Changing your life for the better is a difficult journey. Truthfully evaluate yourself to find out why you're down and what you have to change in your life to get what you really want. Resolve to change. Remember that if you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always gotten. Start fresh. Remember that, usually, the turning points in our lives occur in times of adversity.

earning how to stay focused is one of the linchpins of effective selling and a foundation for a successful life. Are you as focused as you could be? Get all the issues of distraction out on the table, and examine the root causes. You may uncover that you simply don't want to be doing some of the things you've committed to do. As a result, you hide in distractions. Strictly evaluate your choices about how you spend your time. Focus will follow.

Every successful person needs to learn to balance priorities. Money lost or spent can be regained, but squandered time is not retrievable. You can kill time – and your career – with extended phone calls, lunches and breaks, late starts, and early quits. Misguided priorities (calling on prospects and customers whose potential you assume may be good and short-changing others checked out as probably profitable) also waste time. Use your time wisely and make every hour count.

Most people have things on their to-do list that they dread doing. Unfortunately, avoiding what you dread is too great a temptation. But if we decide to put off tomorrow what we can do today, or only focus on tasks we can do well, or indulge our egos, we will knock ourselves off the success track. Either strike temptation down or learn to use it strategically as a reward for devoting time to things we dread but must do to succeed.

Does the idea of talking with high-level decision makers make you nervous? Don't let it. They came up the hard way, just as you're trying to do. Excise the notion that you have little chance to succeed against competitors who have bigger budgets. You have your own advantages. Face the realization that you don't have to be big to bring big value to companies large or small. You just have to think big.

Do buyers remember you? We remember people by their outstanding characteristics. If you wore a bright green wig, you wouldn't be forgotten any time soon; however, we are remembered, not only by the way we look, but by our unique actions, as well. Some reps make it a point to identify customer problems and needs – business related or not. They then go out of their way to seek solutions that they give back as a special service. Customers rarely forget them.

When a deal suddenly falls through, don't get angry or indignant. If the ship is half sunk, blowing off steam will sink it completely. Keep your cool. Remember, you have the right to ask questions. Was there anything wrong with the contract? Were there doubts about the product, service, or you? If there are wrinkles, project confidence that you can address them. Sometimes canceled means just that. But with the right attitude, you can sometimes earn a second chance.

Complaints can be your best friend in sales. Just because a customer voices no gripes over an extended period, it's not safe to assume that customer is satisfied. If properly handled, complaints can be customer-saving opportunities. When a customer voices a complaint, it gives you a chance to get to the root of the dissatisfaction and hopefully remedy it. There are two kinds of unhappy customers: those who gripe and those who are closed-mouthed and simply jump ship. Be grateful for your gripers.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

According to Elihu Root, "Men do not fail; they give up trying." Author and philosopher Grenville Kleiser had another viewpoint: "The most successful people learn from their failures and use them as stepping stones to success." Success is built on failure. When the day's or week's calls are done, review your misses as well as your hits. Analyze what went wrong and what went right. If you're not failing often enough, then you're failing to try as frequently as you should.

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

If your job bores you, either switch occupations or take steps to energize your approach. Like what? 1. Learn more and more about your field (you'll never meet a bored expert). 2. Confront hard challenges and overcome them (a proven perscription for boredom). 3. Throw yourself into projects you passionately believe in. 4. Set tough goals for yourself. In short, become too busy to be bored.

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."

If you want to succeed in sales, you have to make your customers feel special. Don't let them forget the critical role they play. Listen to your customers' problems and needs. Communicate often: "How are you doing?" "I have an idea that might interest you." "I was just thinking of you." "Any problems or needs I can help you with?" Get the message across that they are special and important to you – not once in a while but all the time.

You can't do it all by yourself. How much time do you spend on tasks that others could do with ease? Do you handle routine correspondence yourself? Do you open and screen your own mail? Are there phone calls others can make so you don't have to? Do you plan and plot trips on your own? Do you make calls to personally confirm appointments? Do you kill precious time handling details when you could be selling? Time is our most precious commodity in life. Learn to let go and delegate more.

In 1904, steel magnate Charles M. Schwab solicited advice from public-relations pioneer Ivy Ledbetter Lee about how managers could manage their time effectively. Lee sent Schwab the following four-point list and requested a check for whatever Schwab thought the advice was worth: 1. Make a list of the most important things you have to do tomorrow. 2. Arrange them in order of importance. 3. The next day, work on the most important task until it's completed. 4. Tackle the other tasks in priority order. How much did Schwab pay Lee? $25,000. Even today, these points are worth their weight in gold.

The old rule that it costs five times more to gain a new customer than to keep an old one is obsolete. In a tough economy, it's at least 10 times more. Service good customers as if they were your only customer. Go out of your way to exceed their expectations. Just imagine that your competitors are knocking on your customers' door. (By the way, they probably are.)

Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, "Life is routine, and routine is resistance to wonder." To change up your routine, you might consider sleeping on the other side of the bed, trying out meditation, starting a garden, switching coffee brands, picking up guitar playing or cooking, switching your radio station during the commute, or just choosing to smile more often. Life is a great experiment, so make the choice to go play, seek novelty, and allow your experience to guide you toward what matters. Such interactions create a wisdom from which we all benefit.

If you lose a customer, find out why. If you win a customer, find out why. If you want a customer, find out what he or she really needs and provide it. Your mixture of asking and telling in the course of a day should be question heavy. Don't be bashful. Ask. Tug at loose edges. Try to get to the emotion behind people's buying motives. Break the rules and make the deal while your competitors try to figure out what happened. Ask, listen, and respond to the information you discover.

It's time to think big. People's needs are changing. Business responds and changes. For every door that closes, another will open. For every relationship that ends, another can begin. If you focus on the negatives and constrict your thinking, you'll miss some great opportunities. In fact, fortunes are made when the going gets rough. Think big for your long-term goals, but be realistic with your short-term goals. This opens your mind to possibilities while bolstering your confidence.

Honestly, this is all you really need to know about yourself. Don't lose sight of your belief in YOU!

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”

When beginning your work day consider creating S.M.A.R.T goals.

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-bound

Do you base selling decisions on what you assume about your customers or prospects – or what you know for a fact? By acting on facts that you know are correct, you increase the odds that your sale will reach the closing stage. Successful reps bet on sound, strategic planning that minimizes guesswork and evaluates possibilities. Instincts are important, but you shouldn't be using them to steer your ship to successful waters.