Best sellers: the nation's top sales pros share their secrets - includes related articles and information about office equipment - Cover Story

Entrepreneur, August, 1996 by Robert McGarvey, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins, Heather Page, Mary J. Cronin, Mark Victor Hansen, Danielle Kennedy

As an entrepreneur, you have two things in common with every other entrepreneur on the planet. First, you've got to sell. And second, no matter how well you sell, you could always sell better So wouldn't it be wonderful if you could bend the ear of a top sales and marketing professional to get advice that would jump-start your business growth?

Five entrepreneurs got that wish. We enlisted five stellar sales and marketing experts - from Brian Tracy to Tom Hopkins - to give them "sales makeovers" for problems you may be struggling with, too. Because, let's face it - the same few sales obstacles stand in the way of large-scale success for many of us.

Of course, you can't hit the road to success without the right equipment, so we've profiled the latest sales tools to power up presentations, cold calls and more.

Ever thought you had a sale within your reach, only to find it slipping away? Its happened to everyone, even the big names - but you can turn It around, as our sales experts prove. In each makeover, they reveal their secrets to reeling in "the one that almost got away."

And since one little sales tip is often all we need to transform ourselves from also-rans into superstars, we asked our five sales gurus to share their all-time number-one sales tips. Its advice you can't afford to miss.