How to Build a Powerful Sales Culture – Part II

The 5 Essential Skills Needed by Sales Reps and Sales Professionals. In last month’s newsletter feature, we discussed how developing a sales culture in which everyone in an organization becomes part of the virtual sales team can help create overwhelming success. We also introduced the two basic types of team roles – sales representatives and sales professionals. In this second article of our six-part series on building sales culture, we focus on the essential set of sales skills needed by both sales representatives and sales professionals. Are You a Sales Rep or a Sales Professional? The answer to that question depends on what role you’re playing in the sales process at any given time and what skill set you’re using. To build ...

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How to Build a Powerful Sales Culture – Part I

What Is Your Role in Your Company’s Sales Culture? How can your organization sell more and sell smarter? By creating a powerful sales culture – an environment that inspires and engages everyone in the organization to become part of the virtual sales team and support the sales efforts. In this first article of our six-part series on how to build a sales culture, we focus on the different sales skills and roles required of not only your sales team, but also across your entire organization. What Is Sales Culture? Sales culture is the concept that everyone in an organization is in sales – including CEOs, accountants, lawyers, administrative assistants, as well as sales team members. Organizations with a sales culture are full of ...

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Line of Sight

Can you see revenue?  Can you see profits?Seriously – regardless of what job you do – you must be able to be able to specifically and absolutely trace what you do to the client saying “yes” and signing a deal.  This is the true essence of building a Sales Culture and creating amazing virtual teams.In other words, you must have a “line of sight” to the deal!I have said and written many times that the most basic element of a sales culture is that “everyone is in sales” It’s true – everything we do and every interaction is a selling situation.  You have the amazing and exciting opportunity to make what you do a vital part of the sales campaign ...

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You are not entitled.

Recently I was teaching one of my Sales Culture workshops and a student asked me “what is the worst thing a sales professional can do”?  The answer in my mind was an easy one and did not require much contemplation on my part.   The worst thing a sales professional can do is act entitled. It’s that simple.  In fact I believe that a basic requirement to achieve the status of great sales professional is to rise above all feelings of entitlement.I have seen many great sales professionals and I can say a common trait amongst all of them is that they do not go through there careers thinking they are entitled or anyone owes them a single thing.  These people ...

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Increase your RPi (Relationship Portability Index)

If you have a great RPi, your network and your virtual team grows and grows. Another way to think of this is: Your relationships are “platform neutral.”

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Todd Cohen Named Sales Executive in Residence at Temple University

Todd Cohen, principal of SalesLeader LLC and an accomplished and sought-after public speaker, has been named Sales Executive in Residence at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) of the Fox School of Business, Temple University, through the 2011 academic year.

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Do you have RP?

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An effective virtual team and sales culture

An excerpt from the upcoming Sales Culture book "Never Sell Alone"I see examples of effective virtual teams and sales cultures everywhere I go. I see so many examples, but still not enough to think that the sales culture practices are commonplace and clearly understood by sales organizations. When the sales professionals thoroughly understand what they have to do and know how to engage people, the organizational managers say, “Yes, go to work and be on the team.” No distractions on competing priorities are presented by different levels of functional bosses.The virtual team members’ biggest challenge might be time management. The balancing of functional responsibilities and virtual team responsibilities to the customer can be tricky. One way to bring clarity to ...

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The 5 Most Important Words

Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community,I was having breakfast with my friend Dr. Richard Marcus today and he had the most amazing thing to say.Richard is a consulting psychologist and is highly regarded in his field - and after our conversation I am again reminded why.  We were talking about networking and how that is truly the lifeblood of how business moves.  Richard asked me if  "I knew the 5 most important words of networking" ?  The answer is simple.  Get out your pen and get ready..." I received your name from" and the SECOND most important 5 words are "  I am giving your name to...."Networking is all about being proactive. Listening to what people do and making sure that when you have a reason to refer someone to someone else you DO IT.  Too often people think networking is ...

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Cool Sales Professionals!

Happy New Year Everyone!I have been a little slow to get my blogging back online, because I have been working on my book  - but I have to share this story of some amazing sales professionals I encountered yesterday!  Are  you ready?  I was in the supermarket and as I was leaving, I was treated to one of the best sales pitches I have ever seen.  It was by a group of adorable 7 year old girls selling Girl Scout Cookies!Let me tell you why they were awesome.  They asked me if I "had a moment".  They asked me how I was doing and "did I like cookies?"  They took the time to explain the different kinds of cookies and ...

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