Having been to every single INBOUND conference, you can imagine that it must get difficult to top it year after year. This year was very different for me. First, it came on the heels of my sister's wedding, the launch of the new business, and the completion of the first three chapters of Ingagements. 

And even though there were a lot of sessions I wanted to go to, I was only able to make it to 1 or 2 because I had so many small group and 1-on-1 conversations going on outside of the breakout rooms. 

Then of course this was my first year speaking. The best part of the session was everyone who stayed 20 or so minutes to ask questions, and those who stopped me in the hallways after to continue the discussion. Every tweet that was someone's take away made me smile as well.

The overall theme that I got at INBOUND from the few sessions I could make it to, and the conversations that I had, was that the sales industry, like all industries, must transform to the rules of the empowered buyer. To do that, it's not about technology, it's about the people. Jill Rowley said it best in her social selling session:

"Give a fool a tool, he's still a fool. To change salespeople, we must change their mindset."

Amen. If you want to fix sales, fix the salespeople.

Brene Brown talked about the vulnerability of sales, and how we must learn to deal with that. Daniel Pink talked about the new ABC of sales and how 7 of the 10 words people use when they think about sales is not good.

It all came down to the fact that sales is extremely personal and that to get to our goals, we have to change how we talk to ourselves.

But the highlight of my week actually happened after the sessions, parties, and keynotes were over. As I was resting my sore feet at the local sushi bar, I got an email from a client.

We started working with Trent last year. Trent had some very compelling goals. Like many, he wanted to grow and increase his revenue. He needed more customers. We hear that everyday. But it was Trent's why that we were interested in. Trent wanted to marry his longtime girlfriend. If we could help him do that, he'd be pretty happy. 

On Friday, Trent sent us his wedding video that made the local news. Watch it and see if you can figure out why I say everything is sales. As Trent's wife Alena said, "This is real life." This is why we do what we do. Sure, getting more customers and increasing revenue is a good thing. But how it will change your life is what we are interested in. Money is just a tool.

Are you ready to dive in like Trent and find out why it is that even though you know what you should do, you can't seem to make yourself do it? Start here.