The pandemic accelerated a significant shift in the remote sales space. Today, remote sales is the name of the game. And the numbers tell the story: Pre-pandemic, 61% of B2B sales conversations were conducted in person, with trust being the key element for success. Today, over 66% of B2B sales are conducted virtually.
But remote sales is about more than just sharing the screen. It requires new skills for sales teams. According to Gartner research, only 23% of sales reps believe they are effective in remote virtual selling, compared to live interactions. That’s a frighteningly low number.
Buying with emotion. Selling with emotional intelligence.
Remotely or not, people buy from people. Studies show that 95% of buying decisions are unconscious and emotion based. As we’ve explained before, emotional intelligence (EQ) allows sales teams to understand and manage this emotional factor. However, the bulk of this information (93%) is communicated non-verbally—a challenge in remote conversations. Consequently, tools that enhance EQ during remote engagements represent considerable financial value to a business.
The impact of emotional intelligence on sales
70%
of customers/clients are lost for EQ-related reasons 1
12%
increase in close rates when sales reps use EQ 2
$6
return for every $1 invested in EQ-based technology 3
The state of emotional intelligence in the workplace
Emotional intelligence in the workplace is critical to managing cohesive, high-performing teams. But today, virtual conversations are adding more complexity to identifying, building and maintaining those relationships. Without the intangible “magic” of non-verbal communication that comes from face-to-face interaction, it’s becoming harder for team members to “read the room.”
Latha Poonamallee, Associate Professor of Management and Social Innovation and Chair of Management Programs at the New School in New York, defines emotional intelligence as the ability to accurately read and manage one’s own emotions and other people’s emotions. “[Emotional intelligence] requires the ability to be self-aware but also the ability for empathy,” Poonamallee explains, “which is to read other people’s emotions and understand other people’s motivations and to develop a certain kind of understanding and connection with others.”
"[Emotional intelligence] requires the ability to be self-aware but also the ability for empathy, which is to read other people’s emotions and understand other people’s motivations and to develop a certain kind of understanding and connection with others."
Latha Poonamallee, Associate Professor of Management and Social Innovation and Chair of Management Programs at the New School in New York
Emotion AI comes to the rescue
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help businesses improve hybrid work by enhancing video meeting experience and productivity, reducing the cognitive load associated with real-time support and through other features, like gesture recognition, polling, Q&A or real-time transcription and translation.
The Cisco Global Hybrid Work Index study shows that increased use of AI in meetings suggests people want to be engaged in meetings more. According to a Uniphore survey, 22% of U.S. users were interested in AI technology that could improve their ability to interpret the mood or interest of people they converse with.
Q for Sales brings emotional intelligence to B2B sales
B2B virtual meetings are not free from this cognitive load. The fact that B2B sales conversations are now mainly virtual makes it a priority for companies to invest in platforms that enhance virtual sales meeting experiences. In this context, improving the experience must focus on augmenting sales team capabilities to build and maintain relationships in virtual settings without the benefit of face-to-face interaction.
To provide these augmented capabilities Q for Sales – a first-of-its-kind EQ sales tool from Uniphore – combines:
- Real-Time Engagement and Sentiment Analysis
- Multi-party and multi-medium analysis
- Enhanced ability to read the room
- Total conversation capturing for each participant
- People Development
- Insights to support behavior change
- Ability to capture and coach on individual interactions, multiple engagements and entire lifecycles
- Onboarding and development acceleration
- Surfacing Contextual Events
- Ability to surface key moments that matter
- Identification of fluctuations in mood through visual, tonal and textual cues
Emotional intelligence: a smart sales investment
With EQ-enabled Q for Sales, organizations can significantly augment their sales team’s capabilities to support active engagement with their customers. By leveraging emotion AI with real-time and post-call meeting analytics, sellers can increase their awareness of participant engagement, adjust for imbalances in participation and maximize the effectiveness of every meeting.
References:
- SalesForce: “40 Customer Service Statistics to Move Your Business Forward“
- Sigma Assessment Systems Inc: “Sanofi: How EI Training Boosts Sales and Benefits Employees“
- Capgemini Research Institute: “Emotional Intelligence: The Essential Skillset for the Age of AI“