Stephen M. Haines - Tips for sales professionals

I thought you may find interest in the article I’ve attached.   A couple of things to note: When they speak of investment from HUD, they are talking on 2 different planes: 1.        One, HUD reports out partially because housing is a large component (in typical years) of the investment side of our GDP.   Since you don’t “use up” houses, and they typically gain in value, housing is calculated as an investment, where shoes, televisions, cars, and most other physical purchases are in the “consumption” bucket.   So, it is monitored closely, as improvement in housing makes a big difference in our GDP 2.       They are also in the last line of this report (which I’ve bolded and underlined for you), speaking of investors in the construction industry, as opposed to the guy who is talking to you about picking up a couple of specs for rental.   This is huge, as it ties to our sales meeting a couple of weeks back. ...

Pulling your hair out only creates a bad hair day! You've tried everything you can think of - called your best clients, dressed better - maybe you even bathed today!  However, you are not getting the results you desire. Many salespeople, no matter how grounded or religious in other areas of their life, get very superstitious when it comes to sales.  I often ask a sales professional "Why do you have a salt shaker on your desk, and your trophies are all turned backwards?"  The response, with all the confidence and shock in the world, "Well, I have a strong appointment today, and I don't want to jinx it."  Really?  Don't you hope your surgeon has more confidence in her ability the next time you need a procedure?? Here's the cold, hard, facts.  Sales is a blend of art and science, of  "try" and "do" work, as one of my old bosses used to say.  On the art side, it is an art to read buying signals, to know when to shut up, to kn...