On Friday, I surfaced the concept of EQ (aka Emotional Quotient or Emotional Intelligence), and cited Rob Scher, president of the Scher Group, who's a big proponent of increasing the EQ of sales folk in order to improve productivity. According to Scher, EQ consists of sliding scales that determine how a person will behave and react in any given circumstance. As he explained it to me, EQ has "scales" and "subscales" that can be altered in order to change, if not your actual personality, at least the way that you behave and feel about things. Here are the five scales and 15 sub-scales (the bulleted items) that can be modified:

Scale #1: Intra-personal

• Self-regard
• Emotional self- awareness
• Assertiveness
• Independence
• Self-actualization

Scale #2: Interpersonal

• Empathy
• Interpersonal relationships
• Social responsibility
• Adaptability

Scale #3: Reality testing

• Flexibility
• Problem solving

Scale #4: General Mood

• Optimism
• Happiness

Scale #5: Stress Management

• Stress tolerance
• Impulse control

QUESTION: Which of the above bulleted characteristics are the most important for sales professionals to master? (Needless to say, they're all valuable, but which do you think are the MOST important? (I'll give you Scher's answer on Wednesday.)