Call me lucky and I will have an argument with you, he says. I used to view myself as just a tech guy, so in order to reinvent my career and make six figures plus, I had to change. Unfortunately, a lot of people believe the limits and titles they settle for. I didn't. Chip Stanton, like others who recognize a need to change, recalculated, re-branded, and reinvented himself into a person who earned six figures for years, then started his own business and retired.

What does a person like Chip Stanton, or anyone else, do to recognize his or her value. One way is to build up skills in dealing with people and the skills utilized in sales. Deb Riser, a top-flight Project Manager earning six-figures in a successful software company recently exclaimed to me: John, everything is sales. I worked in retail before I completed my technical training and what I learned stays with me to this day.

What do these people know that other folks do not? They understand that sales, in its' purest sense, does not mean convincing someone to do what they do not want to do. They understand that it means learning key tenets of the finest sales practices. What are they key tenets? How do you develop these skills now? How do you identify the areas where you need more practice?

First you must recognize what skills and abilities you have currently and then the areas where you need to sharpen your sales skills regardless of your profession. Are you a CFO? An accountant focused on your spreadsheets and numbers? Believe it or not, you still need to understand and cultivate sales skills. Are you a CEO? Even if you feel you have a grasp on sales, you had better appreciate that it is also the engine that drives your organization's train? Your employees need to hone these skills too. Are you a line worker at a manufacturing plant? Developing your sales skills will help you advance in your career. These skills matter, no matter who you are or where you want to go.

To realize where you are in learning new sales skills you need to:

• Understand that good customer relations skills matter, at all levels of the organization
• Realize that communication techniques matter whether you sell, sit in a cube all day and program, even if you have very little contact with customers
• Have a comprehensive understanding of your product and/or services
• Develop communication skills so that you sell the credibility of your organization and can be a resource for anyone at any level

1. Sales Skills for All: More and more we are learning the lesson that teams of dedicated professionals are more valuable than individual superstars who act as loners. If you seek career change or career advancement you must embrace the sales side of your life (even if you don't actually sell something) and develop relationships within high performing teams. This is the path to advancement. Now if you do not seek an aggressive career path and all you want is a job, then you can park your communication skills outside.
2. Communication is Key: Just because you are technical, or you have a title, or you think you are good at what you do that your career will take care of itself you are wrong. This is not true. Today's companies are looking for that magic combination of raw skill and excellent communication (leadership) skills. American business needs capable people who can also interact across departments with ease and with authority.
3. Value Your Credibility: Many people feel they don't need positive communication skills to be thought of as credible. This is a critical error in judgment. Worker bees are in great supply. We need leaders. We need credibility. Forget your credentials. Are you credible?
4. Internal Interaction is Still Sales: If you work alone, if you never interact with others in your company or never need the cooperation of others in different departments, then you do not need my help. If, however, you do interact with other staff, then you have just as much at stake as a sales person vis a vie your communication skills. If you do not work on these skills you will be consistently passed over for promotion and eventually left to yourself because you will be seen (correctly) as a socially inept drone.

A steady diet of proper training and emphasis will help anybody who does not want to be a drone! Being a drone would be bad, very bad. So what can you do to add healthy habits to your career diet whether you are seeking advancement or trying to reinvent yourself and make more money?

Decision marks the maturity of a serious career advancer. Follow these simple rules. You need to consider making decisions:

• Decide to use sales skills to career advance.
• Decide that communication skills are the hallmark of a great sales person.
• Decide to go on a reading plan. Find books on communication skills and leadership and read them.
• Decide to study sales people you admire.