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Getting to Know Us
Check out this interview with one of our team members.
At Labster, Chris Conner is an Open Book
Whether he’s listening or sharing his perspective as a member of the Labster team, Chris believes in transparency and taking the time to help.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the Labster team?
Our culture. I never realized how important culture was. I’ve been in sales for a little over 20 years, and it always comes down to the people you work with. What kind of values do they have? Is it the type of environment where you can share ideas and be creative? One of the best things about working at Labster is that the people that I communicate with on a daily basis are really good people. And that makes handling stress so much easier.
How do you like to conduct a sales demo?
You have to listen to the person you’re talking with. When somebody is walled off or caged up, that usually tells me that there’s some mistrust there. And so the way that I try to overcome that or deal with that is just level with them. I tell them why I’m asking questions. I think it’s important to be open and transparent about your agenda.
I just want it to be as relaxed as possible. I don’t want it to be a forced audience, I want to make it a very low stress conversation.
“Let’s talk about what you’re doing, and I’ll explain what we offer and how what we do is going to make your life easier and benefit the students taking your course.” – Chris Conner
If you see value in this, if that sounds good to you, then let’s take that conversation a little bit further and see how we can possibly implement it.
I think my experience as a student also helps me connect with the teachers I talk to. I like to bring up that I was a returning, nontraditional student just ten years ago.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I’m a big gym rat, I’ve loved working out since I was 16 years old. But I also read a lot, it’s always been a big escape of mine since I was a kid. In the last three months, I think I’ve read 14 books.
I love Stephen King, I think the first book I read was IT. I was a young teenager when I read it and I couldn’t put it down. I think that’s kind of what got me hooked. I loved The Stand but I’ve been chasing that intrigue that I had from reading IT with every Stephen King book that I’ve read.
I’m also fascinated by viruses and I’ve read a lot about Ebola and the Marburg viruses, particularly. So right now on my bookshelf, I have Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone and Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
I’ve thought about this because I’m a big Avengers fan, so maybe I would want immortal life? I’d want to stick around and see how humanity turns out. But I think if I was immortal, it might change my perspective on life too much, I would tend to look at things differently and the small things wouldn’t matter as much. I don’t think I’d want to lose that perspective.
What else would you like people to know about you?
I think that we should all take time to help someone else. I adopt special needs animals. I have a pit bull with three legs, a front limb deformity and, you know, nobody wanted to adopt him. And my other dog was a 13-year-old pitbull who had been dropped off at the shelter. They thought she was too old to keep and they were just going to let her pass, so I adopted her. That’s one of the ways I try to do my part in this world.
Get in touch with Chris and his team
Chris Conner is Labster’s Director of Institutional Relations for Canada. If you are an instructor searching for a virtual lab for your science courses, get in touch with Chris or one of his colleagues now!
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