Everyone is in sales. Why? Because from the time we wake up until our heads hit the pillow at night, we are continually communicating, negotiating, persuading, influencing and selling ideas.

Do you want to nail the sale? The tool I use is called the Mackay Sales Scalpel. It's my surefire way to sharpen and pinpoint every sales situation.

As I see it, expert selling demands five essentials:

-- Fire: the drive to strive.

-- Formulate: the art of planning.

-- Fascinate: the gift of sizzle.

-- Follow-up: the discipline to control.

-- Finalize: opening the door to maximum opportunity.

Let's start with fire. You have to have fire. You have to love the fight. You have to know how to ignite it and to keep it lit.

When you love what you do, you will never have to work another day in your life. In fact, the subtitle to one of my books reads: "Do what you love. Love what you do. Deliver more than you promise." That's the spirit of the salesperson's creed.

When times are tough, it may not be your fault for being down. But it is always your fault for not getting up. You have to be a believer to be an achiever. Only a fired-up, high-energy workplace ignites tomorrow's ideas. The job of sales management? It's to keep the fire roaring.

But no amount of fire will take you anywhere without a plan. People don't plan to fail; they fail to plan. That brings us to ingredient No. 2 of the Mackay Sales Scalpel: formulate. You need to formulate a plan.

Central to your plan: figuring out how to demonstrate the product. A salesperson tells, a good salesperson explains and a great salesperson demonstrates.

Dawn dishwashing liquid came up with a brilliant product demonstration. Remember the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010? Dawn went to work sprucing up oil-caked wild ducks and made them spanking clean using their product. What could be more convincing? Great salespeople are always on the lookout for potent proof of product effectiveness. Dawn seized an unforgettable moment.

Statistics are at the heart of formulating your plan, starting with where you get the bulk of your business. Can you identify the top 20 percent of your customers? Most salespeople are familiar with the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers. Well, this trend is headed strongly for 90/10. That gives you a great idea of how to prioritize your time.

The third essential of the Mackay Sales Scalpel is fascinate. Advertising pioneer David Ogilvy said no one ever sold anyone anything by boring people to death. There's not a lot of difference between showmanship and salesmanship. Mostly, you have to be likable, pleasant and an excellent listener. In our cold and unfriendly world, it can be fascinating to meet up with a genuine, honest and attentive person. I have never known anyone to buy from someone they don't like.

Want to fascinate people? Start by smiling and listening. Oh yes, there's one other thing to keep in mind, but you probably know that already: The sweetest sound in the English language is the sound of your name on someone else's lips.

That brings us to the fourth element of the Mackay Sales Scalpel: Follow-through.

Why is follow-through so important? Selling is easy, but only if you work hard at it. You have to do the details -- relentlessly.

Few things drive repeat sales more than expert customer service. No customer service, and pretty soon, no business.

In customer service, nothing counts like honoring commitments and meeting deadlines. In sales, you have to nail the exact practices beforehand with manufacturing, IT, distribution, finance and other pertinent departments.

The key is to latch on to your customers and hold them fast. Don't just meet their needs; anticipate them. Don't wait for them to tell you there's a problem. Go out and ask them if there is a problem.

Now we come to finalize -- the fifth and final facet of the Mackay Sales Scalpel. It's all about closing.

The close is only the very last stage of the process. You'll never close effectively without mastering the whole process of negotiating first. Find ways for both sides to legitimately win. At any close, the super salesperson is already thinking about the service needed to support the deal or the referrals that a satisfied customer is bound to deliver.

Mackay's Moral: The sale begins when the customer says yes.

Everyone thinks practice makes perfect. But they're wrong.

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said you have to add one word -- "Perfect practice makes perfect."

I heard a man complaining that he had 10 years of experience at work, but never got promoted. Here's the real question. Did he have 10 years of experience? Or did he just have one year of experience repeated 10 times?

Practicing only works if you correct, not repeat, your mistakes.

If you're putting in a lot of work but not getting the results you want, you may be working hard doing what will never help you. It's not about how long or hard you work; it's always about the results you produce.

Just watch ants carrying grains of sand. At first their efforts look hopeless, but each time another ant piles on another grain of sand, the pile gets a little bit bigger. Before you know it, all those tiny grains of sand have created a massive anthill.

Practice the right things today to get the results you want tomorrow.

That's what practicing any skill can do for you. The key is persistence, consistency and correctness. And this advice is true across disciplines.

Persistence means you practice regularly, no matter what. Even if you don't feel like practicing, do it anyway. Once you break your routine, it's harder to get back at it again.

In my case, it was learning a language. Mandarin Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn. But by studying for 20 to 30 minutes every day for three months, I was able to get up in front of a Chinese audience of 3,000 and address them in Mandarin for the first five minutes of my speech.

Consistency means practicing at the same intensity. NBA great Larry Bird used to spend hours alone on the basketball court, practicing his shots. Each time he practiced, he imagined that the game was on the line and he had to make the shot or his team would lose. That's the intensity you need for your practice.

Novelist Sinclair Lewis didn't mince words. Once, he was giving a lecture at Middlebury College on the subject of writing. "How many here are really serious about being writers?" he asked the audience. Almost everyone in the audience raised their hand.

"Then why aren't you home writing?" challenged Lewis, and walked off stage.

Don't practice or train as if it doesn't matter. Training isn't always a life-or-death affair, but one story from a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor illustrates how important thorough training can be.

In 1941, Robert Kronberger was a 23-year-old petty officer serving aboard the USS West Virginia, stationed at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombers commenced their surprise attack, Kronberger was in charge of the boiler room.

As numerous torpedoes ripped through the ship, the lights went out and water began pouring in. The bulkhead seemed to be collapsing around Kronberger and his men.

But no one panicked. "I just did what I was trained to do," he recalled many years later. "When the lights went out, you did the same things you did when the lights were on. You secured your firearms and your space, got the people that you were responsible for out, and tried to keep the ship from sinking."

His ship lost more than 100 men that day, including the captain. But during the crisis, Kronberger said, everyone was too busy to think about being scared.

In the days after the attack, when the fear crept in, his training continued to serve him. "When you'd start to look for people, you'd feel a lot of sickness in your body. You'd wonder where your best friend was -- but it didn't stop you from doing the job that you were trained to do."

Maybe you'll never be shot at while your ship is sinking beneath you, but knowing what to do and practicing it until it's second nature will keep you safe no matter what happens.

Mackay's Moral: The difference between ineffective and effective practice means the difference between mediocrity and mastery.

One of my favorite old comedians, the late Rodney Dangerfield, was famous for his line, "I get no respect." Then he would usually add something like, "I remember when I was a kid and played hide-and-seek. The other kids wouldn't even look for me."

If you want those who work with you to respect you more, try this simple tactic. Ask their opinions, and really listen to what they have to say. When done well, this is a powerful workplace practice that produces tremendously positive outcomes. Then, take action from what you learn. Employees will feel validated, and you will become someone people will flock to.

Example: Jack, a manager, is talking to Judy, who works for him. He asks her what she thinks of a new company policy. Judy answers with a thoughtful opinion. But as she is telling Jack what she thinks, Jack sees his boss walk by. Jack wants to ask his boss something important, and his mind focuses on that instead of on what Judy is saying.

Judy sees that Jack is no longer making eye contact or listening to her -- even though he solicited her opinion. She stops mid-sentence. Jack is so lost in thinking about his question to his boss that he doesn't even notice that Judy has stopped talking for a few seconds.

Embarrassed that he has been caught being inattentive, Jack tries to cover up the fact that he wasn't listening. Judy politely skims over the incident and says she needs to get back to work. Later, Jack overhears Judy telling a co-worker about the incident. "What a jerk," she says. "He asked me for my opinion like he cared. And I was dumb enough to think he did."

Jack flinched at her words. He knew he appeared not to care, even though he wanted to hear her ideas. He realized that he had damaged his relationship with an employee. He knew that he had to make an effort to be a better listener in the future, and vowed to repair the damage over time. He also knew that he had learned one of the most valuable lessons a manager can learn: Listening to what his employees have to say is a priority and should be treated as one.

Of course, when I think about respect, Aretha Franklin immediately comes to mind. Her blockbuster hit "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" is timeless. As the lyrics advise, find out what respect means to employees.

Half of all American employees think they're not treated with respect by their employers or managers, according to the website discoverysurveys.com. When this happens, employees tend to lose respect for their bosses and don't trust them. They also become resentful, less motivated and no longer committed to their employers.

To minimize this problem, treating people with respect has to begin at the top of an organization. If senior managers treat each other and their subordinates with respect, this sets the stage for respect among all employees.

Employee suggestions should be acted upon, rather than just ignored or ridiculed. Simply asking for input will gain some employee respect, but acting upon good suggestions is an imperative. Employees must also be given credit for the idea.

Allowing for scheduling flexibility gives employees the idea that their employers respect them enough to let them get their work done according to their own schedule. Letting them come in late or leave early on occasion is a strong way of showing respect and trust.

Making employees aware of the financial condition of the company and the reasons for various decisions also lets them know the company trusts them. If cost-cutting is necessary, solicit ideas from them. Inviting their input demonstrates respect for their opinions. An added bonus is that the people in the trenches have a unique and valuable perspective.

Investing in employee training and career development is an investment in the employees themselves. They will respect the company that provides it.

As you work to reach your goals, remember that others also have goals and are also working hard. Respect people for what they are and for what they stand for -- even if you don't agree.

Mackay's Moral: Be respectful or be regretful.