To the chagrin of some of my more high-minded colleagues, I maintain that we’re all in the sales business, and the sooner we embrace that, the more successful we’ll be.

• Work in PR? You already know you’re in the business of selling ideas.
• Work in public involvement? Well, if your project has a predetermined outcome (“we’re building a freeway, but need to talk to homeowners in the way”), then you already know you’re selling ideas with a little bit of process on the side. But if you’re lucky enough to be doing genuine public involvement rather than the get-out-of-the-way-you-pesky-citizen kind, then what you’re really selling is a context, a process and trust in that process.
• In the planning or A/E fields? I’ve already talked about what you’re selling (hint: It’s not always what you think), but it’s worth repeating.
• Work in the public sector? You’re selling projects, processes, or both.

Having laid out my thesis, here’s a round-up of sales-related links useful no matter which of those categories you fall into.

Over at Intouch Incorporated, there’s a great checklist article on what you need to respond to leads. Remember: If a reporter or a citizen calls you, you’re in a lead-response cycle just as surely as any salesperson; respond accordingly. Read the following; you’ll see it’s perfectly relevant to communications as well as sales:

Are you prepared to send requested information immediately?

• Do you know what to send in response to different types of inquiries?
• Do you have electronic versions for those who want the information by email or by download from your website?
• Do you have adequate supplies of printed materials ready for those who prefer them?
• Do you have the people, systems and processes in place to get the requested information out the door quickly?

You can find similar wisdom from Intouch here.

The smart, tech-savvy VCs over at VentureBlog have lots to say on the subject of marketing and sales, all of it worth reading. Favorites:

• Don’t make me laugh. Why humor in your pitch is nearly always a bad idea.
• Know your presentation cold. It’s a world of C students, folks. Being on the ball stands out.
• Putting the power in PowerPoint. Sage wisdom, although I still have my own issues with PowerPoint and how to do presentations right.

This article talks about telephobia, and just how much opportunity (whether it’s a missed sale, a missed pitch to a reporter, a citizen who goes away angry, etc.) is lost because people are afraid of the phone. The same folks (Biz-Community, an ad-industry news portal in South Africa) have a smart piece on 10 commandments for the ethical salesperson. All of them, with slight adaptation, could apply to PR or PI, as well as professional services marketing.

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