Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Networking

Emotional Intelligence, also known as Emotional Quotient or EQ helps us manage our relationships with other people. EQ is the ability we have to recognize, communicate with, learn from, utilize, and manage our relationships with other people. It is, in effect, the skills we have developed for building our social capital with those we wish to network with.

Some people seem to have a knack for interacting or networking with other people. They have a high EQ. And for others, networking is a very uncomfortable process. The higher one’s EQ, the more natural it seems for an individual to network. I believe that EQ can be developed, whereas IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is generally static and not easily improved. This means that you can actually improve your EQ by understanding and applying some important concepts to your business networking practices.

How EQ can Impact Networking Skills

1. Developing a networking style that sets you apart from the ordinary businessperson.
Business networking is much more than simply being involved in the usual meet-and-greet routine. Building a style of networking that is deliberate, consistent, and finely developed can build your EQ in networking. This can be done by reading books and articles, listening to podcasts, and watching videos about referral marketing and learning techniques that have been successful for others. Applying these tips and techniques takes conscious practice and application before they become habits. The highly skilled networker can be like poetry in motion. You are not quite sure what just happened, yet suddenly you’re being pointed in the right direction for a meeting with someone else who can open doors for you–and you aren’t even consciously aware that you expressed a need for this introduction! You’ve just been caught up in the flow of a high-EQ networker.

2. Networking appropriately and honoring the event.
Becoming a networker who is sensitive to the event is an important aspect of developing one’s networking EQ. Many businesspeople who are trying to build their social capital do so with an almost vulture-like intensity. Be aware that there are times when it is not appropriate to hand out your business card or to ask someone the ubiquitous “What do you do?” Being sensitive to the moment and honoring the surroundings is a nuance in networking that sets those with a high EQ apart from those with a lower EQ. There are ways to alter your networking styles in various situations. Understanding how to read the event and network appropriately and effectively is another sign of a high-EQ networker.

3. Following through.
This is an area where the high-EQ networker really stands out from the crowd. If we are all honest with ourselves, follow-through is not our favorite thing. Yet it is something that needs a lot of finesse and demands diligence. An enterprising networker will follow through in ways that surprise and intrigue the businesspeople that they come into contact with. This can include things like sharing a news article about a topic that is of significance to the contact and sending it to them with a personal note about your recent conversation. The main thing is that a skillful networker will never miss an opportunity to follow through after an introduction to a new business contact. Keeping your name, your business name, and your expertise in front of that person is very important and can be done in fresh and interesting ways. Remember, it is important to follow up more than once. Create a reason for re-connecting with that contact so you can begin to develop a relationship with them.

4. Maintaining customer loyalty.
Many networkers are so focused on bringing in new business that they miss the boat on maintaining customer loyalty. Keeping current clients coming back and referring others to you is very important for business success and growth. Those who understand this and go above and beyond to make their customers feel valued and appreciated will find that their clients come back again and again, and they will bring others with them to do business with you, too. There are the typical things to do that foster customer loyalty, such as sending a calendar to a client at the end of the year for the upcoming new year. Then there are the outstanding things that can be done to foster customer loyalty, such as taking a different client to lunch each week. Getting to know your customers personally and making an effort to become friends with each person with whom you do business is an indicator of a professional with high business EQ.

Emotional Intelligence has a lot to do with setting certain businesspeople apart from the rest of the pack by becoming stellar networkers. It is more than just “doing the obvious” – so much more. By being creative, fresh and sincere, high-EQ networkers can amass a great wealth of social capital and build a strong and visible referral-based business.

I have heard it said that employees are hired because of their IQ, and they get promoted based on their EQ. To that I would add that a business professional might become known in the marketplace as a result of IQ, however, they will be referred and promoted by others because of EQ and their ability to use that to develop social capital.

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