Jill Konrath

If you're like everyone else these days, you're overwhelmed with way too much to do and not nearly enough time to get it done. One of our biggest problems though is something we can control.

Selling to Big Companies has just been selected as one of the "Top 10 "How to Sell" Books of All Time" by Inc. magazine. Writer Geoffrey James says that "These classic sales books should be in every business library."

Today's guest article is from Audrey Thomas, a "Lean Office" expert who coaches & speaks on how to manage massive amounts of email, stay ahead of projects and To Do Lists, and become more intentional and productive at work. According to Audrey,  "Every email is a decision waiting to be made."

I stood in awe, staring at the dinosaur tracks we'd walked an hour to see. These ancient remnants of 195 million years ago were smack dab in the middle of the path in wide open country in Southern Utah.

As I placed my hiking boot next to the footprint, I felt a deep sense of reverence that I was actually walking in the footsteps of giants.

Later, in reflection, I realized that my own sales success was a direct result of those who walked the path before me.

If you're launching a new product or service shortly, it's highly likely your firm has invested a great deal of money and time to bring it to market.

Unfortunately, many companies don't ever realize their desired results. Why? Their product launch methodology is severely flawed.

Dealing with the daily grind of making sales call after sales call.

It can be tough to keep going when you have to continually be prospecting. One call fades into the next. You feel like you're saying the same thing over and over again.

Before long, you even get bored with yourself -- and then start wondering if it's even worth it. That attitude doesn't help you or your prospective customers.

Here are some cold call motivation tips I've used to keep my sales productivity high.

The other night I was watching the premier of "The Network", a new HBO show about the decline of journalist integrity. There's a great scene in in which the new executive producer (Emily Mortimer) takes on the popular news anchor who'll do whatever it takes to get the ratings. 

In a fit of anger, she shouts out about the need to "Speak truth to stupid." I almost stood up an applauded. I'm so sick of our partisan news media that won't challenge the party lines.

Then, for some strange reason, I started thinking about what I did that was stupid. I hate when that happens. I much prefer to live in my own delusional world.

Several weeks ago I was in New York City doing a workshop for a client. I left early to meet with the VP of Sales before the session began. At the front desk of the hotel, when I asked for directions to the coffee shop, I discovered it was almost eight blocks away -- which was a shocker since I thought it was just around the corner.