The following is a guest post from Mike Sullivan, President of MKS Partners; a consulting firm specializing in optimizing sales and marketing investment. Mike has an impressive background in sales leadership for both small and large organizations with special expertise in multi-channel management, database marketing and sales-force automation.

The first thing you need to realize and internalize is that this recession is temporary and your career as a sales professional is not. Anyone who has been in sales for some time will tell you that the way you deal with prospects and customers today is the foundation of your future successes. Following are some things you should be doing to deal with the recession in a way that delivers both long and short-term success:

1) Be more empathetic – Your customers and prospects are most likely experiencing problems in their business as well. Spend some time focusing on what’s changed for them, what new challenges they have. At a minimum, they will appreciate your desire to understand what’s going on with them personally, and best case you may discover an opportunity you wouldn’t have seen during busy times.

2) Maintain your integrity - Steven Carter, in his book Integrity, defines integrity as including three components: 1) spending the time to discern what is right and wrong, 2) acting in accordance with what you discern to be right, and 3) being willing to openly discuss the reasons for your actions. Tough times are truly a test of character. They can bring out the worst in people and they can bring out the best. Which one will it be?

3) Invest in yourself - Take advantage of any break in the action by focusing on improving your knowledge and skills. One of the best ways to do this is by spending more time with customers and prospects, developing a better understanding of their industry, their challenges and their opportunities. If you can do this, in the context of looking for ways to help them do their work more effectively, you establish yourself as someone who is willing and able to help them, not just someone who wants to sell them something. You both benefit.

4) Stay healthy – You can’t take care of business if you are not feeling healthy. A difficult economy and increased work pressure can make you sick. You can increase your resistance to this pressure by doing some simple things:
• Exercise regularly: It doesn’t really matter what you choose to do as long as there is some rhythm and discipline to it. I believe the it’s got to have some intensity to it as well.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables: Try to focus on getting more natural foods into your diet. You don’t have to go buck wild and change your entire diet, just be conscious of your food choices and choose natural as often as you can.
• Get enough sleep: This is a tough one because sleep is one of the first things to go when people get under stress. Following the first two recommendations will help but you may also find that a nap is just what you need to keep up with any interruptions during the night.

Taking care of business during tough is a lot easier if you are focused on taking care of yourself and others.