Emotional Intelligence (EI) is an individuals ability to interact and understand other individuals mood, behavior, wants and needs. EI will affect selling because it can allow a sales person to choose and say the right things to a customer. By observing who you are selling to you can understand what type of person they are, what type of tone and dialogue to use in conversation, whether to be very straightforward or whether you can talk about other things unrelated to the product you are selling. It will also allow you to handle situations in which each individual has different personality traits that you will need to relate to. By having a high EI you can understand where you customer is coming from, what they want to hear and what they want to get out of your interaction, which can enable you to manipulate your customer. If you know what it takes to make them happy, engage in conversation and commit to investing in a product, it will allow the Sales Representative to find a way to meet those needs. Also, by becoming friendly with your customer it allows you to make easier conversation about the device you are trying to sell so that the sales representative does not come off as too aggressive or needy in what they are trying to obtain.
In terms of marketing, EI will allow the company to promote their device in a way that best grabs the attention of the audience they are looking for. They can use certain references, highlight certain features, and display certain images that they know will grab their customers attention, change their mood and way of thinking and pursue them into buying your product. By being able to regulate what you say you give the company a better chance of manipulating the customers.
Cases in which a new medical product such as a new hip stem or knee replacement come out into the market, the sales team and marketing team will need high EI in order to effectively sell their product. They will need to know how to get a doctors attention, how to interact with their customers, and how to make their doctor feel comfortable and confident that this product is the best he can get and that he can trust the person who is selling him that product. Customers can be very hesitant when it comes to new things, because they do not always know if this new product is better than the old one, is worth spending more money, or if it is everything they expect it to be. By having a high EI, Sales representatives will give this customer the assurance they need, building a solid relationship that can last years as your company develops new products. In addition, if marketing does not understand their audience, then they can potentially sell to the wrong crowd, draw attention from people who will not actually buy the product, or scare off those who would. EI is extremely important and can give a company the competitive advantage they need over competitors.
EI can be obtained through practice and observation. By conversing and interacting with more people, you will become better at reading individuals body language, mood, tone, and personality traits. You will also get better a simple conversation, where you can talk about something unrelated to the product itself. If you wish to be in sales and marketing I think each individual needs a high EI to truly succeed.