lnkd.in/emVkCrf3 to hit follow & ring my 🔔 to stay updated about my best content! #SignalBasedSelling #IntentData #SalesTriggers #ValueBasedSegmentation

Remember when we feared AI would flood B2B with robotic content? The delicious irony is it’s doing the exact opposite. For decades, B2B marketing’s unwritten rule was to strip away every trace of human emotion, leaving behind sterile facts and features. Just be rational, they said. Emotion is for consumer brands. As a result, we built jargon-filled spec sheets masquerading as ads, “Solution-driven” copy that solved nothing, and content so robotic it may as well have been written by a calculator. Now, AI holds up a mirror and shows us the truth: We forgot B2B buyers are human, too. We forgot that heartstrings loosen purse strings. Even when research showed ads tapping into emotion outperform rational B2B ads by 3× (LinkedIn B2B Institute, 2025). Humans created robotic B2B content. Now AI is helping us humanize it. Let’s look at a couple of success stories: 1. Zendesk’s "Frustration-First" Campaign - AI’s Role: Analyzed 5,000 support tickets for real human pain points. - Human Twist: Turned raw venting into relatable ads: "‘Why does every support tool feel like a maze with no exit?’ – Actual customer, 2024. Here’s the escape route." - Result: 41% more sign-ups vs. their standard "Efficient ticketing!" ads (G2 Case Study, 2024). 2. Atlassian’s "Overwhelmed Developers" LinkedIn Series - AI’s Role: Mined Reddit/developer forums for emotional pain points (e.g., "Jira makes me want to scream into the void"). - Human Twist: Created memes and confessional-style posts: "Raise your hand if your backlog feels like a horror movie sequel. 🙋♂️ We fixed that." - Result: 28% higher engagement, 2x more qualified leads (Atlassian Growth Report, Q3 2024). 3. Dropbox’s "Creative Guilt" Video Ads - AI’s Role: Identified a hidden emotion in user interviews: guilt about unused files. - Human Twist: Produced a tearjerker spot showing a father rediscovering old family photos: “Remember when ‘someday’ was a promise, not a folder?" - Result: 57% increase in premium upgrades (AdAge 2025). Instead of erasing humanity from B2B marketing, AI is helping restore it. Put this into action in 3 steps: 1️⃣ Feed AI raw customer voices (reviews, calls, LinkedIn posts). 2️⃣ Ask: "What emotions dominate? Give me exact quotes." 3️⃣ Rewrite your blandest/lowest-performing ad using those words. Your buyers want to be seen. And they’re rewarding the brands that see them. The brands winning 2025 will be those using AI to listen hardest and infuse in the right emotions. #hicm #AI #b2bmarketing

You hit quota. You celebrate for 10 seconds. Then the anxiety starts all over again. That’s what happens when you attach your self-worth to outcomes. Top performers don’t play that game. Sales is a performance sport. You're measured on what you close, not what you control. So it’s no surprise most sellers obsess over outcomes: - Hit the number - Make club - Win the deal - Get the recognition But here’s the truth: Outcomes are unreliable. You can do everything right and still lose. Your champion leaves. A competitor undercuts you. The CFO changes priorities overnight. And when you're attached to that outcome— You spiral. You question your worth. You burn out. Here’s what changed everything for me: I stopped chasing outcomes. And I started obsessing over inputs. Inputs are what you control: - Booking new meetings - Sending the follow-ups - Delivering RGAs - Personalizing outbound - Advancing your pipeline Outcomes come out of inputs. Want to win more? Get religious about your inputs. When you know your math: Meetings → Opps → Win rate → Revenue You can reverse engineer everything. Let’s say your close rate is 33%. You need 3 quality meetings to close 1 deal. You want 4 deals this month? Then you need 12 real meetings. That’s your job now. Not worrying. Not “hoping it comes in.” Just feeding the inputs. This is how I coach reps now: Detach from results. Attach to actions. Every single day. It’s counterintuitive. But the moment you stop chasing results is the moment they come. TAKEAWAY Quota isn’t the goal. It’s a lagging indicator. Winners focus on what they can control. Losers fixate on what they can’t. Detach from the outcome. Obsess over the input. That’s how you win. For life.