When I was an operations manager all I wanted was to become a sales professional. My eyes bloodshot from waking up at 3:30 am, I would peer out into the parking lot to watch the smiley sales people meandering in at 8:30, driving nice cars, wearing suits and sipping coffee. Not to be negative, but some of the guys were real goobers, and I knew that I could bring a significant amount of value to the table in sales. However, it took several years for me to break into sales. I was told “no,” on more than one occasion, and was even told to give up the dream. But I never gave up, and eventually my persistence paid off: I was given an entry-level sales position.
Over time, I was earning quarterly commission checks that were more than an entire year’s pay in operations. Even with the success of consistent quota achievement and the subsequent earnings, I had great difficulty believing that I belonged in sales. After all, I was not recruited, or drafted. I did not have a...
Prospecting for new business is the lifeblood of any sales organization. Sales managers often find themselves in a precarious position with regard to sales prospecting. Prospecting activity fills the sales pipeline with the right kind of prospects that will eventually become happy customers. However, a sales manager cannot “do it all;” they need to leverage the power of their sales team to 
imagine the mess it would create. Ultimately, there must be some sort of order, a balance of stop, go, fast and slow. When trying to get somewhere, the last thing you want is a red light, but it is this very thing that brings order from chaos and ultimately brings you safely to your destination.
To a large extent, sales is a numbers game. Few sales professionals would argue that point. You have to throw a lot of tomatoes against the wall to get some to stick.
I have always been a fast talker, not like a huckster or snake oil salesman, but more to do with rate of speed - like the guy at the end of a commercial that reads a list of disclaimers. Needless to say that this has always worked against me when trying to build credibility and trust with new prospects and customers. Like many sales people, I was taught some sales techniques for rapport building. For example, when you begin a sales call, take a visual survey of the person’s office. Attempt to find some common ground or points of interest like golf, the kids, the alma mater or favorite sports team. This may have a place somewhere in the sales relationship but I don’t believe that its place is early on in the process.