Today's guest post is from Meryl Hooker, Sales Rockstar.

I am not a sports fan but like so many others, the Olympic games in Vancouver caught my attention. I didn't make time to sit down and watch any of the events, but some of the highlights really got me thinking. Of all the amazing performances, I found two athletes particularly inspiring: snowboarder and gold medal winner, Shaun White, and cross country skier and bronze medal winner, Petra Majdic.

Petra Majdic had a brutal time. During a trial run, she tumbled head first off the course into a rocky stream and could barely walk. Volunteers had to help her out of the ravine. She turned around and not only participated in the main event; she placed third – after rejecting a painkiller that would have hindered her movement. Talk about commitment!

How many times have you crashed into your own ravine and just stayed there in defeat?

Shaun White met and exceeded all expectation as well. He locked in a repeat gold performance in the amazingly elegant snowboarding competition. He later admitted he was nervous going into the qualifying round because he didn't want to be the guy who "couldn't hold." I don't know about you, but I sure can relate to that.

How many times have you reached a new personal best, and had moments of doubt about whether you could hold… or exceed it?

When he was asked about what he did to keep his emotions in check and deliver the killer execution of his routine, White responded, "That's how I pictured it in my mind, of how it was going to go down."

How good are you at picturing how something is going to go down… and then making it happen?

I am a die-hard sales enthusiast and there is no doubt that the principles of being an Olympic champion are not all that different from being a sales champion. It doesn't matter if you're running a store or a sales rep running the road. Here's what the games reinforce for me about sales training and execution:

• You don't get good in day.
• You must practice and train every day.
• You must have a deep, down in your soul, drive to be the best.
• Focus always.
• Discipline always.
• Have fun.
• Represent your sport (or manufacturer or customer or store) the very best you can.
• Take a trick and do it a little better and a little bigger.
• Create new things.
• Set goals for yourself. Some that are out of reach, some that aren't.
• It's not always easy and it's not always fun.
• Hard work pays off.

I don't know that any of these are revolutionary new lessons in sales or athletics. It doesn't have to take big events like the Olympics to remind us of these basic principles. We can create the motivation for ourselves everyday by focusing on, planning and practicing a better performance in our stores and with our customers. We may not be as hip as Shaun White, but that doesn't mean we can't earn the gold… or the green.

Meryl Hooker is a manufacturer's representative, writer, speaker, sales coach and all-around Sales Rockstar. She is the writer of "Road Rage," a blog about repping and selling and co-author of the forthcoming book, Pushing The Envelope: The Small Greeting Card Manufacturer's Guide to Working with Sales Reps (Center Aisle Press, May 2010). She lives in Washington, DC and can be reached via www.merylhookersales.com.

Over the last few months I have reviewed hundreds of gift shop websites. One thing that I've noticed is that very few of them post pictures of their new products, or products that are on the way from a recent show trip.

One of the best ways to talk about what you ordered from a show is via a blog (only a third of the websites I reviewed had a store blog), and even if you don't have a store site, you can still start a free blog very easily. One site I recommend is Wordpress.com.

After you place an order at a gift show, ask them if you can snap a quick photo to post on your blog—since you're a paying customer, I'm sure it won't be a problem. And they'll probably enjoy the coverage!

As you're going through the show, take a lot of photos and jot down notes so you can blog about your show experience. Your customers will love reading about it and it will also help your search engine rankings to ensure you come up when customers search for your store or a specific line in your area.

Research has shown that people tend to breakdown their email into five levels of viewing. As readers go deeper into the process, your chances increase that they will read your entire message.

Here's an overview of the five stages:

Stage 1: From the Name
During this stage viewers determine if they want to initially read your email based on your store/brand name

Stage 2: From the Subject Line
The next test is whether or not your subject line captures their attention

Stage 3: Preview Pane
If you have made it past the subject line then they will look down at the email while it's in preview mode and quickly scan it.

Stage 4: Opened Email
If you made it past the scan test, then readers will click open your email and read it "above the fold line," which means the portion of the email that fits on their screen.

Stage 5: View Full View Email
Lastly, readers will read your entire email. The best scenario is if you have a strong call to action and they click through to the website from your email or if they print it out to bring to your store.

Stay tuned for more tips on how to design and write copy for each stage of viewing. For additional email marketing and web strategies, attend my two sessions at the NY Gift Show tomorrow!

One of the things that I'm enjoying most about social marketing is watching the various ways that companies are creatively utilizing it to communicate their message. For example, See's Candies just announced on Facebook that they will be expanding into the Midwest with two permanent kiosk locations. In a short time after they made the announcement, 203 people told them they liked their expansion plans and another 162 people posted comments.

I encourage you to get creative with your social marketing. Announce your new lines, promote a contest, and offer your Facebook fans something a little extra as a reward for being your fan!

I have seen a number of retailers, after a purchase, offer their customers an opportunity to choose an inspirational message from a jar. I think this is a nice gesture and one that can easily be duplicated in your store.

Plus it will give your customers a happy thought when thinking of your store.

For ideas on inspirational quotes, turn to these websites:

MotivatingQuotes.com
HeartsandMinds.org
FinestQuotes.com

While I was at the Dallas Market Center last week, I noticed red phones spread throughout the market, with a clever sign that read, "all questions answered." I loved how personal and accessible it was.

I started thinking, what if you posted a similar creative and clever type of sign in your store behind the cash register. Something to clearly communicate and remind your customers that you're there for them.

Wouldn't it be great to find out what your customers really think about your store? Why not find out with a customer survey?

Coming from a psychology background, I feel obligated to mention that surveys do have flaws, but ultimately I feel it's better to ask than to have not asked at all. With websites like SurveyMonkey.com you can create and post a free survey for your customers easily. Or you can ask customers to take a two minute, five to eight question survey in your store.

And remember to reward your customers for participating in the survey by offering a small discount off their next in-store purchase or a free gift.

Last week I walked by a store in the airport and was compelled to stop by a wonderful storefront display. I saw an attractive barrel with cute little cosmetic bags overflowing from it and a chalkboard sign that read, "Special Sale: $4 each, or 3 for $9." Since I do a lot of traveling (and I'm female!), little bags come in handy—plus, I loved the price.

Before I knew it, I had found three great patterns and shapes and walked over to check out another store display. Since I was already buying, my psychology switched from the mode of "just looking" to "is there anything else I need." I was out of lip balm, and ended up picking up a more expensive lip gloss than usual because I fell in love with the fragrance.

As I walked to my gate, I was intrigued by the psychology of the display and my response to it. I'm not even sure I would have gone into the store if it wasn't for the barrel, and once I made the commitment to buying, I went into shopping mode.

I encourage you to create an impactful display with products that are reasonably priced. Locate the display near the front door and tie the products into the time of year, or where you're located, or another angle that you think will attract customers.

Even if you don't have super high margins on that particular product (or you reduce your margins to encourage sell through) I think you'll be surprised at how many people buy that product—and more. You might consider testing various products and monitoring the results.

One of the things I love most about a new year is that we go over the budgeting and sales from the previous year, which forces me to take time to assess how the year actually went—what worked and what didn't. Then, I plan ahead for the new year.

At a recent 2010 strategy meeting with our subscription department, I had everyone close their notebooks and put away the reports that were sitting in front of them. I then encouraged the team to imagine they were a new employee, just starting today. What questions did they have? What advice or suggestions would they give to grow revenue and profits? With this fresh perspective, it prompted us to all think a little differently. We walked away from the meeting with exciting new ideas and a great start for the 2010 plan.

In addition to that brainstorm idea (approaching your business as an outsider), here are a few questions you could think about as you plan your strategy for the new year:

1. What were your five top selling lines in 2010? Were any new to your store? If so, where/how did you find them? What age group(s) did the top selling products appeal to (i.e., are you seeing a spike in the sales of tween, teen or pet-related products?)

2. If you have more employees than just yourself, do you have the best possible sales team in place. After all, it's hard to grow your sales when you don't have a stellar sales force. Can you offer any exciting new sales programs or incentives for hitting personal or team sales goals?

3. What new marketing initiatives will you take? Will you try social marketing for the first time, a new direct mail piece or a new store promotion?

4. What will you do to continue to evolve your website (after all, your website enables you to sell globally, not just locally)?

5. What new displays will you do to make your store look fresh? How often will you re-merchandise? What's your window display plan for the quarter or the year?

I hope you have a healthy and successful new year!

I have always loved making New Year's resolutions. As a young child I remember my Dad encouraging me to take out a notebook and write them down, and that's a tradition I continue to embrace.

He taught me that when you write down your goals it achieves two things: 1) it makes you really think about and formalize what your top goals are going to be and 2) it increases your chances of success because you want to achieve what's on your list. And on a more spiritual level, I believe that you have to ask in order to receive.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog more often, and so I'm giving myself a challenge. I want to do 30 posts in 30 days.

So stayed tuned to see if I reach my goal.

For the bloggers who are reading this, do you have any tips for staying on track with your blog posts?