Stephen M. Haines - Tips for sales professionals

Facebook is so funny.  You're sitting there trying to beat level 89 of Candy Crush, and up pops this friend request - this person you haven't seen or heard from in years, you were in homeroom with him in 10th grade.  During your years, you probably exchanged... I don't know... 35 words?  Now, he is so excited to have found you. So, your finger hovers over the button on your smartphone... Do I accept?  What's his name again?  oh, yeah.. Jake.   So, you click on his profile to see what he shares with the public.  A few photos, not much.  He looks like his younger version, just heavier.   Oh, his wife looks nice.  Looks like they live in Rhode Island.  I don't know anybody else in Rhode Island. So, you accept the request.  Now, there he is.. friend number 389.  You don't really care that he found a new shawarma place for lunch today, or that his kid lost a tooth.  You don't want to be bothered with how upset he...

Time to wrap up the 4 parts on "Are YOU on Demand?" with the final challenge - how engaging are you?  Chances are, you probably consider yourself pretty engaging, which is why you are in sales, but let's take a step back and compare back to these "smart" devices again, and find out how engaging  they are. On a recent 12 hour drive to see family in Maryland, my kids thought it would be amusing to talk to Siri.  They asked it every possible question to confuse and mesmerize this 'artificial intelligence,' while I, the driver, was pretty amused at the...well...conversation. Kids: "What is the best smartphone?" Siri: "I think you've already answered that question" Kids: "what is the best smartphone?" Siri: "Seriously?" Kids: "Whatever" Siri: "Fine" Kids: "Whatever!" Siri: "Everything is definitely OK" Kids: "You are so weird" Siri: "You are certain...

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...

How heavy are your questions? Part 3 of Ask a Better Question is actually a question - "How heavy are YOUR questions?"  In this installment, we investigate which question you are reaching for, and what response you are likely to solicit.  Buckle in, because this topic is HEAVY! This will be the last time I write on questioning for a while, but I felt it was worthwhile to cover one more facet.  You see, we have an opportunity to filter or improve the actual answer we are seeking, and phrase it as a better question - one that actually is likely to help us towards a positive response.  Before I get specific, how about an example? Let's say YOU are shopping for a luxury item for the first time - one you are not that familiar with - we'll go with a boat.  You have made it clear that you are an amateur by the nature of your dialogue - you've asked about anti-lock braking (on a boat, really?), cruise control, and "where does the waste from the toilet go?...

This topic of questioning is so near and dear to me, I figured I'd fire up the writing machine to remind you again just how important the power of questions are.  Today, I want to remind you that you are communicating great volumes by the nature and type of questions that you ask. First, did you realize that your customers realize where you place your value by the type of questions you ask?   For example, if you begin by asking them ABILITY or QUALIFYING questions, you are communicating that you are most concerned with whether or not they can afford your product.  It doesn't matter where you are in life, imagine walking into a Porsche dealership.  The sales person gives you a once over, and immediately begins with "Hi!  Isn't this Carrera gorgeous?  So, where will YOU be driving this to work?"  On the surface, it seems harmless, but here's what he's really asking "Will I be wasting my time if I help you?" Now, if this same hypothetical salesp...

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...

It never fails - when I go to a conference and we take a break, the networking and collaboration have come to a grinding halt. As if captured by some mind ray, you see a sea of business-dressed junkies face down in their late model smart phones. It could be a business crisis, updating Facebook status (conf is lame, let's do drinks l8r), or trying to figure out what to do with 4 U's in "words with friends". Whatever it is, you'll see tons of people inches from each other NOT TALKING! Here's some advice - be prepared with some networking questions that are irresistible whenever you find yourself or someone you are trying to do business with in a smart phone coma. Here's a few to get you thinkin': At a conference/meeting: "How did you break into this industry?" "If you were in charge, what would you change?" "What is your most memorable business meeting?" When selling to a Smart phone addict: "Tell me abou...