I was on my 50th call of the day at my corporate inside sales job. I took a deep breath before dialing the next call, and as I exhaled, I made a decision. I was going to switch things up on my next call. I made a decision right then and there that my next call would be great, and can I tell you the truth? I didn’t land the deal on my next call, but the mindset shift made the call better than my first few. Before we get into the strategies, let me tell you a universal truth: In order to excel at sales, you will need to be positive — prepared and positive!

Before launching my speaking coaching company, I worked as an inside sales representative. I made about 100 cold calls a day, and it was one of the best jobs I have ever had. It taught me so much about sales. Now, I don’t make cold calls. I sell corporate speaking packages to corporations. At this point in my career, they know I am calling because they booked the call with me or a member of my team. The dynamics are very different, but there are still some fundamental things that you should do on each and every sales call to close more deals.