Understanding Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success
Sell Smarter is a business-centric, self-help, self-investment book that invites you to learn about the complex intelligences that exist in our brains and how we can manage them. If you are familiar with emotional intelligence (EQ), or have been told you have “high EQ,” but didn’t really know how to apply yourself during the massive influence of AI, then you might enjoy reading this book.
Below are some highlights for each chapter with a broad reach of topics, including AI + EQ, Sales Attributes (hunters, farmers, hybrids, and unicorns), psychology of selling, sales challenges, ADHD and sales, the diabetes effect, overcoming difficulties, mooshots, deep research, sales DNA, empathy, and learning to leverage your own tools to sell smarter.
Everyone has their own journey and path to better understanding themselves. Sell Smarter is a friendly guide to those who have blazed a path through strategic selling, won the hearts and minds of buyers, and face the challenges of new tools, artificial intelligence extensions, and experience the gap in guidance from leadership, where the next phase of elite selling is unpredictable.
Chapter 1: Emotional General Intelligence: The two most powerful influences in a salesperson’s life are about to collide. These two forces will shape everything we do in ways that are unstoppable - like a hot knife through butter - and will “carve us” into individuals who must effortlessly manage an unpredictable future filled with daily challenges in how we operate as sales leaders.
Chapter 2: Sales Chi: As we dig deeper into how artificial and emotional intelligence will shape our future, it is essential to review a few key baselines from our current set of attributes, styles, and tools. We know that AI will make its way into our everyday lives, and how we embrace this change will determine our effectiveness in the profession.
Chapter 3: Psychology of Selling: Understanding the psychology behind selling reveals why buyers ponder, hesitate, act, or ultimately decide to make a purchase. Emotional, cognitive, and sensory factors all play critical roles. The influential triggers include excitement, fear, and sadness. Sellers who are passionate and genuinely believe in their product often experience increased conversions, as their enthusiasm is contagious.
Chapter 4: Sales Challenges: Professional salespeople encounter a diverse set of challenges in their daily work. Some of these relate directly to their job tasks, while others arise from the surrounding environment or their personal well-being. Most salespeople accept that their job brings challenges that impact their lives; however, the upside of commissions typically offsets the impact of long hours and crazy work-life balance.
Chapter 5: Sales Drive: Olympic athletes are renowned for their extraordinary drive and motivation, which set them apart both physically and mentally from their peers. Their relentless pursuit of excellence is fueled by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including self-improvement, motivation, a love of competition, and practical goal setting.
Chapter 6: Sales Cycles: For every type of sale, there is an associated sales cycle. Simple cycles typically involve low-cost, high-volume purchases, with straightforward decision-making. These are often transactional, involving one or two decision-makers, quick evaluations, and minimal negotiations.
Chapter 7: Artificial Intelligence: Although artificial and emotional intelligences are not new, this book could not have been written until now. In the past, we could elaborate on the importance of being self-aware, empathetic, and self-controlled and self-driven as a standard for evaluating emotional intelligence as it applies to our world.
Chapter 8: Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is best understood as the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and those of others. Crucially, managing emotions does not mean suppressing or controlling them; instead, it involves acknowledging and understanding them.
Chapter 9: Sales Excellence: Leadership positions require extensive knowledge and experience. Seldom do CEO’s rise to the top of an organization without demonstrating their skills in management and decision-making. A few exceptions include founders who often possess enough skills, or perhaps a majority of popular skills, to maintain the role until a major hurdle requires a change.
Chapter 10: Sell Smarter: The art of selling may be aging gracefully as we move into the next phase of technology influence. Over the past 25 years, there has been significant growth in sales tools, informational databases, social media platforms, and the ability to survive through the pandemic. After 2025, we will forever be known as the generation that embraced artificial intelligence and became “smarter” salespeople.
Chapter 1
EMOTIONAL GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
Oil & Vinegar
Stronger Together
A Dozen Intelligences
Self-Investment
Buyers & Sellers
Engineered Marketing
Positive Interactions
Chapter 3
PSYCHOLOGY OF SELLING
ADHD and Sales
Herding Cats
Colors and Colorblind
Music and Memories
Sadness
Avoiding Insanity
Culture of Selling
Fear and the Unknown
Chapter 2
SALES CHI
Sales Attributes
Hunters, Farmers, Hybrids, and Unicorns
Communications and Writing
Looking Good
Subject Matter Experts
Sales Energy
Chapter 4
SALES CHALLENGES
Complexity Perplexity
Sales and Alcohol
The Diabetes Effect
Face It Til You Make It
Negotiating
Gout, Kidney Stones, and Sciatica
Sleep
Distractions and Clutter
Chapter 5
SALES DRIVE
Overcoming Difficulties
Motivation
Challenging Yourself
Calling Tim Cook
Sales Training
Influencers
Chapter 6
SALES CYCLES
Sales Journey
Tip of the Spear
Celebrating Not Negotiating
One Size (Never) Fits All
Moonshots
Sweet Spot
Chapter 7
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Terminology
Deep Research
Generative
Reasoning
Agents
Prompts
Chapter 8
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Science of EQ
Sales DNA
Empathy
Human-to-Human Contact
Hunter-Farmer Spectrum
Familia
Chapter 9
SALES EXCELLENCE
Lead by Example
Stand Up
Clear the Room
Interviewing Sales Leaders
Absolute Focus
Elite Selling
Chapter 10
SELL SMARTER
Know Your Intelligence
Action Fallacy
2-Axis Gospels
4D Selling
Love of Sales
Selling Smarter