If you're a solopreneur, consultant, business owner, or independent professional, you probably have asked yourself some or all of the following questions:

* How can I get more clients?

* How can I get better clients?

* How do I sell more to the clients I've got?

* Can I earn more money and still have a life?

* Why are sales activities so difficult sometimes?

* Is there a "right" way to sell?

* Where can I turn for hands-on advice when I need it?

* When will this get easier?

Well, I've got some answers. Here's what most sales training companies will tell you is the answer to your sales and marketing challenges: sales training. Here's what most marketing consultants will tell you is your answer: marketing consulting.

Well, that just isn't the case.

If anything, you need to UNlearn what a lot of sales training and marketing seminars and sales books have told you. You need to reconnect with how to sell based on WHO you are - in short, to start using and recognizing the power of selling differently.

And here's something new and different coming from someone like me: You don't need sales training.

Sales training (and any training) is for people who lack knowledge. My clients are typically very smart. But they've learned to sell from the head - using gimmicks, clever phrases, manipulative "closing" techniques, and artificial "rapport-building." None of this works or lasts because it's outside-in - trying to force you into a mold that you just don't fit.

A truly effective approach will unlock your thinking and help you sell FOR REAL. It's more authentic, and it works and lasts because you start to sell from the inside-out - based on WHO you are, and not on an external set of behaviors that work for only a very small percentage of "old school" salespeople.

Think about it. You know how to sell (or at least you know you don't like what a lot of sales training SAYS is the way to sell). You have probably had some sales training; and you might have gone to a few sales seminars; you have probably read a sales or marketing book or two; and you may even have heard some fluffy "woo-woo" talks that call themselves sales training; but none of it stuck because none of it seemed relevant to you or spoke to your desire to help people by providing genuine value.

You need a personal sales and marketing strategy that seamlessly combines your natural self with your strongest message to your best prospects with the highest value, using the least time and effort.

Then you need a plan and an accountability mechanism (sales manager, coach, or colleague) that will help you work your plan, day by day, prospect by prospect.

Unlike traditional sales training, true sales and marketing effectiveness is a process, not an event. And it always works from the INSIDE out. That means that it's focused on internal skills and lasting tools, not sales training gimmicks or external "techniques."

When selecting a sales and marketing professional, you need to be aware that a lot of marketing consultants give detailed blueprints but no tools. And a lot of sales training provides specific tools but no overall blueprint.

You want to look for a resource that integrates big-picture marketing strategy with day-to-day selling tools so that your marketing WORKS and that MORE SALES HAPPEN. The truth is that nobody needs "one-size-fits-all" sales training or "here's-your-marketing-plan-good-luck" consulting. You simply need a customized set of keys to unlock the business answers you need. There is no cookie cutter. You're no cookie.

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About the Author

Marketing and innovation expert David Newman has written 8 books and has been quoted in dozens of national media outlets. David is also a sought-after speaker and seminar leader. Visit http://www.unconsulting.com for more free articles and resources.