More and more, I am asked how I write a daily blog post here at The Sales Blog. Seven posts a week is a lot of posts but, actually, I write eleven posts per week (I write seven here, and four for two other businesses that I help lead).

Here is my method.

Capture Every Idea

I start by capturing every idea I have as soon as I have it. I adopted this practice when I adopted David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity process. When I observe something, when I work with sales people or sales managers on a problem, when I read something, or when I hear something that strikes me as interesting, I catpure it. Immediately. Right then and there.

I use Evernote to capture ideas on my Macbook Air, my iPad 2, and my iPhone 4. Wherever I happen to be at the time, I always have the tool I need to capture the idea. When I sit down to plan or to write, all of my captured ideas are neatly tucked away in Evernote. (The professional version of Evernote costs $45 annually, easily worth every penny)

I also use a service called Dial2Do. I don’t type or text while driving, and Dial2Do solves the problem of how to capture ideas while I am in my car (as it turns out, you always seem to have your best ideas when and where they are the most difficult to capture). Dial2Do allows me to speed dial the service, dictate my note, and Dial2Do records, transcribes, and uploads it to Evernote. (The Dial2Do service costs me $60.00 annually)

Every Idea Means Every Idea

I know a lot of people who should write more. The problem they have is that they don’t really trust their own voice; they lack confidence. They don’t lack great ideas. Writing daily came easy to me only when I made the decision to stop being so judgmental about my ideas.

There is some part of you, your inner critic, that tries to convince you that your ideas aren’t good enough, that no one will care, and that you will be an abysmal failure. The fear your inner critic breeds destroys your confidence, and it makes your life a whole let less than it might otherwise be.

I decided long ago to kill my inner critic, and he died a brutal and bloody death at my hands.

I write the ideas that I believe are important. I write my truths, knowing that my truths aren’t everybody else’s truths, but that they live here on the Internet for those who may need them, whenever they need them. Someone somewhere needs your idea.

I write to share ideas and to participate in conversations about what is really important in sales, sales management, leadership, and business.

I know a lot of people who blog regulary, and each of them has shared the experience of writing the post they believe is a complete throwaway only to have it draw the most comments and emails.

You see, you don’t get decide what other people find valuable; they do.

Questions

What tools do you use to capture your ideas?

Are you too judgmental about your ideas?

What ideas do you have that others might benefit from being hearing and discussing?

Got something to share?

For more on increasing your sales effectiveness, subscribe to the RSS Feed for The Sales Blog and my Email Newsletter. Follow me on Twitter, connect to me on LinkedIn, or friend me on Facebook. If I can help you or your sales organization, check out my coaching and consulting firm, B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, email me, or call me at (614) 212-4729.

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