I know this posting is kind of late today, but decided to post anyway.

Work smart and hard early. Hit your numbers and goals early. That way you can take an easy Friday or an easy rest of the year, depending if you are looking at your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals.

I know today is for Writers Wednesday, but I have a special blog for you today.

The other day I decided to get my printer cartridges refilled for the first time vs. purchasing brand new ones. I won’t mention the name of the company but their customer service was horrible. I guess I am ignorant when it comes to refilling cartridges because I didn’t know that it doesn’t work correctly for some types of printers. This is where this company went wrong.

After getting my cartridges refilled, I went home to try them out. They didn’t print correctly so I took them back. They refilled them again and I took them home again. They still didn’t work right. So I went back again and politely advised the employee (a different person from the first two times I visited the store) that the cartridges were not printing correctly. She immediate accused me of not putting the cartridges in the printer correctly. She didn’t even explain that some printers don’t work so well with refills and she didn’t even run a print test. She just wanted to accuse me first.

How wrong is that? I ended up getting a refund (after a half hour of arguing that I know how to put cartridges in a printer) and decided to call their customer service dept to comment. Thankfully, the customer service rep politely explained that the refills don’t work for all printers.

Lesson learned for all my readers: don’t accuse the customer no matter what.

Write down ideas…all the time.

Keep a little notebook or use the memo pad in your Blackberry to jot down ideas for articles, novels, or your blog. If you don’t consistently write down you ideas, they will be lost.

Do you love your job or career? If the answer is no, then get another one. Don’t wait around. Life is too short. I met a 30-year-old beautician. She told me that she is going to go to school and be a nurse. I asked her how long she has left in school.

You know what she told me? She said that she has been trying to go to school for 12 years now. If you don’t act now, you will find yourself on the bridge for retirement with a career you hate. Who wants that?

Play some golf.

And network while you are at it. Invite a client or prospect for 18 holes to build your relationships. If you don’t like golf, go to some other professional sports game, lunch, or whatever. The point is to do something fun while you are networking…or making friends.

Take a break and go celebrate.

Sales can be tough, difficult, overwhelming, or just plain crappy. That’s why each time you achieve victory (or make a sale), go out and celebrate. Take the afternoon off, go out to eat, or whatever. As much crap that you go through in sales, you deserve to celebrate.

Have writer’s block?

I don’t think there is a such thing. If you are at a point where you are having trouble coming up with something to write, then you are not doing enough creative thinking. You need to set apart some time just for creative thinking. Go to a coffee shop or Starbucks and just watch the world, people, cars, and other things. Go jog for a while. The point is that you need to change your atmosphere. Something will come up.

“Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one basket”

It’s similar to investing. You shouldn’t put all your money in one company’s stock. You need to diversify. That way if one method doesn’t perform well, the other methods will make up for it. Keep track of your marketing methods. Final three words…test, test, test.

P.S. Look for the next issue of my Sales Crave Newsletter on May 20 titled Different Methods of Self-Marketing.

Think.

Writing isn’t a pen to paper activity. It’s a brain to pen to paper activity. Thinking is necessary preparation for writing. Before you pick up a pen or place your hands on the keyboard, get in the habit of giving thought to what you want to say. Know your purpose. Do your research. Organize your information. Choose your style (formal, casual, professional). All of these are decisions a writer must make. If you take the time to make them before you start, writing will be a much easier and smoother process.

Feel comfortable…

When you go to a sales meeting, feel comfortable. If you feel comfortable in a suit and tie, then wear a suit and tie. If you feel good in a suit and no tie, then wear a suit and no tie. You are going to be hit and miss with the prospect or client. Some like sales professionals to dress in an Armani suit and have a Rolex watch, but some like a good old-fashion pair of jeans.

In my opinion, it depends what industry you work in that determines your attire. If you are in financial services, like myself, I would not going anything lower than a nice pair of dress slacks and a long-sleeve button shirt (with no tie). Personally, I like wearing a suit with no tie. That’s what I feel comfortable in.

The point is that since you are going to be “hit and miss” with your clients no matter what you wear, you may as well feel comfortable doing it.