Over my decades in business, I've noticed a baffling trend: "Sales" has become a dirty word. I'm on a lifelong campaign to change that.

In fact, many companies no longer call salespeople salespeople. They have account executives or account specialists, business developers, client advisers, relationship consultants, territory managers and numerous other monikers. I even received an email from a radio station saying that they call their salespeople business improvement planners.

I'm not sure why the word "sales" seems to have such a negative connotation. I still have "Envelope Salesman" on my business cards -- and am proud of it. Companies cannot succeed without salespeople bringing the business through the front door. It's that simple.

You don't even have to be writing up orders to be in sales, because everyone in the company is selling something -- ideas, customer service, reputation.

You already believe in your products -- or you should -- so that ought to be the least of your challenges. Sales is really about selling yourself! You may not have a formal sales quota to fill, or get paid on commission, but a good knowledge of how to sell can be very useful to your success, no matter what your career goals are.

Here are some sales tips that apply to any endeavor:

-- Manage your time wisely. Keep track of how much time you spend on your sales process. Identify the activities with the greatest payoff and maximize them, while delegating or cutting down on any that don't add value. Remember the 80/20 rule: In many cases, 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers. Focus on the 20 percent first.

-- Do your research. Whether you're selling a book or just trying to get a job, start by learning as much as you can about your industry and the people in it. The more you know, the better you'll be able to present your product when the time comes. And don't forget that knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing your product.

-- Get in front of prospects. Every sale starts with a prospect: a potential customer with an interest in what you've got to sell. Identify those who need what you're offering. Find out where they are so you can target your sales efforts effectively.

-- Listen more than you talk. Don't think of sales as the art of pressuring a reluctant customer into buying something he or she doesn't want. You'll get better results by asking questions about your prospect's problems and really listening to his or her needs. Then it will be easier to position yourself effectively.

-- Get into the customer's mind. You've got to tailor your approach to match individual buyers, not take a one-size-fits-all attitude. Once you've targeted specific prospects, spend some time getting to know their personal priorities, professional preferences and what they're looking for when they consider products like yours.

-- Create the demand. It's not how much it's worth, it's how much people think it's worth. Customers often buy products if they can be sure that product will help them solve a problem, and do it quickly and easily. Show how your product or service will make life easier for the person whose support you need.

-- Stop selling and let them buy. Most people like to buy things, but we really dislike being pushed into a purchase. Don't be overly aggressive. Be ready to answer questions and present your product as an opportunity. Never ask a person a yes-or-no question when it could be yes-or-yes instead.

-- Eliminate the risk. Money-back guarantees and other sales tactics limit the customer's risk of making a mistake. You can't offer a "warranty" on your ideas, but know the risks of your product or service ahead of time, and have solutions ready when you are questioned.

-- Develop your sense of humor. You don't have to memorize a string of stale jokes, but you should learn how to see the humor in every situation. If you can make a customer smile, your job is halfway complete.

-- Follow up. Persistence pays. Don't make a pest of yourself, but check in regularly with your customers and prospects to find out what they need. You don't want them to forget about you.

-- Accept rejection gracefully. Rejection is, and always will be, part of business. The sooner you move on, the sooner you'll make another sale.

Mackay's Moral: Whatever you're selling, you're selling yourself first.

We are in the thick of the most unusual political seasons I can remember. Who would have imagined the slate of presidential hopefuls that spans the spectrum? And what will it take for the candidates to convince voters that they should lead the country?

Qualifications? Sure. Campaign promises? Perhaps. Appearance? Doesn't hurt. The best opposition research? Not necessarily.

But the one factor that will always make the difference? Persuasion -- the same sales skill that sets the successful apart from the competition.

Simply said, it doesn't matter who has the best ideas or the most workable plans or the nicest smile. It all comes down to persuasion. Who can get their point across and bring others over to their side? They could all take a lesson from my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln.

One of Lincoln's most valuable skills was his ability to persuade others to his point of view, no matter how entrenched their position. Lincoln described the art of persuasion in an 1842 speech to the Springfield Washington Temperance Society:

"When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. ... If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high road to his reason, and which, when once granted, you will find but little trouble in convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause really be a just one.

"On the contrary, assume to dictate to his judgment, or to command his action, or to mark him as one to be shunned and despised, and he will retreat within himself, close all the avenues to his head and his heart; and though your cause be naked truth itself ... you shall no more be able to reach him than to penetrate the hard shell of a tortoise with a rye straw."

An eloquent argument, for sure, and it is timeless advice. You can bully your way into power, but your effectiveness is greatly reduced. Lincoln understood that you must demonstrate respect for the other party or your efforts will be wasted.

Here are some persuasion techniques that have served me well.

-- Speak their language. Listen to how people express themselves. Acknowledge their concerns and use the same language to respond to them to let them know you hear their concerns. It will help them accept your point more readily.

-- Use their names. What's the sweetest sound in the world? Your name on someone else's lips. Just don't overdo it. For a new acquaintance, make sure you're pronouncing it right, and don't use it before you've established some sort of rapport.

-- Use action words. Be direct. You've got to ask for the response you want. Don't ask someone to try to do something or to think about doing it if you need an immediate response. But if you are negotiating for the longer term, give them time to think about your request so they don't feel pressured.

-- Get your foot in the door. You don't have to lead off with your main point. First get the other person's attention, and then apply some persuasive techniques -- offering an additional benefit, changing your request to what you really want, or letting him or her turn you down now while leaving the door open to agree with you later.

Two key words will make you more persuasive, according to Jerald M. Jellison in his book "Overcoming Resistance." Those words are "if" and "then." Whether you are trying to sell a car or an idea, the message that works is: "If you will take this action, then you'll get this reward."

Let me phrase that another way: If you want to be persuasive, then don't be evasive.

Mackay's Moral: Persuasion is an art. The tongue can paint what the eye can't see.

My friend the motivational speaker Zig Ziglar liked to tell the story of his friend Walter Hailey. Although he became a star salesman, Hailey's early career in insurance sales was rough. He endured frustration, anxiety, slammed doors, low sales figures and uncertainty about his future.

One day he grew so discouraged that he went to his boss and told him that he was going to quit. His boss's response? "You can't."

Hailey repeated that he was quitting. The manager repeated, "You can't."

Angry now, Hailey shouted, "Yes, I can!"

His manager replied, "Walter, you can't get out of the insurance business because you have never really gotten into the insurance business."

The words hit Hailey like a ton of bricks. For the first time in his life he realized that you can't get something out of an endeavor if you never put anything into it. Or as Zig put it, "There are many people who 'join' a sales organization but never get into the business of selling."

As the job market has fluctuated over the last decade, attitudes toward work have changed too. People who have jobs they love consider themselves lucky. But studies have found that up to 70 percent of workers indicated a dislike for their jobs. That's unbelievable! Do you think their hearts are in their work?

Or do you suppose they could find something in that job that would inspire them to do their best?

Harry S Truman was a no-nonsense U.S. president whose attitude toward life was summed up in this sentence: "I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work."

Will Rogers had plenty of witty sayings, but my favorite was what he said about success: "In order to succeed, you must know what you are doing, like what you are doing, and believe in what you are doing."

Let's dig a little deeper into that wisdom.

Know what you are doing. Winners prepare, apply themselves and work to become the best at what they do. They are willing to do what others refuse to do. They have a grasp of the situation and the challenges involved. They make the necessary adjustments and learn the important skills.

Like what you are doing. The bottom line is not doing what you like, but liking what you do. There are good and bad parts of every job, and if the good doesn't outweigh the bad, you are in the wrong job. Most organizations do not have tailor-made jobs designed for specific preferences. They have jobs that need to be done, and need committed people who are willing to do their level best to be successful.

Believe in what you do. Forget the job description, the title and the salary. Focus on what you can accomplish. Trust me, an employer can easily tell the difference between the workers who are there for something to do and those who are there to really do something.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Remember, your first job was probably not your dream job. Maybe your second job wasn't either. But the lessons you learned early on were invaluable in terms of seeing how the world works. Keep learning! The only limit to success is the amount of effort you are willing to invest.

One of my mentors, Curt Carlson, who founded Carlson Companies (now known simply as Carlson), used to tell me: "You work the first five days of the week to keep up with the competition. It's on Saturdays and Sundays that you get ahead of them."

That attitude was not unique to Curt Carlson. I met the son of Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inn, some years ago, and he shared this story with me about his father. Kemmons Wilson never finished high school, yet his high school later invited him to give the commencement address.

He got up in front of the students and said: "I really don't know why I'm here. I never got a diploma, and I've only worked half-days my entire life. I guess my advice to you is to do the same. Work half-days every day. And it doesn't matter which half ... the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours."

Mackay's Moral: There are many formulas for success -- but none of them work unless you do.