How to sell in a lousy economy

Title: Account general manager
Age: 55
Location: Washington, D.C.

What she does: Sells Xerox products (from printers to production devices) to the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Social Security Administration, and NASA.

Career highlight: Recently persuaded NASA to sign a $36 million contract with Xerox after it had been doing business with a competitor for 11 years.

How she networks: "I do a lot volunteering - you'd be surprised who you meet if you're on this board and that board. For example, I work with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and I went to the UMBC president and asked, Who at NASA can you put me in touch with who's in charge of a high-level account?"

Recession survival skill: "Be aware of competitive contracts and their expiration dates. If you want to displace that competitor, you need to start to work at least a year out."

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