Your car breaks down on the way to a critical client meeting. You spill coffee on your tie moments before you’re scheduled to begin a big presentation. Your customer just called to say the delivery you promised would arrive today hasn’t come in. What do all these situations have in common? Simply that they’re problems – and your ability to solve them and move forward has an enormous impact on your sales success. Some people are natural problem-solvers, but for those of us who aren’t, there’s good news: problem-solving skills can be honed just like any other sales skill, says Harvey Deutschendorf, an emotional intelligence coach. In his new book on emotional intelligence,
The Other Kind of Smart, Deutschendorf offers these five techniques for becoming an expert problem solver:

1. Practice every day. Every day, think about possible problems that could arise in your workday and come up with multiple solutions to them. For example, your regular route to work is closed – which ways could you go? A co-worker gets sick and asks you to fill in at a presentation – do you say yes? And if so, how do you prepare for the presentation? Your legal department staff members promised feedback on a contract by Friday; it’s Monday, and they still haven’t gotten to it – what do you do? In moments of downtime, such as driving to work or waiting to meet with a customer, come up with an imaginary problem and try to think of several solutions to it. This exercise has two benefits. First, if your imagined problem becomes reality, you’ll already have ideas about how to handle it, and thus you’ll be less stressed and more effective. Second, you’ll develop the skills you need to solve any problem that arises in your life.
2. Seek multiple solutions. Always think of problems as having more than one solution. "Think in terms of better answers, instead of right or wrong," says Deutschendorf. "The more solutions we have, the better our chances of picking a good solution." So don’t stop at the first answer you come up with, even if you think it’s a winner. Not only are you likely to hit on even better ideas the more you develop them, but you’ll have alternatives in case the first solution turns out to be a dead end.
3. Zap your ego. Don’t allow your ego to become entwined with your problem-solving efforts. Seek out the help and input of others when you need it and be ready to acknowledge when someone has a better solution than yours. "Successful people have an array of tools with which to solve problems, theirs as well as those they borrow from others," says Deutschendorf. "They have learned to put their egos aside and use whatever information and ideas that work best."
4. Be great, not right. In solving problems, keep your focus on being successful, not on being right. This technique goes hand in hand with zapping your ego. Take it from Bill Gates, who initially did not see the potential of the Internet. When he realized he’d been mistaken, he was quick to acknowledge it and began investing heavily in the Internet. His focus on success rather than on being right is one of the major reasons he’s one of the world’s wealthiest men.
5. Reward yourself. When you come up with a great solution to a problem, reward yourself. It will give you a little added incentive to do great problem solving the next time a problem crops up.

Problems are an everyday reality for salespeople. Often, the difference between successful reps and struggling reps lies in the way they respond to those problems. Struggling reps often become stressed and frustrated and are quick to place blame on others. Successful reps, on the other hand, keep their energies focused on solutions – and it tends to lead to more success. "Developing our ability to cope with and overcome problems has a positive effect on our ability to tolerate stress," concludes Deutschendorf. "Every problem that we successfully solve gives us increased confidence that we will be able to solve the next one."