IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient.
The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test was developed by Alfred Binet in 1904 to best evaluate the “intelligence” of students.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines intelligence as:
(1): the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations
(2): the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria
(such as tests)
A higher IQ would translate to a higher probability of the student doing well in school.
Doing well, according to our school system, is primarily based around attention, memory and problem solving.
A higher IQ has been used for decades as a predictive measure of how proficient someone could also be in the workforce.
So a higher IQ makes for a great Funding Pro?
No. Sales is not solving for a math equation in a silent sterile classroom.
EQ is the Emotional Quotient, or better known as Emotional Intelligence.
After a series of studies, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer coined the term “Emotional Intelligence” in 1990, which they described as “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to distinguish among them, and use this information to guide one’s action.”
So why is this important?
In Salovey and Mayer’s work, individuals who scored higher EQ’s, demonstrated higher abilities to perceive accurately, understand, and appraise others’ emotions –> were better able to respond flexibly to changes in their social environments –> build supportive social networks and solve complex social problems.
Solve complex social problems.
Bottom line, this is what matters to be a Funding Pro, to be a Trusted Advisor.
Daniel Goldman broke down Salovey and Mayer’s research, and boiled Emotional Intelligence into this 5 part model:
- Self-awareness: the ability to detect, identify, and understand one’s own emotions and their potential impact on the emotional state of other people.
- Self-regulation: the ability to control one’s feelings and impulses in order to prevent negatively disrupting the emotional state of others. This ability also dictates how well a person can emotionally adapt to changing situations.
- Socialization:the ability to build rapport and maintain meaningful connections with other people.
- Empathy: the ability to determine and appropriately respond to other people’s emotions
- Motivation: a person’s drive, will, morale, or enthusiasm to take or complete a particular action.
Sales is far more emotional than it is logic and reason – it is about helping the merchant solve his problem or achieve his Key Business Outcome, which heavily relies on proficiency in the 5 skills above.
Which one of these five do you believe to be the most important in a strong sales game?