Yesterday we got some great tips from sales trainer Paul McCord on how to start building a great 2009 now. Here’s some more excellent advice to help you get started:

Commit Yourself to Working with Prospects, Not 'Hopes'
Many salespeople waste huge amounts of time working with 'prospects' that are nothing but hopes and prayers. In a weak economy you cannot afford to waste your time with 'hopes.' 'Hopes' are not only time killers, they're moral killers.

Commit yourself to learning how to really qualify prospects and then spend your time working only with them. Let your 'hopes' go. Understand also that there is a difference between a 'hope' and a real long-term prospect.

Commit Yourself to Planning and Organizing for Success
Top producers plan for their success. They know where they are going and how they are going to get there. They leave nothing to chance.

They know when and how they will prospect. They know when and why they will engage in training. They know who their prospects are, where to find them, and how to connect with them. They have realistic, well-defined goals - and know how they will achieve those goals. They run their sales business like a business. They don't just show up for work in the morning, wondering what they'll do that day.

They know. They know because they know where they're going and what they must do to get there.

Planning is critical to success. During the reminder of December, create your written plan for 2009. Set your goals for selling, for training, for prospecting and personal marketing. A plan isn't a plan unless it is specific and written.

Commit Yourself to Working with the Clients You Want to Work With
Most salespeople are relegated to working with anyone who'll buy--jerks, price shoppers, overly demanding opportunists. Top producers, on the other hand, work only with clients they want to work with.

You don't have to resign yourself to working with clients you can't stand. You don't have to take whatever comes your way. You, too, can join the ranks of those who work only with clients you enjoy working with and who appreciate your efforts. But you can't do it unless you learn to find and connect with prospects you want to work with.

Cold calling, direct mail, faxing fliers, and many other traditional methods of prospecting put you in a position of having to deal with whomever shows an interest in your products or services, whereas learning to generate quality referrals from your clients, networking through industry associations where a large number of your prospects gather, and other more sophisticated methods of finding and connecting with prospects will give you the opportunity to select and work with those prospects you want to work with.

Commit to moving your sales business from a catch as catch can business to one that you control by learning how to find and connect with high quality prospects that you like and respect and who will appreciate your work on their behalf.

Time is short. 2009 can be your best year ever if you commit yourself to taking the steps necessary to create the business you want, not the one happenstance dictates for you. It won't be easy. It will take energy. You'll have to invest in yourself. But the payoff is a career that will give you satisfaction, enjoyment, and a secure future. The time is now. Just do it.

Paul McCord is president of McCord Training, an international sales training and consulting firm located in Texas. He is the author of the popular Sales and Sales Management Blog. He may be reached at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com

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