When I was a kid, I used to build forts. I loved it. We’d snag all the scrap building supplies from the houses going up in the neighborhood and build the elaborate forts.  They were multi-story, multiroom shanties. These things were a kids paradise. You could never stand  up in them, but they would have carpet from ceiling to floor. You’d be able to go from room to room through trap doors and secret cut outs.  I frikin’ loved it. I had more fun building them, than I did paying in them.

One of the reasons you couldn’t stand up in them, is we didn’t have the right tools to cut or measure, so we had to make smaller, sturdy rooms that could support other “smaller” rooms on top of them.  We were creative and got a lot done, but it definitely wasn’t efficient.

What I learned from the experience was 1) I was unbelievably resilient and could make due with what I had, but 2) having the right tools made all the difference. The right tools can actually be the difference between success and failure.

Sales is no different. We can sell and be successful with sheer will power and determination, but the right tools make it a LOT easier.

Finding the right tools, can be a bitch. It seems there is constantly some new tool, software, company offering the next new thing to make selling easier. Sorting through this torrid onslaught of selling tools is a fulltime job. Enter Nancy Nardin the Sales Tool chick! Nancy has the sales selling tool segment on lock down. Her blog Smart Selling Tools is a “tool” in itself. It is the place to go to keep up on the tools available to sales people and sale organizations.

In addition to doing ALL the sales tool research for you, Nancy drops mad sales wisdom on you too. I love Nancy’s writing style. It’s conversational. I feel like I’m sitting in a room listening to her talk as I read. Smart Selling Tools is absolutely one of the MUST HAVE SALES blogs in your reader. It tackles a subject few, if any others, tackle. It will keep you on the front end of the sales technology curve and Nancy is a cool frickin’ chick!

Be sure to check out her Guide to Top Sales Tools, it’s a great interactive presentation outlining some of the sickest, sales changing, selling tools out there today.

Nancy is some killer Sunday morning reading!