The lead article, “The Worst Question a Salesman Can Ask” by Mitchell Osak is self-explanatory. Mitchell goes on to suggest a strategy that will get you a lot further.

Tony Cole advocates “For More Sales Success,Ask the Right Questions“. He shares three great questions you can put in your repetoire.

“The 12 Deadly Sins of Sales Questioning – Are you Guilty?” Well are you? Find out in Jim Domanski‘s article.

Michel Neray writes “The Selling Power of The Provocative Question” We like his line “What question can I ask, such that the response allows you to say, ‘well, that’s exactly what I do’.”

The left column featured article of the week is by Kelley Robertson “Qualifying – The Critical Skill“.

Are you aware Google tracks and monitors your searches? That’s right. When you do a Google search, your results will be different from the next person who searches the same term on their computer. Try it.

You will also be exposed to targeted advertising based on your search history. This works for some people, but certainly doesn’t sit well with others.

If you are bothered by this, there is an alternative search engine that respects your privacy.

DuckDuckGo is an upstart search engine that promises privacy. Their privacy policy bluntly states, “DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information. That is our privacy policy in a nutshell.”

DuckDuckGo (DDG) has been around for a couple of years and is starting to hit the radar of more and more Internet users. You might be interested to read their commentary on how other search engines work and draw your own conclusions as to which one is best for you.

We also like how DDG provides clarification on what you wish to search. Try typing in “milk” and you are presented with three options, the drink, the person and the movie. The presentation of search results is clean and void of numerous advertiser. The site icons next to the search result link is a nice touch helping you recognize sites that you trust, such as Wikipedia.

At the very least you owe it to yourself to check DuckDuckGo out.

Without attracting too much publicity, LinkedIn has updated their privacy conditions. Without any action from your side, LinkedIn is now permitted to use you name and picture in any of their advertisements.

Some simple actions to be considered:

1. Place the cursor on your name at the top right corner of the screen. From the small
pull down menu that appears, select “settings”
2. Then click “Account” on the left/bottom
3. In the column next to Account, select the option “Manage Social Advertising”
4. Finally un-tick the box “LinkedIn may use my name and photo in social advertising”
5. and Save

The articles this week on Salesopedia focus on some hints and tips to consider if you are fighting for e-space.

The first article by Ivan Misner reveals some interesting statistics of a recent study. Make sure you check out “Online Networks Still Lagging Behind Other Networking Efforts“.

In his article “Personal Branding Online” marketing expert Jeremy Miller share some thoughts on how you can use content to generate more business.

“Creating A Successful Online Sales Strategy” by Jerry Bader will be of interest to commissioned sales reps who have personal websites.

John Morey provides some great advice in “What are People Saying About YOU Online?”

Our Featured Article in the left column this week is a popular article written again by Jeremy Miller “Your Brand Starts Online“.

See you online!

We visit a lot of websites, many of which are contributing authors to Salesopedia. We see some very strong well designed and easy to navigate sites and some, well perhaps they could use a refresh.

A number of websites use a video clip to introduce the visitor to the site, state the value proposition and build credibility using “face time” with the presenter and site visitor.

One example stands out for what we think is a great commercial. Slide over to SalesWise.com. There on the bottom of the home page you will find Nicki Weiss delivering a strong value proposition in less than two minutes. Short is sweet, anything longer than two minutes struggles to maintain viewer interest. Nicki’s professionalism is evident, she lets her personality shine through and she caps it with a nice dash of humour at the end. We also like the fact you have to click on it to start it, leaving you in control as opposed to looking for the mute button for some of the videos that start automatically and hold you hostage … or force you to bail. One thing we don’t like is the video is ‘below the fold’ or below the visible portion of the webpage when you come on to the website (unless you are on a very large monitor).

We have no idea how much Nicki paid to put this together – we don’t expect it was a lot. Our apologies Nicki if you wrote a big cheque for the production costs. To pull a video commercial like this together is more affordable than ever before.

Nice job Nicki!

Based on an article by Lewis R. Timberlake, Jim Domaski looks at “10 Ways How NOT to Quit“. Interesting numbers, interesting thoughts.

One of the most read articles on Salesopedia is this one by Susie Cortright, “10 Tips to Effective & Active Listening Skills“. If you haven’t read this one yet, you should, you’ll understand why it is so popular!

The featured article in the left column this week is by Kelley Robertson entitled “10 Secrets to Creating a Sales Proposal That Doesn’t Suck“.

Enjoy!

Each week Nancy Nardin researches and sources new (and some existing) marketing and sales tools to help sales professionals sell more, sell faster, and sell easier.

Nancy is a 25-year sale veteran who blazed an impressive trail in high-tech and IT market research sales. Nancy has set out to help organizations of all sizes find the best tools. Her newsletter and site of the same name, Smart Selling Tools contain buying guides, whitepapers, checklists, cheat sheets and much more to keep you informed.

One doesn’t grow to over 30,000 subscribers if one doesn’t consistently provide value. If you’re not yet on the mailing list, click here to subscribe!

Check it out. Be smart!

Colleen Stanley starts off this week’s home page with “Sales 2012: What Will You Choose?“.

Jill Harrington asks “Do You Sell to Human Beings?” You might think the answer is obvious, if you think you know the answer you might want to read this article.

“The 7 Little Lies Prospects Tell Telephone Sales Reps” is a fun article written by Jim Domanski. If you are in inside sales check it out!

Mike Brooks is one of one of the most “practical” authors contributing to Salesopedia. here he shares some questioning techniques in “Two Questions to Close a Sale“.

Our left column Feature Article of the week is by Patricia Fripp. She shares “Decide What Deserves Your Energy” which is a good read for those still working on their goals for 2012.

Enjoy.

We thought we’d run with a bright picture to catch your attention as we head into 2012. Let’s hope it is a brighter year for you with lots to celebrate.

Stu Schlackman kicks thing off with “3 Sales Tips for a Successful 2012“. As he suggests – make 2012 be your best year ever.

Jeremy Miller gets us thinking with his article “Follow Your Heroes“. He asks us to go deeper than the usual New Years resolution.

Networking guru Ivan Misner has some practical advice in “Boost Your Business Referrals with a Strong Power Team“.

Here is a must read from Jim Domanski, “The 10 Reasons Why You Don’t Sell as Much as You Could (or Should) and What To Do About It“. After reading this article you might just re-think how you tackle the new year.

It wouldn’t be the new year without establishing goals. Jim Klein wades in with his popular article “Two Keys to Achieving Your Goals“.

Bring it on!

We tap in to our experts to get some thoughts for the year ahead.

Jonathan Farrington starts this weeks articles with “Winning Is All About Influencing“.

Seasoned sales recruiter Marcus Miller suggests great sales people CAN be great sales managers in “Promote Your Best“.

Dave Kahle draws on his 20 plus years experience educating sales people in his article “The Hidden Path to Sales Success“.

If you know Billy Cox, you’ll know he is an avid sports fan, especially football. We think you’ll enjoy his article “Your Greatest Challenge“.

Our Featured Article in the left column this week showcases Tony Cole’s article “You are Tomorrow What You Plan for Today“.

Wishing you a great start to the year.

We also want to take this opportunity to wish you the best of the season and prosperity, good health and peace in 2012!

Trade show expert Barry Siskind starts us off with “Staying Relevant in a Changing World“. He asks – what is most relevant to my customers.

Robyn Davis suggests “4 Steps to Selecting Appropriate Events“.

Budget is always a critical consideration when exhibiting. In this article by Barry Siskind he shares some insights in “Your Exhibition Budget – Step One”

“Keep Your Display Simple; Really Simple” advises Barry Siskind. Barry asks what is the message and who is the message designed for?

The left column Featured Article of the week comes from Linda Musgrave “Tips and Tricks From the Trade Show Trenches“.

Enjoy!

Salesopedia is nominated in the “Top Sales & Marketing Resource” category and running a close second to our very worthy “competitors” over at Rain Today.

Rain Today is a great site with lots of talent who do an excellent job providing resources for growing professional services businesses.

Now we’re a tad bias. At Salesopedia we think we do a great job providing a free sales and marketing resource site for anyone in sales, be they a sales producer or a sales leader. For over five years we’ve delivered new content 51 times a year (we take Christmas week off).

If you like what we do, we ask for your support by casting a vote for us (you can vote every hour if you want). We have some heavy lifting to do to catch Rain Today but we think our readers are up for it.

Thank you for your support!

Clayton & Dave

(that’s right, no big company here just a couple of guys trying to make your job easier if you play in the sales arena)

Kendra Lee starts thing off with her article “Why Holidays Make a Great Occasion to Email Your Prospects“.

It wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t learn more about Santa. Ivan Misner shares some information on Santa and others in “Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Six Degrees of Separation“.

Jeff Beals takes us where we might not be keen to go, but probably have to in “Lessons from a Shopping Mall“>

It is always better to give than receive, maybe that is what C.J. Hayden had in mind when she wrote “A Pocket Full of Business Cards“.

Lastly our left column featured article this week is one of our more popular articles on the site from Michael Hughes “The Seasons of Networking“. Yes Michael does include the season we are in right now!

Enjoy.

Salesopedia is 5 years young today. It is hard to believe we have been at this for five years already. Thanks to YOU, our readers we have become one of the most recognized sales resource sites on the Internet. We like to think it is because we provide great value to those in the sales profession. We had over 2,000 unique visitors to the site yesterday so we think we’re doing something right. We project we’ll enjoy 3.5 million page views this year with 275,000 unique visitors making 500,000 visits.

We boast over 200 contributing authors, over 2,000 sales related articles, many sales podcasts and the most extensive sales glossary (sales dictionary) on the Internet.

Your readership is truly appreciated. It is the reason we put up 51 new issues every year to keep you on top of your sales game.

Wishing you continued success!

Now make a wish and help us blow out the candles.

Clayton & Dave

The main article is by sales leadership expert Dave Kahle who pens “The Three Most Common Mistakes Sales Managers Make.” His point number two is one of our favorites.

Internationally recognized sales guru Keith Rosen shares his insights in “Why Salespeople Fail and What Managers Can Do About It.”

Colleen Stanley takes a basketball legend to illustrate her point in “Wooden You Like To Be Successful?”

“Can Your Managers Answer These 5 Critical Questions?” asks Michael Leimbach. Five short questions but not easy ones.

Finally our “left column” featured article this week comes from Rick Johnson titled “Sales Management During Turbulent Times“.

Enjoy!

Salesopedia needs your vote!

Please visit the Top Sales & Marketing Awards site, click on any category and it will take you to a registration page. After you have registered, scroll down to Sales & Marketing Resource Site and place your vote for us.

We’re up against some strong competition but hope you’ll agree we should stack up #1! (at least we think so!)

There are three medals up for grabs in fourteen categories. In addition, they will be inducting a further six “sales legends” into the “Hall of Fame” during the ceremony.

Do vote in other categories for your favorite authors, sales tools, sales book, etc.

This year’s online Annual Top Sales & Marketing Awards ceremony takes place on December 15th, and will again be hosted by Gerhard Gschwandtner of SellingPower.com and Jonathan Farrington of the JF Corporation. Check out their website for all the details.

P.S. Public voting will account for 50% of the total marks, the other 50% will be down to the judging panel in each category.

I can’t help but think the sales constituents that are voting will have a big influence on the judges so please cast your vote.

Thank you for your support!

Billy Cox can make you happy when you close the big one. He lets you in on what you should do in “Preparing Yourself for the Big Sale.”

Colleen Stanley is back with “Optimism is a Selling Skill. Is Your Sales Glass Half-empty or Half Full?”

Jim Meisenheimer adds his two cents about winning with his article “Your A.C.E. Up Your Sleeve.”

The left column Featured Article this week is by sales guru Brian Tracy where he shares “The Key to Happiness“.

Jim Domanski has the lead article, “How to Attract Sales Luck Like a Magnet” where he details 18 Traits of “Lucky” Sales Reps.

Kelley Robertson tells us the “14 Things Sales People Should Never Stop Doing“. He says if you consistently apply and execute these strategies you will definitely see an increase in your sales.

Mike Brooks shares “3 Rules for Successful Up Sells“. Mike says “The third rule is that timing is everything!” Check it out.

Here is an article “3 Principles for Building a Great Reputation” from a guy who knows of what he writes. Stu Schlackman shares some valuable tips.

Finally our left column Featured article is by Tony Cole titles “11 Sales Lessons for Life“. Interesting question, does life teach us about selling or does selling teach us about life?

Enjoy the reads.

November 11, 2011 – 11 am. A day, month and hour special to many as we commemorate the armistice signed to end World War I. The signing took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. Depending on where you live you might call it Armistice Day, Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day. This day provides an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices of so many who have served or are serving to protect our freedom. One only needs to read the paper or watch the evening news to see how fortunate we are to live in a democratic society with the right to express opinions without repercussion.

I have only one uncle still alive who served in WW II. He just celebrated his 90th birthday. Today my respect and appreciation goes out to Uncle Jack and all the other men and women who proudly call themselves veterans. We are indebted to you all.

We will never forget.

We go a little retro, back to the archives of September 2007 to pull out a podcast with Jeff Thull who is a leading strategist and expert on complex sales. Jeff’s podcast was entitled “Selling to Executives“ and is a great listen.

Ready to knock on the corner office?

Best known for wrapping up 60 Minutes with observations on mundane or insignificant topics, we were always entertained by his plain straight forward commentary.

Mr. Rooney began his career in the U.S. Army as a correspondent in 1942 writing for Stars and Stripes during World War II.

A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney began in 1978 and he entertained us ever since.

Andy Rooney worked up to three weeks before his death and had commented “I wish I could do this forever. I can’t though.” How lucky could we all be to enjoy our profession or calling so much we never wanted to stop doing it. How lucky to be doing it until we are 92!

If I look up and listen intently, I think I hear him on one of his 30 Underwood typewriters pounding out his next story …

Andy Rooney RIP

Colleen Stanley leads this weeks articles with Top 7 Reasons Managers Fail

The 7 Closing Habits of Highly Effective Tele-Sale Reps by Jim Domanski takes a title similar to another well known author to look at those working in the tele-sales enviornment.

Tessa Stowe contributes 7 Simple Tips For Building Trust, an element critical to success today.

7 Key Steps to Closing Every Sale by Rochelle Togo-Figa rounds out the home page selection this week.

Before you move on to anther site you might want to check out the left column ‘Featured Article” 7 Characteristics of a Thought Leader written by Andrea Meacham Rosal.

Jeff Beals takes the lead with “Big Marketing Power in a Little Word“. He starts by saying your English teacher isn’t going to like what he has to say.

New author to Salesopedia, but no stranger to article management, Eric Gruber contributes “Why Providing Content Should Be Your FIRST Priority – Not Starting Conversations.”

Danita Bye explains “How a Targeted Sales and Marketing Focus Can Help Manufactures Beat Forecasts“.

The picture for this article is on the edge. Jim Meisenheimer addresses “Personal Branding“. Check it out.

Lastly, our sidebar featured article this week is written by Colleen Stanley. “Sales and Marketing: Align, Define and Make Money” is an interesting read about one of the tough partnerships to build – sales and marketing.

Enjoy the read!

Kendra Lee gives some great tips on discovering what you sound like to your prospects in her article “Cold Calling Perfection: Are You Hearing This?”

We lean on tele-management guru Jim Domanski again with his article “4 Ways to Get “Hot” Clients Who’ve Gone “Cold” – To Return Your Call“. This piece speaks to the psychology of getting a return call.

Speaking of psychology, Stu Schlackman brings us his article “The Psychology of Prospecting“. He states to successfully prospect, you have to understand these three realities so that you have realistic expectations.

Enjoy

Retired aviator Waldo Waldman takes a page from his past wtih “Lose Sight, Lose Fight” I love his one piece of advice “Beware of Distractions Disguised as Opportunities.”

Bill Sayers asks “Where Does the Time Go?“. Gee Bill we don’t know, here it is October already! Bill does challenge us to look at what is most important to us.

Paul McCord contributes his thoughts to this week’s Get Going theme with “Where Is Your Sense of Urgency?” Some great insights from this article if you make your living in sales.

We close with the Feature Article of the week, “Do You have a Daily Sales Plan?“. Written by Cheryl Clausen, a seasoned sales leader and coach, she makes a good case for setting daily plans to paper.

Enjoy!

Mark Hunter challenges you to “Go Ahead and Fire Your Customer“.

Tom Ninness rounds out the featured articles this week with one titled “Are Your Clients Loyal or Just Satisfied?”

Enjoy the reads!

Jeff Mowatt wades in with his ideas on “How to Hire Customer Service Stars“.

Brian Jeffrey asks the question “Are Your Salespeople Guilty of this Sin” – read on to find out which sin he’s referring to!

Lastly recruiting guru and marketing expert Jeremy Miller says ‘not everyone is cut out to hire a star’ find out more in his article “A’s Hire A’s, B’s Hire C’s“.

Lastly the featured article from the archives is “Six Common Mistakes in the Sales Hiring Process” by Mark Smock. This article has been viewed 7698 times, click on it to find out why it is so popular.

The theme this week – tips for success.

Jill Harrington may raise a few eyebrows with her article “Want More Time? … Forget Time Management“.

With the 10th Anniversary of 9.11 just past, Mike Brooks article “The Gratitude List” is timely. Get your pen ready!

The king of cold calling or anything telephone prospecting related, Mr. Art Sobczak has tallied “29 Questioning Tips“. If you are in sales and use the phone (who doesn’t?) take a read.

Lastly our featured article is one that is concise and a popular one on the site. Tony Cole’s “5 Smart Decisions to Selling Success” is only a click away.

Make it a great week!

Jim Domanski is President of Teleconcepts Consulting and works with B to B companies and individuals who struggle to use the telephone more effectively to sell and market their products.

Jim Domanski kicks things off with “What Every Telephone Rep Needs To Know About Making a Followup Call”

Mark Hunter has some advice in his article “What did you learn from the last sale you lost?”

Carson Heady gets to the bottom of things with his article “Laying the Foundation for the Successful Sale.”

Lastly Richard Schroder picks up on Mark’s theme with his article “Win Loss Analysis: A Strategic Imperative.”

Enjoy!

I have to thank my brother-in-law Carl and his wife Jane for dragging me out July 17, 2004 for a run. Being avid runners the two of them convinced me to join them so away we went. I bagged out 10 minutes later, huffing and puffing, I took a short-cut home. I thought to myself, this is sad, I used to run cross-country in high school I should be able to do this. In fact I wanted to do it. At the time I was travelling a lot and had packed on a bunch of extra pounds. I went out and bought new running shoes, shorts and a running cap. I was set.

My wife asked me why I needed another pair of running shoes? I explained … these were real running shoes, designed to run in. Since that time I’ve gone through 14 pairs of “running” shoes and logged 7128 Kilometers (4429 miles). While I’ve been bothered of late by ‘runners knee’ I still get out at least twice a week for a 5 km run. I must admit when my dog died in December it took some of my running spunk away as I used to do a run and come home and get him for another 3 or 4 km.

Today’s run was a hot one, the humidity was high as was the temperature. I’m sure I sweated off two or three pounds but it was good. Running is always good. It gives me time to think, to digest problems, or do nothing at all. For those who run, they get it.

Summer has inspired this week’s articles on Salesopedia. Mike Brooks starts us off with “Summer Sales Slow? Five Things to do NOW!”. Even if your sales aren’t slow take a read.

The next article by Stu Schlackman “Overcoming the Sales Rut” will be of interest to many. How many have been in “the rut”?!

Jeremy Ulmer gets us thinking with his interesting article “Why You Should Laugh your Way to Better Sales Results”.

In the summer everyone wants to make best use of the longer days and nicer weather. Nancy Bleeke helps with some ideas in her article “Expanding Your Precious Time”.

The feature article is a short one but captures the essence of this season “Have Fun” by Stan Billue.

Game on!

Jeff Mowatt kicks things off with “The Future of Customer Service” where he examines three trends that will change the way you serve customers.

In Mike Mack’s “Don’t Keep Score” he looks at reciprocity and how it can work for you in both your personal and business life.

“Beware the Commonality” is an interesting article by Tim Rohrer that suggests engaging prospects can’t be done with a script.

Pulling up the forth of the home page articles this week is Michael Leimbach with “Sales Versatility: Connecting with Customers Every Time“.

In the left column is our Featured Article where we look back at previously published articles to find articles that had strong appeal from our readers, such is the case with “The 800 lb. Gorilla – A sales Friend or Foe?” by Diana Habich.

Enjoy

The title for Salesopedia content this week is Independence. Starting with an article by Bill Sawyers “Why are you in Sales?“. I can’t think of a profession that allows the opportunity for independence with unlimited opportunity.

Kelley Robertson follows up with “The Power of Self-Development“. His last line is a good one, “Make small changes but make them consistently and you will notice a great results.”

“8 Tips for Increasing Your Email Prospecting Response Rate” from Kendra Lee will help you on your path to independence. Lean more about the ‘glimpse factor’.

Many of the readers who enjoy the independence of working from home may enjoy Daniel Sitter’s article “Successfully Working From a Home Office.”

Lastly our featured article in the left side bar “Become a Performer” by Stan Billue shares some tips on improving your communications skills … again to become more independent.

Enjoy!

Kim Duke poses the question “Are You Hosting A Summer Sales “Pity Party”?” Well are you? Find out what she means.

What would summer be without golf? Michael Hughes‘ article “Networking on the Golf Course” is a must read if you are hitting the links with clients or prospects.

Bill Sayers penned an article a couple of years back which is applicable today. Enjoy his summer advice in What’s going on out “There”?

Enjoy the read. Happy summer!

This happened to me this past week when I had pleasure of having dinner with sales expert Nancy Bleeke President of Sales Pro Insider and co-creator or Sharpenz Inc. Nancy has contributed sales articles to Salesopedia in the past and also been a podcast guest. We did some work together a couple of years ago which was all over the phone and by email – we never met face to face. Nancy resides in Wisconsin and has clients throughout the U.S. and Canada.

It just so happened she was in Toronto delivering a program to a large blue chip client and her schedule allowed us to meet for dinner which I was thrilled to do. This was the first time we’ve met although it felt like we were old friends. We enjoyed some great conversation over dinner about work related topics then spent time bragging to each other about our kids. It was interesting to get to better know Nancy. As I learned more about her background and what she has on her plate (which is very exciting but I was sworn to secrecy) it reinforced the creativity, professionalism and enthusiasm I had come to know.

The evening ended on a bit of a sad note as she mentioned she had seen my post about loosing my dog the end of last year and told me how bad she felt for me. Nancy had lost her four-legged office companion a couple of months before so we shared our thoughts on the impact that has had. I was delighted to hear she has plans for a new canine companion which may happen as early as this month. We’re looking at the fall … and it will be a boxer!

If you have the chance to spend some face time with people in your network on a social basis I highly recommend it. Getting to know individuals as individuals and not just in a work related setting can only enhance the relationship.

Jonathan Farrington and his esteemed panel of sales experts scour the Internet each month to identify articles they think are good and should be shared with the sales community. This month they selected three article from Salesopedia.com for consideration. At the end of the month the panel will vote to select the best of the best. In the mean time check out these article from some of Salesopedia’s best.

“20 Tips From A Sales Coach To Increase Sales Productivity” by Jeremy J. Ulmer

“How To Get Really Motivated To Start Selling More” by Jim Meisenheimer

“Your “Stop Doing” List” by Jill Harrington

Good luck to each of you!

This week on Salesopedia.com the theme is Lifestyle Reminders and the lead article by Jeff Beals suggests “Healthy Living Is A Prerequisite for Success” (thus the green apple!).

Mike Brooks uses his journalistic magnetism to pen “4 Secrets to Attracting What You Want”.

So we went to Jeff Beal twice (yes he’s a subject matter expert on this stuff) for a second article “How Not to Work Evenings & Weekends” – something many might benefit from reading.

Then if we are talking lifestyle how could we not include an article with the word sex in it? Alen Majer comes through for us with “Why Selling is Better Than Sex”. No I’m not going to tell you what it says, you need to read it.

The featured article from our archives is a good one by Dave Lindbeck entitled “How To Be In Perfect Balance”. It’s a short one but contains some gems.

That’s it, now take a bite!

Tony Cole has the main article “Close More Sales”. Isn’t that what it is all about? Tony suggests there are two very important sales strategies that, when executed consistently, will prepare you to close more business, more quickly, at higher margins. This quick read is worth your while.

Jeremy Ulmer gives some ideas in his article “20 Tips From A Sales Coach To Increase Sales Productivity”.

We’re running Jim Domanski’s article “The Top 10 B2B Tele-Sales Predictions For 2011″ again as it’s been a well received piece. As we are nearing the half-way mark of the year it might be an idea to revisit these predictions.

You may have heard it before, but “No is a Positive Outcome”, really! So says Bob Urichuck. Don’t be one of the 87% of sales people working the telephone give up after the first attempt.

And our Featured Article in the left column is by Jonathan Farrington. If we are talking activity this is a read for sure. “In Search of the Sales Holy Grail” goes beyond activity and offers up some timely reminders.

Don’t miss the other great reads. Kelley Roberston pens there is always a plus to every situation, in his article “Sales Lessons Learned from a Recession” you can pick up some inpiring ideas to incorporate into your buisness.

Danita Bye gets the award for longest title this week with “How a Targeted Sales Focus Can Help Manufacturers Grow Their Business in All Economic Conditions”. She offers some counter-intuitive advice than will help you with your spring sales growth.

The fourth article is one that will make you think. Dave Kahle challenges us to look at what we are doing and how we are doing it. In “The recession, the stimulus, your paycheck and deeper issues” you will have plenty of opportunity to reflect on current issues.

Lastly the featured article in the left column “5 Ways To Capitalize On the Economic Recovery” by Mike Brooks has been a very popular article on Salesopedia because of it’s practical suggestions.

Get reading, then get selling!

Jim Domanski is the headliner this week with his contribution “How to Use Linkedin to Plan and Prepare for Your Tele-Prospecting Call”. It offers up practical suggestions and gives examples that might just help you with that elusive sale you’ve been working on.

Jill Myrick wades in with the question “Does LinkedIn = No More Cold Calling?”. Well does it? Check out the article.

Stu Schlackman provides “3 Easy Tips for Successful Prospecting In 2011″ – guess what one of the tips is …

Lastly, Lee B. Salz kind of throws you off with his article “LinkedIn Is a Waste Of a Sales Person’s Time!” becuase he’s actaully a strong proponent of LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

Building Your Sales Skills From The Ground Up – Ken Sundheim

What’s a Professional Sales Person? – Dave Kahle

If you like the article – consider adding a comment below it, the authors appreciate hearing from you!

The featured article (on the left column) is one by Lisa Leitch, “Will you Sales Approach survive today’s Sales & Marketing Revolution?”

Don’t miss the new podcast that just went live on the weekend. We caught up with Jeff Ansell to ask how a sales producer could benefit from the advice he shares in his new book “When the Headline is You: An Insider’s Guide to Handling the Media”. Jeff provides three basic but essential tips that will benefit anyone in sales and shares his perspective on why public speaking mastery is so essential.

An online sales conference that is a benefit for the people of Japan. Jonathan Farrington and his many sales associates are hosting a 5 day virtual 2011 Sales & Marketing Success Conference May 9 – 13.

The conference has scheduled thirty five sessions presented by some of the world’s top sales experts, over five days, will be all about succeeding, winning and exceeding expectations.

But this is more than a sales conference: Just four weeks after the Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and a tsunami which delivered 46ft waves, we learn that the death toll is likely to top 25.000, and recovery is going to take not years, but possibly decades, maybe even a generation, at a cost of at least $250 billion.

This is an opportunity for anyone operating in the sales space to make a meaningful contribution to the Japanese Disaster Fund (via the Red Cross.

Here is the best part – the organizers estimate 95% of the money earned will go direct to the Red Cross AND the cost to register for each session is only $5. Each session is limited to 1,000 guests.

I have to suggest this is a win-win proposition! Expert advise for a song, with the proceeds going to Japan. Good on you Jonathan and all the rest of the talent participating, to name a few: Jill Konrath, Kevin Eikenberry, Kelley Robertson, Colleen Francis, Mark Hunter, Nancy Bleeke, Kendra Lee, Joanne Black, Steven Rosen, Jonathan London, Wendy Weiss, Lori Richardson Paul McCord, Tibor Shanto and many more.

You can find the full line up by clicking on the advertisement banner below or click here.

One article in particular, “How to Slay a Sales Slump in 15 Minutes or Less” hit a cord with the expert sales panel over at Top 10 Sales Articles who judged Jim’s article as article of the month for March 2011.

Check it out, it’s a great article. Jim’s advice is straightforward and easy to implement. Well maybe not easy, but certainly not difficult. Nothing that is worth doing well is usually easy.

Congratulations Jim for getting the accolades you truly deserve!

Mathematicians celebrate Pi Day on March 14th. Albert Einstein, born March 14, 1879 would be 132 today.

The first calculation of pi was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287 to 212 B.C.) a Greek mathematician.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which releases its admissions decisions on Pi Day, incorporates pi into its cheers: “Cosine, secant, tangent, sine, 31.14159!”

A 24 year-old from China, graduate student Lu Chao set the Guinness World Record for pi memorization in 2006 by reciting 67,890 digits. It took 24 hours and 4 minutes.

And for those who may have forgotten what pi is, it is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.

Happy Pi Day!

In 2008 we decided to create a weekly newsletter that would proactively “push out” the Salesopedia.com website content to subscribers so they wouldn’t miss any of the articles from the many talented contributing authors.

This morning our March 7th edition did not send. When we contacted our distribution provider (Constant Contact) they explained they have been targeted by a company called MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System) and had many of the newsletters that originate from their system were blocked.

This is because many email lists (ours included) contain old or out-dated email addresses that MAPS has identified as such and in turn have identified as out-dated mailing lists and/or possibly spam. Building a mailing list over the past three and half years of over 5,000 email addresses is something we are proud of. It stands to reason email addresses will change or be deleted by their owner.

What Constant Contact suggested we do is send out an opt-in email to our users and those who respond would then become a part of our new mailing list; all other addresses would be dropped. The rep at CC went on to say that the response-rate would likely be 10 to 20 percent range. A disappointing prediction but perhaps that is the reality we have to accept.

The Constant Contact person said we could go with another provider, but we will likely get the same result as other newsletter services are also being targeted. In the meantime Constant Contact will not send out the Salesopedia newsletter as they are concerned (ours along with other newsletters in similar situations) cause too big a risk to their viability as company, given that their servers (IP addresses) would ultimately be blocked permanently. This is effecting virtually all of their customers.

I’m not sure I’d want to be Constant Contact or other newsletter distributor today!

So we are caught between a rock and a hard place. The Salesopedia Management team discussed this situation and decided to pull the plug on the newsletter. We’ve saved our distribution lists – just in case.

On the plus side we’ve seen a lot of our traffic coming from Facebook and Twitter mentions. Our sense is Social Media is having a very real impact on other “traditional” media (like our newsletter).

Let me be clear. I hate spam. I totally despise spammers. It is a shame we are effectively being “shut down” because some third party “thinks” we are potential spammers. They should re-read their own site’s definition of spam – I don’t think we fit their definition.

Legitimate companies that have relied on partners like Constant Contact (and paid them good money to manage the distribution of their newsletters) will suffer. Constant Contact will take a big hit on revenue and most disappointing to me will be the loss of that Monday morning 8:15 AM EST Salesopedia “hit” our subscribers (yes they opted in to begin with!) received when our newsletter landed in their mail box.

We hope you will drop by Salesopedia.com regularly so you can continue to get your weekly dose of quality sales articles.

Clayton Shold
on behalf of the Salesopedia Management Team

Richard M. Schroder is president of Anova Consulting Group, a market research, sales training and consulting firm. He is a sought-after speaker and a recognized thought leader in win / loss analysis and sales training.