The only constant in life is change. And the sales game is certainly doing its share of changing.

One of the biggest shifts seems to be in the buyer/seller relationship. Research shows that buyers are not reaching out to contact salespeople and sales organizations until they're 60 percent to 70 percent along in the decision-making process, according to Jill Konrath, an internationally recognized sales strategist.

"Instead of contacting a salesperson, customers today are going online first," Jill says. "I know that the minute I come up with a question or a problem, I go to Google and I type in what I'm looking for. This puts salespeople in a real one-down position because suddenly they're no longer needed for their product or service knowledge. Instead, they find themselves constantly getting involved in price battles."

Konrath is everywhere these days, and for good reason. She's on the front edge of what it takes to be successful today in the sales game. She's been featured on ABC News, in Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Selling Power magazine and many more. More than 100,000 salespeople globally read her weekly newsletter.

I asked Jill what sales managers can do to help their team be successful in this ever-changing environment.

She said: "We need to rethink how we do things. Sales managers need to be the change agents out there. The reality is that in many cases, our products or services are no longer the differentiator. The salesperson is now the differentiator. The customer must like the interaction with the salesperson. They're always asking: Is this individual adding value? Are they constantly bringing me ideas, insights and information that can help me run my business better?"

This change in strategy means salespeople need to know a whole lot more about their customers and the people making buying decisions. What are the buyers' business objectives? What are their roles and responsibilities? What's their status quo? What might be preventing them from making a change?

"We need a more in-depth view of buyers," Jill said. "Salespeople need to be business analysts and idea providers, as opposed to product pitchers or just trying to make a sale. This is a real switch from the past and the genesis of a sales manager's job today."

Jill believes one of the most important jobs of today's sales managers is to coach their salespeople. It's not enough to pep them up and motivate them. She suggests that they go out with them on sales calls and see what kind of research they've done to prepare for each call. They may need to be doing a lot more preparation. I always say there's no such thing as a cold call at MackayMitchell Envelope Co.

"You have to be constantly working with them to improve and become better," Jill said. "There are not enough A players to go around. You have a whole slew of B and C performers, and a sales manager's job is to get them to improve. Coach, coach and coach your salespeople. It makes the biggest difference in the world."

The other thing that sales managers must do to be successful, according to Jill, is to get more and better prospects. Sales managers have to work much more closely with marketing staff than ever before.

"The last thing salespeople need are a bunch of crummy old leads from people who aren't really interested," Jill said. "Sales managers need to work with marketing to clearly define who makes a good prospect -- what kinds of companies, what positions and what issues, needs and concerns they might be facing. Equally important is the need to turn the company's website into a hub of great information that will attract these people."

Jill's latest book, "SNAP Selling," focuses on prospecting and teaches salespeople how to reach out to customers in a very different way. SNAP stands for Simple, iNvaluable, Align and Priority.

Jill explains: "In just five seconds, prospects decide if you're worth meeting. Do research first. Then, think about these things before you contact them: Is your message simple or complex? Do you sound like a salesperson or an invaluable resource? Do you align with their business objectives? And finally, are you focused on one of their priority initiatives? If you deliver a relevant message, aligned with their priorities, you have a much higher chance of connecting."

Mackay's Moral: You can't expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday's tools and expect to be in business tomorrow.

Eugene Orowitz was a skinny, awkward kid from New Jersey. Painfully shy, very self-conscious and lacking self-confidence, Eugene nevertheless said yes when a high school coach half-jokingly asked him to try out for the track team, according to author Glenn Van Ekeren.

"Ugy," as his friends affectionately called him, discovered a talent for javelin throwing and committed himself to being the best that he could possibly be. What Ugy lacked in self-confidence, he made up for in commitment.

By graduation, Eugene had achieved a national high school record for throwing the javelin more than 193 feet. His commitment also resulted in a college track scholarship at the University of Southern California.

A torn shoulder muscle ended his javelin-throwing career and any hope of making the Olympic team. However, while watching a play, Eugene became intrigued by acting. Again, he committed himself to being the best. He was determined to make it as an actor, so he enrolled in acting class. And he changed his name.

You know Eugene Orowitz as Michael Landon, who went on to star in three of the most popular shows in television history: "Bonanza," "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven."

Eugene/� HYPERLINK "http://thinkexist.com/quotation/there-s_a_difference_between_interest_and/222268.html" �Michael demonstrated the difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.�

Comedian Bill Cosby dropped out of Temple University as a junior and became a starving comedian. But he was committed to becoming successful, staying up all hours of the night to talk to seasoned comics, research material and work on new routines. I had a chance to play tennis with Bill many years ago, and he told me: "Anyone can dabble, but once you've made the commitment, then your blood has that particular thing in it and it's very hard for people to stop you."

Commitment is a prerequisite to success. Commitment is the state of being bound -- emotionally, intellectually or both -- to a course of action. Commitment starts with a choice and is sustained by dedication and perseverance. Actions speak louder than words.

If you want something, but you're not motivated to do the work required, you will be frustrated and unsuccessful. So take action!

-- Make a list of everything you want. Write it all down. Don't leave out anything you want, from becoming a CEO to getting a date. Then rate each item according to its importance.

-- Consider your investment. Examine each of the items on your list and ask yourself: "Am I willing to invest the time, energy and resources necessary to achieve this?"

-- Make a decision. Look at your list and identify the items you want the most with the highest score for "willingness." Then start working on a plan for success over the next weeks or months -- and be sure to set a deadline.

Rev. Robert Schuller says there are four kinds of people: "First, there are the cop-outs. These people set no goals and make no decisions.

"Second, there are the hold-outs. They have a beautiful dream, but they're afraid to respond to its challenge because they aren't sure they can make it. These people have lost all childlike faith.

"Third, there are the drop-outs. They start to make their dream come true. They know their role. They set their goals, but when the going gets tough, they quit. They don't pay the toll.

"Finally, there are the all-outs. They are the people who know their role. They want and need and are going to be stars: star students, star parents, star waitresses. They want to shine out as an inspiration to others. They set their goals. ... The all-outs never quit. Even when the toll gets heavy, they're dedicated. They're committed."

To be committed, you must be "all in." You can't just do the best you can. You have to do everything you can. Remember, the difference between 100 percent all in and 99 percent all in is 100 percent.

When I think of commitment, I think of the story of the pig and the chicken who are walking down the road. The chicken says: "Hey, Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"

The pig replies: "Hmmm, what would we call it?"

The chicken responds: "How about Ham-n-Eggs?"

The pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved!"

Mackay's Moral: An ounce of commitment is worth pounds of promises.

Everyone is a salesperson, all of your life. Whether you are a mechanic, a teacher or a manager, you are selling ideas. You are negotiating. You are communicating, persuading, influencing.

If you don't believe you are a salesperson, I encourage you to rethink your position because the probability that you will become successful is significantly diminished.

This is the lesson I would give to people who might tell me that my most recent book is not for them. "The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World" is for everyone, especially now.

The hardcover edition was published in November 2011. The paperback version was just released and contains 10 new chapters and nine new "quickies," including sections on such important topics as relationships/networking and time management. I'd like to share a preview of the new material.

Networks are the foundation of business. Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," hit the nail on the head when he wrote: "The richest people in the world look for and build networks. Everyone else looks for work."

Ace networkers learn to master the navigation and the niceties that earn them acceptance, respect and authority. Here are three road-tested tips:

1. Create timelines for your networking goals. Be patient. Understand that it may take one or two years to position yourself in a network. Always plan the supporting network routes to business objectives far ahead. Totally determined to sell a major prospect and ready to make a proposal in 18 months? Is the buyer an opera buff or dedicated to funding a dialysis center? Are you building a network path to mesh with those passions?

2. Don't stall answers. When you acquire a serious network presence, you'll be asked for favors in no time. Don't be slow to answer calls, even if you can't promise your contact much help. Networks telegraph who the fast responders are and who the slowpokes are. The biggest mistake you can make is not to answer a viable network member who is reaching out to you. That remains true even if it's just to tell the person "no" in a clear and polite way.

3. Act confidently and take meaningful risks. In networking, as in anything else, the wise person isn't the one who makes the fewest mistakes. It's the one who learns the most from them.

Discussing time management, my favorite lesson comes from the late Peter Drucker, who said, "Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else."

We all start out in life with one thing in common: the same number of minutes and hours in each day. So why do some people accomplish so much, and others very little? Because so few of us have learned to beat the clock.

For a salesperson, time isn't next to money in the asset column. It IS money. Perhaps the most important lesson I ever learned is that not everyone's clock ticks to the same drumbeat. I poked around and learned that 9-to-5 didn't have to be 9-to-5. It didn't matter how my clock ticked. What mattered was how my prospects' clocks ticked.

Some buyers came in at 6 a.m. Some worked until 7 p.m. Some worked Saturday mornings. That boiled down to an edge, if I chose to use it -- for three hours every morning, two hours every afternoon and four hours on Saturday. This was invaluable competition-free time. Naturally, these time slots turned out to be my most productive opportunities.

So I changed the playing-field clock. Then I changed my contact tactics. Cold calls were out. I always called ahead to make sure the buyer was in. I made creative appointments and asked for only 300 seconds of the buyer's time. Sounds basic, but the message said my product was special. It was as special as the working hours of my customers.

Not only did these details help me manage my own schedule more efficiently; they helped guarantee that I was up to bat when the prospects were greatest for a maximum payoff.

Along with these two subjects, I've added chapters on topics including how to be prepared should you ever lose your job, executive intelligence and the importance of volunteering.

Will any of these ideas require major changes? Probably not, but I hope they help you see the importance of selling skills for success in any field.

Mackay's Moral: You've heard me say it many times: "Little things mean a lot -- not true. Little things mean everything."