I am not a sales professional. Quite the opposite. I'm a consumer. But I can tell you a way to guarantee an increase in your sales. More sales for the company. More sales per store. More sales per sales rep. And it's simple.

Guaranteed Sales Increase. Like The Way That Sounds? Who doesn't. Who couldn't use more sales right now. There is a real simple way to achieve it that many companies seem to overlook. Here's how to guarantee an increase in sales.

Sometimes we feel we have to say something, or do something, just because it's important to us. We know that saying what's on our mind can't make the situation better, and is likely to make it worse, yet we feel compelled to go ahead and say it. That's just "spitting into the wind".

Save your energy for those things you can change rather than wasting it on things you can't change. Sure, it makes you feel better, and getting rid of stress is a good thing, but it's not worth it. The real trick is being able to tell the difference between what you can change and what you can't.

Mike Neiss has a great entry on his blog titled Starving The Golden Goose. His theme is the need to improve employee engagement and he gives eight specific things you can do to improve in that area. You can have the smartest, most skilled employees, but they are essentially worthless if they aren't engaged and motivated. It's well worth the time to read it.

Some related articles:

• Passion Pays
• The Right People In The Wrong Jobs
• The Lesson of the Red Horse
• Larry Doesn't Work Here Anymore
• Take Ownership of Your Job

The bad economy and the pressure that puts on people and businesses has a lot of people stressed out right now. Too much stress can make you think less clearly or it can paralyze you. You probably can't remove all the stress from your life, but there are specific things you can do that will help you deal with it. Read Ten Ways To Reduce Stress At Work to learn how to feel better and be healthier at work.

And if any of your employees are showing signs of stress, these same tips can help them too.

If you are planning a team building exercise this summer, you should be planning your event already. The article Team Building Exercises and Icebreakers will help you make your event memorable and successful. This three-part article provides tips and resources to make your team building exercise the one everyone looks forward to each year, not the one they make jokes about.

Although I write about leadership topics myself (Leadership Skills) I enjoy finding great leadership articles by others. Here are a few I discovered today:

• Tips for being an inspirational leader. Not sure I agree with the 3rd bullet point. What do you think? Click "comments" link below.
• Being a Bad Leader: 5 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Abilities Through Communication. Done in the reverse style (like my article Top 10 New Manager Mistakes) it's a good read.
• Cut turnover and save. I agree that "turnover can kill you", but I don't know that I'd go so far as to undersell. What about just being frank and honest?

Add your comments below.

Yesterday we talked about making good hiring decisions. Now let's look at keeping the employees.

Recently, I saw a chart of a 12-step Employee Life Cycle. Functional managers don't have time for that. Here is a four-step, condensed employee life cycle plan that tells you everything you need to know.

You can reduce the cost of employee turnover by managing the employee life cycle if you just remember to Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire.

Right now it is of critical importance to make each hiring decision right. Too many hiring managers write job descriptions and want ads based on the skills they are looking for in an employee rather than looking for the best talent available. That's a mistake.

A skill is a learned competence. With enough training, almost anyone can be taught a particular skill. Talent, however, is much more rare. A talent, reflecting its etymological roots, is a gift. We use it in the sense of "a person who has a gift for xxx." Those are the people you should be looking to hire, whatever their skills.

With enough training, I could be taught to be a skilled salesman, but I never will have a talent for selling. Many people can read an income statement, but very few have the talent to use an income statement to identify great investment opportunities. I'm sure you know more people with good verbal communication skills than you know people who have a talent for talking to people and getting them fired up to do something. Skills are learned; talent is a natural aptitude.

Top employees are always in short supply. You can gain a competitive advantage by latching on to top prospects. To do this "Hire Talent, Not Skill."

Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators, help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals.

KPI has been one of the most popular terms in the Management Glossary since we introduced it. Here's a two-page article on Key Performance Indicators that addresses what KPI are and their three key elements. It includes examples and a section on how to use them to make you more successful as a manager.

One challenge you may have to face soon is how to retain, or replace, some of your best employees. According to a recent survey by Adecco, "54% of employed adults report they are at least somewhat likely to look for new jobs once the economy turns around."

Have you been taking advantage of your employees during the recent down market? Have you been expecting people to do two or three jobs just because the market was so bad they couldn't leave? Have you forgotten to even thank them for the extra effort? If so, you will probably lose many of your best employees.

• Read Employee Retention Tips for my top ten tips to help you keep your employees. It's not too late - yet.
• The article Are Your Top People Ready To Leave You? looks at the warning signs and suggests employee satisfaction and retention strategies you can adopt.