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With a slower market, more contractors are calling me asking for advice. Having been in the business a while and having gone through several slowdowns, I would like to offer answers to some of the common questions that contractors ask and issues they might face.

When it comes to sales, you may be affected by social consciousness in more ways than you realize. While it’s easy to recognize that job pressures shape your performance - for example, the struggle to meet corporate expectations and uncompromising customer demands at the same time - what’s not so apparent is that your behavior is also shaped by social pressures and often is reinforced by movies, literature and television.

A little off topic this month since the main purpose of this column is to offer up the announcement that our Best of Success conference scheduled for October 2008 has

Rick Johnson, a bright and witty consultant to the distribution industry ( www.ceostrategist.com ), recently published what he called “A Regulatory Compliance Inventory.” It lists the various federal laws governing employment issues and is worth reviewing. You surely know about most of these laws, but I bet after reading this list, many of you will be scratching your heads saying, “I didn’t know about that one!”

My mission is to help you make a living doing what you love. Do you love what you do? Great. Now, what about the money, honey? I spend much of each day on the phone, talking business. On the seminar trail, I meet lots of folks who love to tell me what works for them … and what not to do. I’d love to share this wisdom with you. So here is a collection of do’s and don’ts for every area of your business.

I have a dirty little confession to make. Those of you who’ve read my previous articles probably think of me as the “safety man” on the site, but I actually used to be the Pusher. I didn’t start out with that objective in mind, but by the time I reached my late 20s I knew I could do it, and that was enough to try.

I sold kettle parts to Brice’s dad when he was a kid in school. That was a long time ago, and he has long since carved out a niche of

Before reviewing the six characteristics of successful salespeople, we need to talk about sales in general. Selling is an acquired skill, not a God-given talent. Salespeople are communicators, not manipulators. For many people, their only sales experience has been with a pushy car or insurance salesperson. Such prejudices are commonplace and totally wrong.

Leadership is not a business title. All too often, the most successful sales performer is promoted to the role of sales manager, and we assume that the individual, having never been trained even once on the skills of leadership, will somehow develop them by osmosis.