Emotional Intelligence

In March, we introduced the topic of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). This month, we’ll take a closer look at a couple of the dimensions of EQ, describing what they might look like in the showroom:

• Relationship Management/Social Skills– specifically the ability to adapt one’s communication style


• Empathy– specifically the ability to understand another person’s perspective

We’ll do this by describing two hypothetical Sales Consultants: Ryan and Amanda.

RYAN: THE ABILITY TO ADAPT TO YOUR CUSTOMER’S COMMUNICATION STYLE

If you were to ask any of Ryan’s customers to describe him, they would say he is honest, knowledgeable, and trustworthy, and has the ability to adapt to each individual customer’s communication style. If you watched Ryan with different customers, you would see many different styles of interactions. Ryan is very good at reading his customers’ pace and conversation needs and adjusting accordingly. By doing so, he makes each customer feel comfortable and builds his personal relationship with them.

Ryan matched Mr. Sinha’s subdued manner and quiet speaking style. He provided short but accurate answers to Mr. Sinha’s many product questions. At Mr. Sinha’s request, Ryan spent a great deal of time,reviewing information about fuel economy, safety ratings, and driver assistance features. There was no discussion of Mr. Sinha’s family or personal interests. Only after all of Mr. Sinha’s questions had been answered, did they take the vehicle—a Snow White Optima EX—for a drive. Before they left the lot, again at Mr. Sinha’s request, Ryan went over all the controls and seat adjustments in detail.

Ryan’s interaction with Sarah Thomas was much different. When Sarah came in, she was smiling and friendly, but it was clear she was in a hurry. She spoke quickly and her body motions were very animated. You could see that Ryan was adjusting to Sarah’s pace and demeanor—smiling a lot, speaking more rapidly, and also becoming more animated. Sarah was looking at a top-of-the-line Sorento. She’d read about it and wanted to see it for herself. The Sorento would be a family vehicle and Sarah showed Ryan pictures of her daughters, Samantha and Elizabeth, and her son, Joshua. She and Ryan shared a laugh when she described some of her kids’ hijinks. After 15 minutes, she made an appointment to come back with her family and left.

AMANDA: UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER’S PERSPECTIVE

Amanda’s customers would tell you that she is a very caring person. Amanda is a very good listener who has a sincere interest in understanding each customer’s situation. By pausing to focus on her customers as individuals, Amanda makes them feel safe, puts them at ease, and develops a strong rapport with them.

Just this afternoon, a young couple came in with a fussy 6-month-old child. The couple looked frazzled and apprehensive about bringing a noisy child into the dealership. When Amanda approached them, she gave an understanding smile and said, “Looks like it’s been a tough day.”

The couple immediately looked relieved, took a collective breath and the wife said, “Yes, it has.” They apologized for their child’s fussiness and explained that they needed to get a new car and had no one to take care of their child that day. They had been at another dealership earlier and, while the salesperson didn’t say anything, it was clear he wasn’t happy about the noisy child. Amanda assured them that bringing the child with them was OK and even offered to take care of the child so the couple could relax and look at the Sportage they were interested in.