Media Sales Today

As the year inches closer to its end, you may find yourself mulling over the successes and failures of 2011. You may also be determined to start out the new year with a willingness to improve professionally.

For many people, change is difficult. It’s much easier to stick with what is familiar than to head in a new direction. This reluctance to switch things up can be a challenge for salespeople trying to close.

The days are getting longer and the temperatures climbing — Summer is on the way! It’s time to get your summer sales plan in order, especially considering the year is nearly halfway over. The warmer temperatures and kids out of school may make it more difficult to keep in touch with prospects and clients, which means it may not be easy to close deals and keep the pipeline flowing.

As 2009 comes to a close and 2010 begins, it’s time to think about a very important part of your business: The competition. You should be assessing your competition on a regular basis, especially at the beginning of a new business year.

Do you have a vision of what your perfect client is? If not, you may be having difficulty reaching prospects that most need your services. As part of his “Five Client Acquisition Best Practices,” marketing specialist Randy Shattuck lists “Define your ideal client profile” as the first step.

Can you believe there are only 11 weeks left of 2009? It’s time to make sure those yearly sales goals are met, and a post from the blog Managing the Salesforce has some advice on how to do so.

I’ve devoted several blog posts to the art of cold calling. Long a staple of selling, it can be a salesperson’s go-to method of business development, or, their worst nightmare. So, what if you just can’t bring yourself to lift up that phone?