Ideas

Dale had just come out of a four-day sales training program his company had sponsored for its top performers. This was heady stuff. He'd learned how to apply Sun Tzu's "Art of War" – about ancient Chinese warfare – to modern day competitive engagement in selling.

Vistage/TEC speaker Sam Manfer really hits the nail on the head on the subject of closing sales quickly....

You may have an unauthorized profit sharing plan at your business. A 2008 report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners revealed that $994 billion dollars were lost to fraud by employees.

Question: "My company is trying to develop a performance management framework based on a competency model we established...

It's tough to be in sales right now. Budgets are tight. Competition is stiff. While the economy is showing signs of improvement, companies are still wary about spending money. Now more than ever, you need a competitive edge to be a top sales performer. What's yours?

Before launching my training and consulting practice, I worked for three Fortune 50 corporations, each ranked No. 1 in their respective markets.

This column has always been about shedding traditional ways of selling. More specifically, I have encouraged salespeople to reinvent themselves by adopting what I call a "business resource mindset."

It's still early in the year, so it's only fair for CEOs, company presidents and executive leaders to ask: what things do we know for sure about 2010, and what's really just pure speculation?

We all experience tension when an inner conflict is batting itself back and forth in our minds and bodies. Many times the physical tension is so small that we are unaware of it being there at all.

All the champagne bottles are empty, the noise makers are now silent and the clock has welcomed in the New Year. It is tradition to make personal resolutions, like start a diet, exercise more often, call your mom on a regular basis and clean out the attic.