A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

Come to think of it, it had been several weeks since I had a solid day devoted to just prospecting for new clients.  It had been so long, in fact, that I was kind of dreading getting started.  Even veteran sales pros go through the "I don't wanna get out there and search for new business" mode.  And today, I was in that mode.

But I forced myself to make the first call.  Did if first thing this morning.

Since then, its been a great few hours of prospecting.  I've set up several follow-up appointments with new clients, and even got a verbal commitment from a future client.  GREAT!

All of this reminded how important it is to get an early, action-oriented start to your sales day.  It sets the tone for the whole day, and can obviously have a lot to do with your success or failure in the world of sales.

You know how it goes: If you start your day with paperwork and e-mails, all of a sudden its 10 o'clock.  "Hey", you reason with yourself, "everyone is going to be going to lunch here in an hour or so.  It's not worth it to get out there and sell if they're all going to be out of their offices, right?"  So you wait until after lunch.  You come back, and now there are messages to return...and so on, and so on.  You never get a good, solid sales day in the books.

FORCE YOURSELF to schedule an action-oriented sales duty first thing in the morning.  And, schedule one at the END of your selling day (helps force you to keep working instead of knocking off early).

Just thought I'd pass along that reminder for all of you from my sales day today.