Tools can help us work more efficiently so we can sell more and increase our impact.

There are many options for productivity tools out there – it becomes important to find the tools that work best for each individual. Of course, it can take some experimentation to get there. This week on the blog, I share some tools I’ve found to improve my effectiveness and productivity in the sales profession. What are your favorite productivity tools?

One way you can break through in the new sales economy is to build upon your already strong client relationships by cross-selling services. Growing existing relationships is a strategic way to lower your business development costs while increasing overall margins and client loyalty.

In my new guest blog for the National Society of Accountant’s Main Street Practitioner, I share four sure-fire steps to leverage your existing client meetings to uncover new cross-selling opportunities. You can check it out at the link below, and be sure to watch for follow-up articles in the coming months.

The Top Sales Magazine “Women in Sales” edition is out this week, and you won’t want to miss this jam-packed issue– which includes a contribution from yours truly among other prestigious women sales leaders.

My article takes a look at how you can improve your sales results by building your territory like a supply chain. This week on the blog I share highlights of the article (including three types of maps you can use) and tell you how you can get Top Sales Magazine each month for free.

Time, motivation, discipline, and energy. If you’re a regular reader, you know I’ve written about these before. They are the “non-renewables.” With so many demands on our days, some specific approaches can help us to better decide where the resources get allocated.

Modern selling lists are one strategy for helping you focus on your most important activities– and elevate your productivity. These are more than typical “to do” lists. Several of can be used in collaboration with your CRM, and can give you that extra boost of focus.

This week on the blog, I share a few lists to get you started. I share more in my book, The Modern Seller.

Statistics show that top business leaders read a book a week. They know…. you are what you read.

So, as a sales professional or sales leader, what books are on your bookshelf?

As I consider my own library, there are dozens upon dozens of titles in it you’d recognize. And some that you wouldn’t. Out of all my books, a handful jump out as having made the biggest impact on me as an entrepreneur, sales professional and sales leader.

These are the seven books I recommend for sales professionals and sales leaders. (And one bonus title.)

As a former sales professional in the tech field turned entrepreneur and consultant, I’ve experienced this first hand. Selling an expertise is more complex than selling a tangible product because prospects can’t see it, touch it, or demo it. On top of that, in the professional services realm, we’re faced with new business development challenges brought on by the new sales economy– like commoditization, falling utilization rates, less loyalty in our client base, pressure to deliver faster ROI, and talent drains. To overcome those challenges, those in professional services need new skillsets.

In a new article for the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ CPA Now, I unwrap the five key skills behind the skills for building a better book of business as a modern business developer. You’ll find it at the link below. And watch for my podcast with PICPAs soon, too.

If you’re like most sales professionals, you don’t love prospecting.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. A prospecting plan that’s strategic and worked consistently improves the quality and quantity of leads in your pipeline.

In my new guest post on the CloserIQ blog, I share four strategies for uncovering new opportunities with your loyal clients, and also opening the door with new prospects. I invite you to try them out over the next 90 days, and let me know your results!