• 3 ways to become a better communicator
  Modern technology is great, but sometimes all the tweeting, e-mailing and social networking can get in the way of effective communication, writes Anthony Tjan of Cue Ball. You can address this problem by engaging in face-to-face conversations where appropriate and by creating new content and experiences. "[T]he stakes may feel higher because things are more open than ever for public scrutiny, but for creators with some humility and thick-enough skin, they are also as open as ever for mutual collaboration and positive interactivity," he writes. Harvard Business Review online/HBR Blog Network (1/9)      

• Why salespeople should be involved in product innovation
  Sales professionals shouldn't be confined to the activities surrounding revenue generation -- they should also be included in the product-design process, writes Richard Ruff. Salespeople spend much of their time communicating with customers, which means they may have valuable insights to offer. SalesTrainingConnection.com (1/9)      

• How to ensure that sales and accounting are on the same page
  Members of the sales and accounting departments may not see eye to eye for several reasons. People in other departments may resent salespeople for their large compensation packages, and salespeople may not understand finance. However, you can overcome conflicts between departments by helping everyone involved better understand one another. Inc. online (free registration)/Owners' Manual blog (1/11)      

• Get your sales managers into the field to land key accounts
  There's a good chance that your sales managers are your most talented sellers, but they may not be participating in the most important deals, writes Mark Synek. He advises using win/loss analyses, which are based on interviews with clients, to emphasize the need for sales managers to get involved with key accounts. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales Force Effectiveness Blog (1/11)      

• U.S. trade deficit widens; higher December retail sales are seen
  The U.S. trade deficit deepened to $48.7 billion in November from a revised $42.1 billion the previous month, the Commerce Department reported. Separately, economists are projecting that U.S. retail sales for the key month of December will show a 0.4% gain. Xinhuanet.com (China) (1/11), MarketWatch (1/13)      

• U.S. chemical output is expected to rise 1.9% this year
  Chemical & Engineering News (1/14)      

• SEMI: Semiconductor industry spending $32.4B this year on IC gear
  Electronics Weekly (U.K.) (1/14)      

• 5 products that promise to put jet lag to rest
  If you're a frequent business traveler, you're probably all too familiar with the unpleasant effects of jet lag. Companies have invented a number of products to address this problem; for example, the Ostrich Pillow is intended to allow you to take a nap anywhere. Meanwhile, the Re-Timer Glasses produce a green light that's designed to get your body acclimated to new time zones. Fox Business (1/11)      

• How the nature of CRM is evolving
  The scope of CRM is expanding to focus on external systems in addition to internal processes, writes Phil Wainewright. "Any enterprise that's not tracking online interactions, mobile apps and social media buzz -- and using in-depth analytics to maximize its understanding of online and offline interactions -- risks appearing ill-equipped and out-of-touch," he writes. ZDNet (1/13)      

Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Sales readers in the past week.

• What to do when there's a manipulator in your midst (ChannelProSMB.com)

• 2 questions that can make a better salesperson (PassionOnPurposeBlog.com)

• How to bounce back from a disappointing 2012 (Sales Benchmark Index)

• The strangest stuff employees attempted to expense in 2012 (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• How to lead your team through change (Sales Benchmark Index)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

• Some books do get judged by their covers
  A growing number of aspiring writers are self-publishing their books, including designing their book covers. That has led to some cover designs with barely legible fonts, laughable clip-art and curious original artwork, which cover designer Nathan Shumate collects on Tumblr. FastCoCreate (1/10)      

Position Title Company Name Location Sales Performance Manager Avis Budget Group Houston Area, TX Global Sales Development Lead Facebook Menlo Park, CA Sales Manager (Inside Sales) Moodlerooms, Inc. Baltimore, MD Head of Sales Operations Living Social Washington, DC VP of Sales and Business Development SmashFly Boston, MA Click here to view more job listings.

[T]he sales team should not only be concerned about how to sell value; they should contribute to how to design value." --Richard Ruff, co-founder of Sales Horizons, writing at SalesTrainingConnection.com