I was golfing with a client in the typical business scramble and the twosome we were playing against was having a little trouble. They started to try  and change their respective swings in mid round. My client said something very profound, "if they didn't bring it with them they won't find it here!"

We ended up winning the round. I thought about how true my client's statement was, preparation is everthing in business, sales and life.

I had just finished reading Lou Holtz's book, Wins, Losses and Lessons, his autobiography and the theme of preparation wins the day was  repeatedly underscored.

Closing a sales deal starts with hard preparation and practice. In order for preparation and practice to be effective there needs to be a  consistent process to follow.

As a result just like Lou Holtz preparing for everyy game like it was for the "national championship", as sales professionals...