One of your recent blog posts addressed three different levels of sales pros. What are the things that have to be drilled home and reinforced during those first few years out of school when it comes to sales strategies, tactics and techniques? (Part 1 of 2)

If you start out with things like "activity defeats doubt." Too many times, new people come on and [say] "We're going to learn the products. We're going to learn the system. We're going to learn the culture, I think early on, people need to have an impact, meaning, "Go do something. Go leave the office. Go make engagements. Go get uncomfortable a little bit. And drive activity." Too many times in the early stages, people get caught up in, "Well I'm just going to try and understand the products." What I like people to do, just like as a new CEO or a new executive, [is to] go make something happen early on, and "happen" doesn’t have to mean you move the world, but you have to have some good activity that ultimately should drive results.

You have to get along with your team. Team fit is such a big deal. If you fit the team, people will push you through, drag you through, throw you through … they'll make it happen for you. If you don’t fit the team, people feel that, and as a result of that, often times, you get left out and ultimately [the] odds of success get diminished greatly.