Oh, forgot to mention, my book is now hanging out in your local library!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video rules right now — and you don’t need to strip down to make it work. In my latest Inside Sales Trend Report 2012, Trend 8 is about “Putting Your Best Face Forward.” It is totally dedicated to video, which is quickly becoming the new high-impact sales medium.

By 2020, 85% of buyer-seller interactions will happen online, through social media, and video.While you’re thinking about that, take a look at these stats from a Nielsen report on WHY video matters:

• Over 60 hours of video per minute is downloaded and watched on YouTube every day (every minute of every day). This equals about 9.1 MILLION minutes a day of video watched on YouTube.
• Over 1 billion subscriptions exist in YouTube. That means they subscribe to your channel to be emailed updates and new video!
• 40% of people watch video via their MOBILE device.
• Over 31 million people in the USA alone watched video online via social networks and blogs in the last year.
• Men and women both pretty equally watch, but men watch longer — to the end — more frequently than women.
• Facebook gives video the highest EdgeRank (Remember? I shared this powerful little tip with you a few weeks ago!) credibility for your page posts.

It is always so gratifying to see the inside sales community abroad. We have so much in common. No matter how globally dispersed we are, we still share the same challenges — the No-Po, for example, continues to be an international phenomenon.

There are some differences, though. In some ways, training abroad looks like North America a few years ago. Reps are still calling into companies that don’t have voice mail messaging, customers still prefer in-person meetings, and social prospecting hasn’t even started.

Perfect timing: The Bridge Group Inc just released its ebook Inside Sales in Europe Ebook. In Q4 2011, they surveyed 75 North American technology companies and asked them about their inside sales, lead generation teams, and managers. Some very relevant and interesting findings:

• The top 3 locations for building inside sales groups are Ireland, Germany, and the UK.
• EMEA inside sales reps have 25% more experience than their North American counterparts — an average of 3.9 years.
• 46% of  EMEA inside reps are bilingual, but their managers are less so.
• EMEA inside sales reps make fewer calls per day (24) than their No American counterparts (39) — roughly 3 calls an hour.
• The channel or “dealers” are much more involved in EMEA sales than their counterparts in North America and Canada.
• The top challenges for EMEA inside sales managers are providing their teams with list/data sources and providing them with more intelligence.

Now, fast forward to the FUTURE and learn about the Top Trends impacting inside sales this year. Sign up for my February 2nd 12 Transforming Trends in 2012 Webinar.

It wasn’t that bad, after all, but the food situation was less than thrilling. After 6 hours of not serving food, the flight attendant came by and gave everyone a little bag of pretzels, a mini Kit-Kat bar, and one lemon cookie . . .

I’m in Singapore this week on a project, and this is a cool town — very decorated this time of year because Chinese New Year is around the corner. This year celebrates the Year of the Dragon, so there are LOTS of gorgeous dragons around. If you were born in 1952, 1964, 1976, or 2000, then you have the Dragon personality, a perfect one for sales.

Dragon characteristics are innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, passionate, conceited, tactless, scrutinizing, quick-tempered. Dragons are extroverts, and everything they do is on a grand scale: big ideas, ornate gestures, extreme ambitions. Because they are confident, and fearless in the face of challenge, they are almost inevitably successful. Dragons usually make it to the top.

If you want to know more about your luck in this coming year, check out your Chinese horoscope.

Speaking of the future, this week my 2012 Hotlist of What’s In/Out in Inside Sales (9th year) and my 12 in 2012 Inside Sales Trend Report (6th year) comes out. I always enjoy writing these because they set the tone for my own resolutions for the New Year, and I hope for yours too.

Even if you weren’t born in a Dragon year, you can still borrow some of their best qualities. Be innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, and passionate!

What do you want to create in 2012?

There’s an inside sales hiring trend of recent college grads — Millennials, the expanding generation that now includes those born from 1980 – 2000. They have grown up with technology, so the phone is not their primary tool. They opt for texting or IMing instead of picking up the phone — mostly because they are just not wired that way, but also because they also see it as pointless. After all, they point out,  “No one answers their phones.” So why should they call?

When I ask one of my favorite inside sales managers, Chad Burmeister, what his inside sales predictions were, he wrote back with these words that underscore the importance of the phone call:  Metrics matter.  They always have for acquisition teams.  One rep on my team did 5x as many emails as any others, and half the phone calls.  This person delivered the least amount of meetings.  1+1 = 3 when it comes to emails + phone.  That still hasn’t changed.

As we start a new year, it is essential that the phone still be included in your tool arsenal. Perhaps it can no longer stand alone but it must still enhance the other tools you use.

In the first few minutes of my training program — after we go through introductions and the course overview — I slap on the rules: No texting or laptops during the session. I am generous with breaks, but I have a stiff penalty if you don’t come back from break on time. Why? Because they have enough distractions at work — why create more when they are trying to learn?

My content is always fresh, relevant, and timely. The first hour is dedicated to Time Management, and the primary message is about the importance of maintaining a  High Tool IQ if you want to be successful in inside sales. I talk about the importance of tools — sales productivity tools and social tools.

Before I know it, I notice that a few people have taken their smart phones off the table and have their heads buried on their lap . . . texting away.

The Device Backlash is happening in full force. More devices and more tools increase the distraction level. And when you consider that 60% of workplace distractions come from email and social networking, and 14% of workers say they will tune out a meeting to tweet or update their status on a social network, this is serious.

The need to be “ON” all the time is a reality. We laughed a few years ago while reading the Geoff Sarkin Is Using Twitter article — where this guys tweets his entire wedding reception, receiving line, and wedding night –  it’s not so funny any more. The need to engage and be constantly “ON” is a reality.

In the The Rewired Resolution whitepaper, the author Camille Preston, PhD writes about being overwired which means overtaxing our brains and bodies by multitasking and multithinking and never being present. She found that for every $100K employee, companies are finding that $46K of productivity and quality of work is being compromised by that employee.

Unitasking means focusing on one thing at a time whether you are writing, reading, speaking, listening, walking. It is the key to being mindful in 2012.

Here are some smart resolutions for 2012:

1. Power up your prospecting efforts with the triple threat. If you feel like 2011 took the life out of your prospecting efforts, give it a power up om 2012. You may have a robot caller, but you are not a robot! Practice the triple threat: vm + em + social.

2. Double monitors = Double productivity: Set yourself up right for the new year. Integrate all your sales productivity apps on both monitors and capitalize on all calls.

3. Become a Chief Listening Officer: Listening is more than saying “uh hmm” when you are talking with someone! It is about understanding your customer, and you are in charge. Spend time on discussion groups, read blogs, watch what they are tweeting about . .  and use it all your sales efforts.

4. Make your writing POP! A well-written email or comment catches attention fast. Spend some quality time with emails YOU respond and blogs YOU like to read. Adopt the best of these practices in your own communications.

5. Live beyond the sales window: The best salespeople are not just about the sales — they have outside interests, hobbies, and causes they stand for. Set a goal and train for it. You will get so much satisfaction and support from being part of a group that makes a contribution. Watch this incredible video about getting to Click here to view the embedded video.

Some news is the kind that makes you always remember where you were when you first heard about it. Like the text I received from my daughter telling me that Amy Winehouse had died, or the phone call I had with a friend one night who ended the conversation with,  “I guess you’ve heard that Steve Jobs passed away today.” It was definitely The Year in Crazy — but we are still here!

Here are some things that changed lives in 2011:

1. Top Social Media Blunders of 2011 As social media continues to rule our lives, we realize know dangerous pressing the “send” key can be. An insensitive or inaccurate tweet can quickly make it around the world before any apology or explanation can even be typed.

2. Saying Goodbye We lost some legends this year. These people who shaped our world — for better or worse — will be remembered in history books years from now.

3. 11 Days That Shaped 2011 This beautiful chronology of events marks the most significant events and their rippling effects.

4. Top Celebrity Scandals of 2011 Really! How could they do that? Is anyone normal out there?

5. Top 10 Badass Sports Moments of 2011 If you watched the World Series (all seven games) or The Stanley Cup (all seven games), you know sports can be exciting. And don’t forget that the Packers — a team that almost missed the playoffs and — the Super Bowl.

As I watched it, I learned more and more about the way he sees his life. I also know him well enough to know that he broke up from a relationship, lost money, and cracked a few ribs recently playing frisbee. If he had regrets about any of these, he did not include them on his photo collage!

How often do we feel regret about our past? Kathryn Schulz presents a segment on Regret in TedTalks. She found that the three top areas people feel the most regret about are (1) Education, (2) Career an,d (3) Romance. Surprisingly, financial regrets account for less than 3% of our regrets — which means you don’t need to worry about the amount of money you are spending during this holiday season, because you won’t grow to regret it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you have a tattoo you wish you never got? Kathryn shares her story about feeling regretful about getting her tattoo, and how she learned the most important lesson about life: The point of life isn’t isn’t to live without any regrets, the point is to not hate ourselves for having them.

Her message: “We need to learn to love the flawed, imperfect things we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. Regret doesn’t remind us that we did badly, it reminds us that we can do better.”

Here are some of my guiding principles in life:

1. Show Courage: Just when everyone around you tells you “It can’t be done!” and asks “Why would you ever consider doing it?” is when I usually kick in. As Steve Jobs said, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

2. Learn to Forgive: Hilary Rodham Clinton’s mother once said, “Life is not about what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.” I believe this is the real essence of forgiveness. It means moving from blaming others to looking at the lesson to learn for deeper growth.

3. Be Brilliant: How often do we wake up and think, “Today, I’m going to be brilliant!”?  Being brilliant doesn’t require extra years of education  or a special degree from a prestigious school, it’s about striking your best pose and holding it for a while.

4. Feel Joy: How wonderful it feels to sit in complete joy  — even if it lasts only for a few seconds. Find what brings you joy and include more of that in your life.

5. Act Determined: What is it that drives you so strongly that you don’t accept any interruptions or allow yourself to be sidetracked with distractions?  How do you follow that light when you are dedicated to something so important that everything else is secondary?

6. Listen to your Intuition: My biggest business tool is my intuition. It guides me on every project, in every training session, in all client interactions, and in my marketing presence. It is never wrong, it has never lied to me nor betrayed me. I just have to remember to listen to it!

7. Choose Simplicity: Some people have very hard lives, and some are addicted to making them harder than they really are.  The past few years of austerity have taught us to be efficient and keep things simple. There is magic in appreciating less, which means so much more.

8. Give Generously: Being generous isn’t about spending money on others. It is about taking the time to listen to someone in a way that makes them feel heard, that you understand the essence of who they are. It requires you stepping outside of yourself and giving more than what was asked.

9. Create Adventures: We all have an adventurous streak. Go out there and explore explore without a road map. Stand on the edge of something shaky and be brave!

10. Keep Skating: Listen to James Taylor sing Joni Mitchell’s song “River.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

On this particular day, I was scheduled to deliver training to a financial organization. Their inside sales team consisted of 12 men and a couple of women. Since the client was based in San Francisco, I thought I would just walk down the street for my training. So I left my office with my training suitcase and all my gear and proceeded to walk the streets of San Francisco in my new cream-colored dress.

Not only did I underestimate how far away the client was, but one of my high-heeled shoes — had to wear them with the dress, of course  — got caught in a metal sidewalk grate and the heel broke. I quickly hobbled along until I got to my client’s  office. Luckily, they had thick carpeting that I could walk on. I was shown to the conference room, where I unpacked and set up. In those days, I used to bring flip chart paper for my training and write out the instructions beforehand. On this day, I prepared my flip charts and decided to lean on the paper. You know what happened, right? The wet ink stained the entire side of my dress. Still, I quickly recovered in time for the training to begin.

I delivered the training, but I had a hard time reading the group. The guys were giggly and distracted. It was just a half-day training, so I just chalked it up to us not connecting because it was such a short time. I thanked the client and packed my stuff to leave. Since I didn’t want to walk back to my office, I decided to call my husband to pick me up on his way home.

I stood outside waiting on the corner for him to pick me up. When he pulled up in the car, he had a weird look on his face. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he was so surprised to see me dressed up in such a great dress — and did I realize it was COMPLETELY SEE-THROUGH? Since I didn’t have much experience wearing slips, I didn’t think to include a slip underneath this dress. I was MORTIFIED, and I don’t think I heard from the client ever again.

If you like this story, tune in for more Sales Training Blunders on Monday, Dec 19th at 11am PST.

I was mesmerized with one documentary called Becoming Santa. I guess it won the SXSW award this year for best documentary. It’s about this guy who decides he wants to become Santa and does everything from bleaching his hair to going to Santa etiquette school to learning about the latest toys and technology — all so that that bratty kid sits on his lap and asks for a set of Snap Circuits, or a Hyperslide, or the Kid Galaxy Morphibians Remote Gator Control Car, Santa knows what he’s talking about.

I have a new-found appreciation for Santas all over the world now.  Last week, I was in warm Fort Lauderdale and checked out their Christmas parade. And there was Santa with all these kids piled on him. I stared — I could have sworn this was the same guy I saw in the documentary.  I wiggled my way past the crowds and photographs and whispered in his ear, “Hey Santa, quick question. Were you in a movie recently about being Santa?” and he looked at me with a big smile and said, “No, ma’am,” I felt like a total idiot. Hey, at least I didn’t ask him for a camera or MacAir or double monitors.

Santa is giving my book away this holiday season-  the perfect gift!

Steve Richard, Vorsight: His session focuses on the front end of the sales cycle. He provides some prospecting secrets to get past the automated attendant — BTW, he knows them all.  Check it out –  especially 9-12 minutes in,  when Steve shares his special code (*#4) for getting through voice mail. I admire Steve’s courageous and risky style in all his presentations. It’s all about LIVE demos, and it really makes the point.

Other favorites include:

Trish Bertuzzi, The Bridge Group: Trish has done a lot of great work around the new hire on-boarding process. In this episode, The Express Route from Hire to Revenue, she talks about it. Wow — is it 4 months or 7 months? These are crazy stats! As Trish explains, with the shortage of good inside sales talent out there — not to mention the recent changes in how buyers operate — new hires need the right type of training to keep them engaged. Unfortunately, most of the on-boarding curriculum is very stale and outdated, and not appropriate for quick ramp-up.

Mike Brooks, Mr Inside Sales: His Cold Calling is Dead discussion gets great about 7 minutes in as he provides good examples of strong openings.

Aaron Ross:His Predictable Revenue is one of my favorite books out this year. Aaron shares his secrets for developing a wildly successful outbound prospecting strategy in the early days at Salesforce.com

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In that spirit, you must tune in on Wednesday for The Year in Review and Predictions for 2012 through Focus.com. Joining me on the panel will be my buddies Anneke Seley and Trish Bertuzzi. What a perfect combination of strong, outspoken  ladies who know their stuff when it comes to the inside sales landscape!

Mike Damphousse will be moderating our panel discussion. He’ll ask about lessons learned in 2011 and what big predictions we have for 2012. Here’s a quick teaser:

Reflecting on Lessons Learned in 2011: Inside Sales raised their Tool IQ — more and more organizations are investing in tools to help throughout the sales cycle. If you’ve noticed that double monitors have suddenly become a staple in many sales organizations, that’s why.

Predictions for 2012: Connect rates will continue to drop and appointments will continue to get cancelled.

More to come on Wednesday. Join us!

December is the month for countdowns.

TedTalks is counting down on the Best of Ted 2011 and featuring their top 18 videos (because most TedTalks average 18 minutes long). Check these out during this month.

I hope Sunni Brown’s talk on Doodlers, unite makes it to the top 18. Her fun talk on the science and strategy of doodlers is very unique.

As I prepare for some Trend Talks in the coming weeks, I will be writing a lot about upcoming trends for Inside Sales. LinkedIn is not a trend nor a fad: It is an essential Prospecting and Sales Intelligence tool, so its about time salespeople learn to use it correctly. Check out this LinkedIn for Sales People in 30 Seconds article.