Stephen M. Haines - Tips for sales professionals

I've taken a six month hiatus on writing, but there's many topics for me to catch up on.   After recently onboarding a half dozen new hires, I have realized one question just keeps popping up: "Stephen, how do YOU overcome objections?"  I've had answers for that one over the years, but I recently came to grips with an interesting fact: I don't. What I mean is, I am not the one who overcomes objections - the person raising them does. Allow me to explain further: You go out to eat and order a diet Coke (because ordering anything else in the Atlanta area is paramount to a sin, and could be met with legal ramifications in some jurisdictions).  Anyway, the server says "We have diet Pepsi - is that OK?".  Now, YOU have a choice. Please forgive my simple example, but it matters with large purchases, too. In my example, it is the restaurant patron that must make a choice.  You, as the customer, have some choice responses: 1) "I think i was clear. I orde...

Forgive the title, but I figured if I was going to promise something big, I should Go REALLY big! In the last blog, I challenged the big, fat, lie about closing- which is that it is Only a numbers game, that if you aren't selling enough, you simply aren't closing enough.  Now, this may be partially true, but I submitted that what really is probably going on is that you are holding back.  You aren't closing enough because you aren't building trust, demonstrating value, and creating separation from your competitors- so your gut is telling you that you haven't earned the right to ask for their business! So, how do you earn the right?  Well, you'll have to read the next Blog for that!  The feedback I got from the last blog tells me that you agreed, that's why you're not closing more often.  So, as promised, I'm going to help you with that  scenario first - the "what if I screwed up already?" answer. Let me answer with a story.  One of the great...

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...

Few things are as frustrating as being in front of a customer that you can tell is holding something back, but is "chesting their cards." I have found that the best recipe to overcome the tight-lipped buyer is simple...ask!  You should assume a few things before we get to this point: First, the fact that the customer chose to visit with you at all is proof that at some level they respect you or the product you represent. The customer hasn't up and left or kicked you out yet, meaning they haven't ruled you out entirely yet - they are waiting to be wowed! They are DYING to tell you what is holding them back.  OK, that might be a little dramatic, how about we agree on they are "willing" to tell you if only asked. So, with our assumptions tied down and squarely in place, we endeavor to smoke out objections.  It's actually quite simple - you hear that phrase that we all love in the sales arena "Thanks!  I need some time to think about it."  F...

We did a fun event with the team today at a midtown Improv comedy theatre.  On top of side-splitting laughter and acting like fools, we also learned some invaluable lessons from the world of Improv. Cut loose - too many people take themselves too seriously.  By getting out of one's own way, they open themselves up to become real to those they are dealing with.  It's amazing how customers soften and open up when they feel their salesperson is being "real" and transparent Be creative - Most of the games are versions like games we played as kids.  That being the case, it's amazing how hard it is for adults.  I mean, one game is telling a story, one word at a time, as we went around the room.  It is staggering how many adults struggled to come up with one noun or verb!  When that creativity is stimulated, it becomes infinitely easier to become a problem solver with customers and come up with real life solutions to objections that used to stump you. Jus...