Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Meg Whitman, founder and former CEO of eBay, has announced her intention to run for the Governor of California.

She has a lot of ideas that she would like to see implemented. What the electorate thinks about those ideas is open for debate as the campaign unfolds.

Set politics aside for a minute. What I want to comment on is her attitude.

She said that the reason she is running is because she refuses to let California fail. Strong words, great attitude.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

As Realtors and businesspeople, we should never be victims. That word should not exist anywhere in our vocabulary or spellchecker. It is not to be used - by us. We may hear customers and other use it, but we should not.

Does that mean that we never have events happen to us that we feel we had no part in or that we can't really attribute a specific cause or action to its happening? Of course not. Stuff happens. Life happens.

How we deal with what life brings our way is a choice. If we always look to assign blame or consider that we were unjustly on the receiving end of something that happened - without any plans to pick ourselves up and move on - we only increase the impact of such an event on our lives.

Being a victim - that is feeling like one or consciously expressing this - is not positive. It does not help us grow and learn from the experience.

Things happen, and we have a choice as to how we are going to let them affect and impact us. We always have a choice. We can move on or remain in that moment. Dwelling on them makes us captive to them.

I recommend that we choose to remain positive and move on as soon as possible.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

We have a job to do. People are counting on us. Oh, they not be doing so in a conscious way, but the people around us are expecting to hear positive news from us and to see us be optimistic.

It might be family or friends, it could be customers or potential customers, and it might even be other agents. While they probably are getting a very strong dose of negative news from the media or the other people they associate with on a regular basis, they really apprciate the lift they get from being around and hearing from us.

Again, it may not even be conscious on their part, but they will know the difference. It's up to us to maintain that diffeence and to be a beacon of optimtisim and inspiration for those around us.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

The NCAA men's college basketball tournament is in full swing. From the original 64 invitees that began on Thursday, the field has been reduced by half. After today's and tomorrow's second round games, another half of the field will go home.

The question is how many of the heavily seeded teams have survived and how many were "upset" by smaller schools, lesser known schools, or ones with a less impressive record?

I'm not looking for an answer, and the definitive answer to my question is not the point. The real point is that in any athletic contest (not to mention many sales encounters), one of the teams or participants is likely more mentally prepared to play than the other.

Sure physical ability counts for a  lot. Sometimes, that's all that's required.

However, determination, the will to win, mental preparation, desire, self-confidence, and belief in a positive outcome can often mean the difference and explain why teams that aren't supposed to win "on paper" can and do come away with the win.

Let's hear it for the little guy - the underdog. The favorites are supposed to win, but it doesn't always happen that way.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

On an episode of the Andy Griffith Show years ago, Aunt Bee found a penny which she felt was a lucky omen and opened a Chinese restaurant - very enterprising for her. However, her business was short-lived because she read in a fortune cookie (at her restaurant) that it was a bad time to make investments so she sold her interest to her partner and went back home.

I wonder how many of us let our attitudes become influenced by little things which are no factor at all but we allow them to be?

If we read a fortune cookie that said we would be a success this year, would that give us the courage and confidence to go out and be aggressive?

If we read one that said that it was time for caution and not to take any chances, would we abandon our business in favor of a steady paycheck?

Neither "fortune" would be correct just because it was written on a piece of paper, but we sure could give plenty of mental energy to either and direct our outcome in that direction.

Let's imagine instead that our fortune cookie says that 2009 is the best year so far to build a real estate business and believe in it!

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

As people are going to neighborhood or office Christmas parties or family get-togethers, it's bound to happen.

You'll get asked about real estate and your career choice will be questioned, but you can handle those. You've probably heard this at least once this year so you can be ready for how you want to respond - kind of like having pre-planned answers for objections you know you'll hear.

You don't have to "fake it 'til you make it" or be insincerely upbeat, but there's nothing wrong with sharing some positive conversation with your friends and relatives. They're only hearing the media's side of the story, so this is your chance to balance the record and spread some true Christmas cheer. Things aren't as bad as people want to believe they are.

This leads to the real show stopper - the assumptive argument. This is where you need to keep your guard up. It's very tricky and sneaky.

Someone will say something like, "well, everyone knows that ..." and then talk about how builders are in trouble, how homes aren't selling, how people can't get what their homes are worth, that banks aren't lending, that we're in a recession or worse, and other things that they've heard that they've turned into a universal truth. As soon as you answer the question - even if you try to put a positive spin on it, you have verified or given credence to their main premise. It's an old trial lawyer trick as well.

Therefore, when anyone - even someone close to you - starts with that "everyone knows" premise, stop the conversation right there. You don't know that to be true. I don't, and neither do lots of others. "Everyone" does not know this.

An argument formulated on a faulty premise can have no merit.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

With the New Year being a scant 32 days away, there soon will be talk of New's Year resolutions. It happens every year.

I have one that is part resolution request and part peeve elimination.

I think we can all do this, and I don't see why we have to wait another month. We can start now.

I'm talking about cleaning up the way we talk. Refuse to use words that scare, alarm, and unsettle our customers and potential customers (and even ourselves) - even if the media and the public are using them. Who knows, it may just catch on?

I recommend banning from our speech words like "crisis," "economic downturn," "tough times," "crunch," "recession," and similar words and expressions. The press loves to use them, and the recent political campaigns featured them.

I say enough. We're not going to see a real resurgence until we stop focusing on what has been and being more optimistic.

Sales are up in many markets. There is activity. Sellers are getting more realistic. It may not be as easy as it was a couple of years ago, but what's the fun in that anyway?

It's time for "Operation Positive-Speak." Join with me.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

If you think having a good attitude is nice but not all that important, consider what is found in Proverbs 17:22:

"A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength." (New Century Version)

Other translations use "joyful heart" or "cheerful heart," and many translations use "bone tired" or "dries up the bones."

I think I'll go with the happy or joyous heart if I have a choice - and the fact is we all do.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.