On a scale of 1-10, how efficient do you believe you are at work? 
Could you use some help? Let’s be honest: there is a lot of “work” at work. Most of us are so busy trying to complete the day’s tasks and put out fires that we often neglect to consider if we are functioning in an efficient way. Seana Turner shares a few common mistakes, and some ideas for how to address them.
For Brad Shorr’s coaching and advising program, he compiled this list of qualities that sales people should develop to the best of their ability. Here they are – please let us know if you have any to add!
1. Prompt
2. Hard working
3. Ethical
4. Always listening
5. Asking the right questions
6. Sincere
7. Creative
8. Full of empathy
9. Positive
10. Organized
11. Attentive to detail
12. Thoroughly prepared
13. Good humored
14. Focused
15. Resourceful
Looking over this list, …is it possible for a person to excel in all these things? Are some of them mutually exclusive? For instance, can one person be a great strategist and a great tactician?
Which are the most important qualities?
By Arnold Anderson, Demand Media 
To be successful in sales, you need to identify and refine the top sales characteristics. You may find that some of these characteristics come naturally to you, while others require refinement. Analyze your professional approach and determine what changes you need to make to improve your sales success.
The workplace can be a perilous and thorny scene for disagreements. Being loud and clear leaves no room for misinterpretation. But it can also leave no room for anyone else’s ideas. Staying silent doesn’t air dissenting opinion. So that’s no good, either.
How to find more neutral ground? Becky Gaylord shares 12 ways to register your disagreement without clobbering coworkers with the know-it-all club.
The new A.B.C.s of Leadership: Always Be Coaching.
Keith Rosen, Global Authority on Sales and Leadership shares 31 tips and ideas for sales coaching or self coaching. That’s one tip for each day of the month. Stay motivated so you can motivate others!
We all know that the right people in the right places doing the right things can achieve truly amazing results, but how do you find and keep the sales superstars and guide them toward success at your company? [Read the entire article here...]
When it comes to connecting with the right job opportunity, timing isn’t everything, but it’s
certainly something. Tuning into industries’ and employers’ annual recruitment cycles just might give you a decisive edge. Monster Senior Contributing Writer John Rossheim shares a quarter-by-quarter summary of how these hiring dynamics play out.
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, 
suggests that your prospects should see you everywhere, from social media to events, sales strategies and other approaches to the marketplace. Seeing you everywhere within their market draws customers to you. By providing exposure outside the traditional sales process, you introduce prospects to your solutions and your team in the places they trust and frequent, which is an opportunity to build rapport, trust and proof of expertise. Read more [ ...].
By Wendy Connick, About.com Guide 
Even the best salespeople have the occasional “off” days. But when bad days turn into bad weeks or even months, you have a real problem. Weathering a long sales slump is tough but not impossible, if you take the time to prepare for it. And once you’re in a slump, you can take action to get out of your slump ASAP. [...]
No doubt you’ve learned the hard way that when you fire a salesperson, it can cost you as much as 150% of their annual salary and benefits, plus lost sales and missed opportunities. Obviously, there’s a lot riding on your hiring decisions. As you know, good hiring practices are based on far more than evaluating an applicant’s selling skills. Odds are, you didn’t let your last employee go because he or she lacked the skills to do the job; you fired them for a lack of personal skills or a mismatch with your organization. This common situation has led to the maxim, “hire for attitude, train for job skills.”
When most hiring managers believe in the importance of “attitude,” why do they ignore it so often during the screening process? The Brooks Group answers this question [ ...]
