Stephen M. Haines - Tips for sales professionals

In this installment of  Are YOU On Demand?  we will focus on the promptness.  As you recall, we've been looking at how we have moved into the On Demand era, and how our consumers are demanding it from not just devices, but from everyONE they deal with.  Not only are they looking for someone who makes it simple to do business with, they also want those people to be prompt and engaging. The newest laptops on the market have solid state hard drives, whose main purpose is to create an "Instant On" experience, one touting a 2 second boot up!  Compare that to your laptop!  Why do I bring this up?  well, again, your consumer's iphone, iPad, and now laptop starts as quickly as their cars have for years (although even those now have Push button starts now!)  How does this translate?  If a customer leaves some question in your lap, they kind of expect it answered....quickly.  This is best seen online, where customers who used to survey that they...

Last time we discussed how much more prevalent tablets and smartphones have become, and how your consumer is being quietly reprogrammed to expect those features from everything - and everyone - they come in contact with.  Think about it - when's the last time you rearranged your schedule to make sure you saw the weather report on TV?  It's almost ludicrous to think about.  One 2 second hold on the round button on my phone, then mumbling the word "weather" - I have the whole thing - 5 day forecast, maps, weather alerts - I can even click around and see how other people feel  about the weather.  That is something that was previously missing from the nightly newscast. As I dig into this reality, I am drawn to the amazing thing that Jobs landed on in his pursuit of the perfect device.  It is so.... simple.  In the authorized biography of Steve Jobs, it is discussed how the iPhone came to fruition. Interestingly, he was first motivated to invent a new t...

Why does anyone enter the highly respected profession of sales?  (Yeah, that was totally tongue-in-cheek).  I will tell you why, because we see an opportunity to likely feed our families and achieve our dreams via our natural gift of conversation or relationalism.  The ability to find commonality with just about anyone. I am pretty sure, if you are in sales, you can relate with this notion.  You probably have been told over the years that you have the "gift of gab" or "get along with anyone." So, you gave up your first career of teaching, accounting, pizza delivery, paint stripping, or warehousing to enter the dynamic world of sales. Let me ask you a question - is that enough?  Is the difference maker between highly consistent and successful sales professionals simply that some are more interactive than others?  No!  You have probably felt some measure of success, but you've had setbacks.  Yes, even self doubt at times.  I think I may be...

As I've shared with you before, If you're not growing, your shrinking (I'm in trouble!).  Each of us should spend part of our week sharpening the saw- gaining knowledge, insight, and abilities.  We should challenge our thinking, techniques, and style to always lean into our personal and company strengths. On that note, in some of our more established communities, we face resale and foreclosure challenges that are unique because they are the same floor plan!  The buyer struggles to not see that as "same-same" because their eyes tell them they are the same. Well, when you pop into a straight-off-the-showroom- floor new car, your NOSE and eyes tell you it's brand new compared to a "same body style" version of the car that's 3 years old.  The leather has some visible sings of three years of wear. But more than this, The ODOMETER of a new car tells you it has 3 original miles versus the 52,000 miles on the used one.  In other words, even a novi...

When I lived in Houston, one of my good friends owned the BEST mexican food restaurant on the planet.  Literally, La Escondida ( http://www.laescondidagrill.com/ ) is the finest Mexican food this side of the border, saturated with authentic recipes and amazing flavor.  I loved ordering their fajitas - they come in Chicken, Beef, seafood, all garnished with mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes.  Yes, mashed potatoes!  Minutes after I ordered it, I could hear my food from the kitchen as they pushed through those double doors, with the tray elevated high above the waiter's head.  Then, as he approached the table, he would undoubtedly pause - straining his voice above the crackling meat and veggie feast - and warn my nearby kids how hot the platter was.  Just gimme the food!  By this point, I am thinking that the iron skillet itself may not be spared the torment and fury of my insatiable hunger!  Wow, Sergio and his team knew how to sell ...