We’ve all heard of people having high IQ’s, but few people have heard of having a high EQ. EQ is the same kind of acronym as IQ except that instead of Intelligence, EQ measures, and stands for, one’s Emotional Quotient.

Now you may be asking yourself, how is being high on the scale of emotionality going to benefit my business as a restoration professional? But a better question might be, what else are you missing out on if you have to ask this?

Being more finely tuned to the emotional status of people is a huge factor in everything from finding the love of your life, to closing a deal with a homeowner on the edge of choosing your services.

People don’t always make rational decisions, but especially so when they are in a stressful situation. And most restoration scenarios are indeed stressful situations. With this in mind, being successful as a restoration professional is influenced more by tapping into the emotional state of a person during their time of need, than by showing them a moisture meter of their soaked drywall ever could.

Having a friendly smile, and a trustworthy, firm handshake make it vastly easier to get your foot from in the door, to in their standing water problem with a signature on the line.

Does EQ Really Make That Much Difference?

We’ve all gone to the car dealership and found that one salesman who made us not want to ever buy a car again. Now imagine if you project the same image when trying to extract water from a home. Or simply imagine it this way: if your home had a water damage issue, would you want that smarmy car salesman as a restoration professional operating in your home? If the answer to that question is no, then you understand how a high EQ really can make all the difference.

Additionally, having a high EQ can help to do more than just get you in the door to do the job, it can also make you the trusted source for any future jobs, and any recommendations that homeowners might have to their family and friends in similar situations too. When you connect with a person, be it one in need of restoration services, or just in general, you form a bond of trust that serves as a foundation for building upon further.

Finally having a high EQ makes all the difference when it comes to understanding yourself. You might ask, how does this benefit me in the field? But in reality knowing yourself gives you the ability to determine what you really want from any situation, restoration related or otherwise.

If you know yourself well by having a high enough EQ, then you will be better able to determine what the goal is from any situation. Relative to restoration work, knowing yourself will let you determine if the particular job you’ve been called for is worthy of your time and resources, or whether the homeowner is too unruly to justify the project.

Similarly, if you have a high EQ you might be able to work with an unruly homeowner to thread the needle of the difficulties that the situation and homeowner present.

How Do I Increase My EQ to Make More Sales

Increasing your EQ abilities is not only possible, it’s virtually inevitable. With emotional quotients, people always have the ability to grow. In fact, the great part about EQ is that it will only grow with time. The more experiences you have, and the more people you encounter along your path, be it in the field of restorations or not, will only increase your EQ and your ability to navigate any situation with ease.

That’s a passive way of evolving, but there are active ones as well. People who have a desire to grow beyond where their current emotional quotient is already can seek out and learn from those who are already more emotionally advanced. This is what half of the entire industry of life coaching and motivation speaking is all about. People who have figured out their own EQ have a remarkable ability to spread the wealth of their knowledge without losing any themselves.

If you want to learn from people like this, then team up with someone friendly or outgoing, and watch how they interact on a conversational level. Walk out into a crowded area with a few thousand business cards and just start trying to talk to people. And there’s always truth in the old adage, fake it till you make it, and the only way to do that is with a firm handshake and a friendly smile.