Conducting a meeting can be a daunting task, especially if you are a novice and feel a heightened pressure to exude more confidence than you may actually be feeling. How can you have that “It” factor, that ability to command attention just by walking into the room? How can you conduct a successful meeting and leave everyone wanting more rather than feeling their valuable time has been wasted in your hands?

If you’re like me, you just hate it when someone comes to you and asks, “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Well, what if I don’t want to hear the bad news at all? Ever?

The alignment of the sales and marketing teams is at the pinnacle of company success, yet finding that delicate balance between the two departments is one of the most difficult problems found within a business.

Before ever reaching for the phone to make an initial contact call, you must  decide if the person or company you are calling fits nicely within your ideal prospect profile. To know this, you must first understand the ins and outs of what makes your company valuable to others.

In a study, 61% of marketers state that generating high quality leads is problematic. There are many lead generation strategies, tricks, and tactics, but not all of them are effective.

As an entrepreneur you have undoubtedly invested a great deal of money, time, and sweat equity just to get your business off the ground. You have successfully survived the all-too-stressful startup phase, and now you are wondering what you need to do to take your company to the next level.

You’ve heard it time and time again. “No.” “We already use a similar product.” “Sorry, we’re not interested.” “Now is not a good time.” The bottom line is, rejection is painful no matter how long you’ve been in sales. It doesn’t matter how delicately (or indelicately) they put it, a no always means no. Or does it?

More impatient, more demanding, and more informed.

Sound familiar?

With attributes like that, it can seem impossible to please today’s consumers let alone increase your sales.

Everyone strives to be productive on a daily basis, at least to some degree, yet very few are actually doing it to their own satisfaction (or the satisfaction of others, such as their supervisors or spouse).

It may be a bit of a mind bender, but consider this: