What makes some salespersons special? One possible explanation is higher Emotional Intelligence (EI). Companies in India are recognizing the significance of this facet of the salesperson's personality. The article highlights the nature of B2B interaction and the role of EI in marketing.

It has been observed that a few salespersons outperform most of their colleagues in their professional work. One can say this from one's experience in industrial/institutional sales. They come from diverse backgrounds, not necessarily highly qualified but possessing the right attitude and a knack for concluding deals. What makes them special? They have not had any formal training or guidance, yet they consistently perform better than others.

The following observations highlight how the higher levels of emotional intelligence help a sales person perform better than others.Let us first look into the nature of Business to Business (B2B) sales and some of the characteristics that are required for someone to be successful in this line. For this we compare B2B sales with Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sales. B2B sales is different from FMCG sales in the sense that:

There is direct contact between the seller and the buyer. In the case of FMCG sales, sales and distribution channels act as intermediaries between the manufacturers and the ultimate consumers. The manufacturer reaches out to the consumer by means of advertisements and other promotional events. In B2B sales, sales and promotional activities are normally directly handled by the salespersons, since the number of buyers is usually limited and this method is more effective.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, B2B Sales, Business to Business, Emotional Intelligence, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCG, Maximum Retail Price, Social Skills, Industrial Sales, promotional Strategies, Indian technologies, Hospitality Sector, Information Technology, IT, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, KPOs.