You’ve been hanging on so tight this entire year, weathering a bad economic storm that looks like it may be hanging around indefinitely. No worries, you have adjusted to your new frugality and have enjoyed your bargain-shopping mentality. But will you be resilient enough to endure more cuts and more surprises?

Inside sales organizations never grow stale: they are one of the most resilient departments any company has. No matter how tough things get, they know how to bounce back.

Where do you think you rank on the resilience meter?

1. Structure: The Best in Class inside sales organizations are structured to withstand some abuse. They know how to staff the right mix of teams, and they know where to trim the excess when they need to. Our popular webcast “Time to Grow or Shrink Your Inside Sales Organization” confirms that restructuring efforts should always be proactive, not reactive.
2. Talent: Just because there’s so much talent looking for work it doesn’t mean you need to put someone in a job that is not a match. Remember, salespeople can blossom if they are in the right place, are well suited for their geo region, and have a good field partnership. Tune in for a discussion on this topic Friday, September 18th at 11:00 a.m. PST.
3. Skills: When a rep loses a deal or is incapable of earning time with a busy decision maker or gets caught in voice mail jail, they must approach these challenges with a learning agility: the ability to learn from their experience and continue to develop their sales skills to be top of their game.
4. Fragile Customers: You’ve heard all the excuses this year. Some were true, but most were drenched in fear. Because the truth is that no one is going to readily step up and take a risk on a solution — they’re terrified of risking anything, and that “employed” status is more important than “hero” status.
5. Technology: Just like the swine flu, Internet technologies will spread and multiply. Stay the course, and only focus on what you need to learn to close more opportunities.
6. Partnerships: Don’t hold a grudge, take things personally, or wait for the relationship to happen. You are in control and must spend at least 50% of your selling time creating strong partnerships.
7. Management: Being a manager today requires being a combination therapist, social worker, parent, spouse, best friend, cheerleader, and psychic. You continue to drive revenue, but now must have the wisdom to know what is holding your team back and how to get them on track with their goals. Don’t forget the surprise lattes for breakfast one morning!
8. Community: Don’t get all community oriented when you are desperate for work. Give back and make a contribution while you are employed. The networks you build are priceless, and they will never fire you. Donate your time to a smart cause.
9. Attitude Adjustment: Do a perspective audit. Take a look at the positive elements in a situation, and look beyond the current challenge. There are so many more people suffering much worse than you are. Feel fortunate to have what you have. Remember, you can’t change what is happening to you, but you can change how you respond.
10. Stay agile and be flexible. This is the key to igniting your resilience. It means keeping your emotions from hijacking your good reason, being able to detach yourself in order to step back and gain perspective, and understanding that your past and your personal qualities are resources to inform your next choice. In short, the greater the resilience, the greater the chances you'll overcome them -- and even be rewarded by them.

The clock is ticking! Has your team received any sales skills training this year? Sign up for our Smart Shots Subscription program and give them training that satisfies their hunger fast: a modular, bite-sized approach to sales training with quick 60-90 minute gulps of essential sales skills that busy inside sales folks can easily digest. To learn more about each skill, check out our YouTube video.

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"Smart Selling on the Phone and Online" Has Arrived! The only sales skills sourcebook specifically for inside sales warriors is written right from where you sit: inside the cubicle. Maybe that’s what has already made this new book #1 in its category! Listen to Josiane being interviewed about her new book by Eyes on Sales. Invite Josiane for an on-site or virtual book signing that pumps up your inside sales team and leaves them with nuggets of advice and skills and a new book!

Speaking of book signing: Come to a special book signing at MarketingSherpa’s 6th Annual B2B Marketing Summit 2009 in San Francisco on September 23/24, 2009, and get an autographed copy of my book.

For more book tours and promos, visit our What's Happening section.

Inside Sales 2.0 TrendTALK: Sign up for our Free Webcast now and join us on Friday, September 18 @ 11:00 a.m. PST.
Tune in to our Webcast series as Josiane engages with the RiverBed Inside Sales Management team on Inside Sales Matchmaking: Matching Talent to Job. Become a channel subscriber for free and listen to great audio archives.

Here's an uplifting 3-minute video I think you'll really enjoy. It's called Smile & Move (there are 5 ways to smile, 4 ways to move).

Let's "smove"...