More than a dozen years ago, when I was coaching Little League, I had two boys on my 9-year-old team that never made contact with the ball. It didn’t take much time with them to realize they were both swinging with their eyes closed. I thought that if I could get them to swing with their eyes at least partially open, they might get their hands and bat close enough to the ball so that there was a chance the ball could hit their bats.

If you're a sales professional, prospecting is a skill you need to perfect—and with the start of a new year and a brand-new quota, that comes into sharp focus. With a low percentage of sales reps consistently hitting quota, according to several surveys, it’s time to pay close attention to prospecting and avoid these common mistakes.

Sales prospecting is hard for many reasons. Perhaps the hardest – millions of other people are doing it as well. Meaning, it can feel almost impossible to stand out. The key is leaning into your unique personality and finding out what works for you. But, sometimes, it helps to have some inspiration.

I don’t know about you, but I’m relieved to see high-pressure sales tactics get dumped in the waste bin of history. The popular thinking used to be that the only way to succeed was to talk fast, instill fear, and constantly push for a close. None of that is conducive to a great experience for buyers OR for salespeople.

Is your LinkedIn social selling strategy based on FOMO (the fear of missing out)? FOMO is rarely a good reason to do anything in business. Especially if we are talking about social selling on LinkedIn. We all agree exposure on LinkedIn is important, but there can be a negative impact without a clear social selling strategy.