A major trait that separates poor performers from great performers is how they react when dealing with customer problems or objections that crop up suddenly. What’s the main difference between poor and top performers in these situations?
Poor performers tend to exhibit impulsive responses when faced with spur-of-the-moment setbacks
Top performers, on the other hand, have the emotional intelligence to step back and evaluate the situation before responding or acting. They are able to better evaluate customer actions and behaviors in the context of overall circumstances and not take things personally.
Employees who handle pressure or a sudden change in circumstances will usually win the a customers’ continued trust and business.
Five tactics your employees can use to increase their ability to stay calm and cool under pressure:
- Before meeting a prospect, decide how to deal — in a calm and efficient manner — with potentially controversial or emotional issues that might arise.
- When faced with a problem, seek multiple alternate ways to solve it.
- Try to understand what situations are likely to set off a customer’s emotional hot buttons, and then find techniques for preventing them.
- Learn how to consider new information objectively — and not slot it immediately into preconceived notions or “belief files.”
- Recognize that emotions are neither positive or negative. It isn’t bad to feel anger nor depression. Emotions make us human, but they can have a negative influence if we respond to them in the wrong way.
Adapted in part from the book “25 Toughest Sales Objections,” by Stephan Schiffman, sales trainer.
