This article originally appeared in the Sept. 2011 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY

We all need to get a little better, especially with all the changes happening in the channel. We have to do more and more to get the same result, it seems. Here are three ways to see marked improvement.

One way is to develop better habits. Brian Tracy states, "Fully 95 percent of your success in life and work will be determined by the kinds of habits that you develop over time.” Habits are learned through repetition and practice. You will develop a new habit (or break an old habit) with 30 to 45 days of consecutive effort.

Another avenue to improvement is better planning – and by plan I mean get better at scheduling. If it isn't on your schedule, it probably won't get done. Your schedule should reflect what is important to you – family time, networking, prospecting, farming and hunting. We all have the same amount of time in a day. We all have a list of tasks and activities that have to get done. The sales activities we perform on a daily basis determine not just our sales success, but our paychecks as agents. Blocking out time for prospecting and marketing (like writing a blog post) is a must. So is adding a block of time to put out fires, do paperwork, and have lunch with a client and dinner with your family. The better you get at setting and managing your schedule, the more efficient you become – and the more time you get back.

A final way is to learn something new. I do this by reading every day. RSS feeds from prominent industry blogs, a business book, a sales book, a book on time management. I also listen to webinars and podcasts to gain additional product information. The nice thing about the Internet is that it is a 24x7 education channel if you want it to be.

Things are changing – fast. You will need to be the best you can be to succeed.

Peter Radizeski is head of telecom consulting agency RAD-INFO (News - Alert) Inc. (http://rad-info.net/).