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.
by Thomas Phelps
Personal Development Resources
Motivation is a tricky thing. Some believe that motivation is like a fire that needs to be consistently fed fuel or the fire will die out. Others view motivation as nothing more than a state of mind that is a result of an external event. Still others feel that motivation always a temporary emotion and that no one should rely on being motivated to accomplish desired tasks, since motivation is so fickle and fleeting.
And there are others who seem to have an endless supply of motivation. Often times, these individuals reveal no external signs of what many would recognize in a motivated person, yet they accomplish desired outcomes and goals time after time.
Are these people gifted or have they found a secret source of motivational energy that they need only tap into to keep their “fires” burning? The answer is much closer than you think.
Free E-Book: Understand the dynamics of a cold call and how you can manage those to get results.
Many sales professionals find cold calling difficult and unpleasant, yet the 42 Rules gives them ways to redesign their thinking, approach, practices, and tools, to get the best possible results. The full eBook contains some of the fundamental principles Mari Anne Vanella has developed over the course of her career. Her clients and her own company use this approach to execute the top performing programs in the industry for the past seven years.
By Sharpenz 
What does it take to be successful in sales? There’s no easy answer because the list is long. It’s one of the great debates in the sales community – WHAT does it take to be successful in sales?
One indication of the debate is the response to a recent question posted on LinkedIn. The question asked:
What is more important in sales, great selling skills or expertise on the product?
The more than 250 respondents – sales managers and sales professionals – were split with their answers. Many couldn’t choose one over the other.
TODAY A SALES TEAM must not only be able to sell a competitive advantage; they must 
be a competitive advantage. In most companies it is increasingly difficult to sustain a competitive advantage by traditional means. Traditional factors such as: superior products, scale, and innovative manufacturing technology may provide short term advantages but unfortunately they can be replicated in relatively short order by an increasing number of agile and aggressive domestic and global competitors.
Although a great sales team is difficult to create, it has the potential to provide a significant competitive advantage and, perhaps more importantly, one that is difficult for the competition to copy quickly. So optimizing sales performance matters more today than it did yesterday and it will matter more tomorrow than it does today.
By Shamus Brown, The Shameless Sales Blog 
What are you thinking before you meet with a potential customer, or pick up the phone to dial a prospect?
I ask because what you think before and while you meet or talk with your prospects and customers greatly affects the outcome of your meeting.
By Ken Blanchard, www.SellingPower.com 
Feedback – from managers, customers, and associates – can help salespeople improve their performance. But if the way you give or receive feedback causes hostility or hurt feelings, it may do more harm than good. Constructive criticism is constructive only if its practical benefits outweigh any negative emotions it stirs. The next time you’re on the giving or receiving end of constructive criticism, use these ideas to offer or accept it gracefully – then put the feedback to use.
