The Importance of Social Skills in Sales
Building lasting relationships through EQ-informed social skills
Building and maintaining relationships is at the heart of all sales. And the ability to do that comes down to social skills. In the context of emotional intelligence (EQ)—that is, the ability to be aware of, understand, and manage your own emotions and recognize the emotions of others—the importance of social skills cannot be overstated.
Social skills include the ability to be socially aware, make meaningful connections, build rapport, and maintain relationships over an extended period of time. It’s clear how these social skills figure into in-home sales. Sales reps with good social skills are great at prospecting because they maintain large, strong networks from which to draw sales opportunities. They close deals more quickly because they can easily build trust and rapport, and they excel at cooperating with their peers, fostering a positive and supportive work environment.
Social skills aren’t static throughout life. They can be cultivated and improved over time, just like other EQ skills. If you want to read about EQ and all that it encompasses, start with our free e-book, The Sales EQ Playbook.
For a deep dive on social skills—read on.
Why Sellers Need Social Skills
Emotional intelligence and related social skills aren’t theoretical—these are abilities that are put to work every day in sales interactions and in life. Social skills can turn frustration into trust, make rejection a learning opportunity, and help reps build deeper, more meaningful connections with clients.
All of this leads to better close rates, higher client retention, stronger team collaboration, and personal and professional growth.
Active Listening
Active listening is a fundamental social skill for sellers. It involves fully listening to what a customer is saying, trying to understand their perspective, and responding thoughtfully. Through active listening, sellers can discover their customer needs more completely, address their concerns effectively, and build rapport.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is a necessary skill for sellers since they must be able to address customer complaints, respond to objections, and manage other issues effectively. It can be difficult to de-escalate and respond to tough situations in a balanced manner, but reps must use good social skills to find mutually beneficial resolutions.
Persuasion
Sales reps have to influence customer behavior to drive sales. That’s persuasion. The ability to present a convincing argument, address objections, and overcome resistance all require solution skills.
Networking
In many industries, networking is a vital social skill that allows reps to expand their professional connections, build relationships, and uncover new opportunities. Engaging with industry peers, customers, and other community members effectively helps reps cultivate a strong network full of valuable resources and insights.
How to Develop Social Skills
Social skills can be practiced to ultimately become a driver of sales success. We’ve outlined a few ways reps can develop areas under the umbrella of EQ “social skills.”
Listen and Learn
During regular sales meetings—whether weekly or monthly—have one sales rep take a turn speaking for up to five minutes about something they’re passionate about. The topic doesn’t have to strictly be work-related. The rest of the team should try to practice active listening, then summarize the speaker’s points and feelings. This builds the habit of listening for meaning and emotion, not just facts.
Objection Flashcards
Create flashcards with common customer objections. Then have salespeople practice handling them with empathetic language in groups of two. This isn’t just about practicing navigating objections; it can also take the sting out of hearing difficult feedback from customers, which allows reps to cultivate the ability to be understanding instead of defensive.
Content Creation
Encourage small groups of reps to work together to create content for social media (like a video for Instagram or Tik Tok) or to host a webinar. This offers an opportunity for collaboration and all the related skills like communication and working through disagreements, while also allowing reps to engage with other professionals in the industry.
Turn Social Skills Into Sales Success
Social skills are sales superpowers. When developed intentionally and practiced consistently, they help sales professionals navigate conversations gracefully, build meaningful connections, and sustain client relationships that lead to long-term success.
That’s where SPCloser comes in. Through consistent, EQ-informed coaching, our solution helps reps strengthen their communication, active listening, and relationship-building abilities over time. Each interaction and feedback cycle is designed to reinforce emotional awareness and authentic connection—keys for lasting sales performance.
Ready to elevate your sales game with stronger social skills? Book a demo to see how SPCloser provides personal insights on how to improve your EQ skills.
