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...

In a sales slump?  I have been in some in my career that made me question EVERYTHING.  "Should I quit sales?", "I wonder how much money a ChickFilA manager makes in the first year?", and "As a professional truck driver, what happens if you space out and miss a weigh station?"    I have a reminder for you that is true no matter what your product is.  So, before you give up on your career in sales and move to Helen, Georgia to pick up the trade of glass-blowing or wood carving civil war chess sets and Star Wars memorabilia, you might want to check out how you are doing on this simple fact-finding mission in your sales presentation.     The truth is that there is no sale with no pain.  Someone enters a restaurant to buy food typically because they are hungry.  Someone enters a car dealership typically because they need transportation, or theirs is aging or failing.  Someone buys medication typically because they have an ailme...