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Even the best marketing efforts sometimes fall flat, and in tough economic times such as these, it can be very difficult to connect with new prospects and clients. But if you've put a lot of thought and consideration into designing your marketing campaign and you still haven't seen much in return, it may be the metrics you're using—rather than the marketing materials themselves—that are the real root of your problem.

The personalities, tendencies, and instincts of the analytical, reserved, technical types who are drawn to careers in information technology are often drastically different than those of the extroverted sales professionals who seem to be able to establish instant rapport with nearly anyone, anywhere, no matter the circumstances. [...]Don’t despair. Although it is true that certain inborn personality traits tend to dictate the way that we relate to others, you can boost your interpersonal skills by practicing them and deliberately pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

Achieving success as a sales professional is a formidable challenge in and of itself—managing a diverse team of sales pros can often be an even more complicated endeavor. When you consider all that a typical sales manager has piled on his or her plate, it’s easy to see why success in this role often remains elusive.

If you and your team have been encountering some difficulties while trying to drum up new prospective clients, you’re definitely not alone. Sales analysts report that the current economic climate has companies in virtually every industry holding on tight to their budgets and keeping a very close eye on capital expenditures.

Even though the typical IT sales presentation is packed to the brim with facts and figures, detailed product specs, and technical jargon, that doesn’t mean that you have to give up completely on its overall quality and level of persuasiveness. Believe it or not, it is possible to craft a sales presentation that’s complex and comprehensive in scope—and won’t put your prospective clients to sleep.

There are dozens, if not hundreds of novel ways that you can begin to forge new connections and lay the foundation for potentially beneficial business partnerships. Sometimes, sticking to the traditional way of doing things can leave you with less-than-satisfactory results. If you’ve grown dissatisfied with the level of success you’ve been able to reap using standard networking techniques, it may be time to consider a new approach.