Todd Cohen

10 Digits Away!

Hello ToddCohen.com Sales Community!

Email is everywhere. It rules our lives, or so it feels at times! I for one am sick of it. I like my voice-more importantly I like hearing other peoples voices! Great sales cultures depend and thrive on effective and consistent (”obsessive”) communication.

Communication is the lifeblood of an organization. When you, as a sales leader have an opportunity to talk or email with someone, what do you choose? Why did you choose that manner of communication? I realize that there are some things that need to be documented, but not everything needs to be in email. I have seen and experienced the vast improvement in communication and effectiveness when the choice is made to pick up the phone, dial those 10 digits and (gasp!) talk to someone.

When someone hears your passion and interest in what they have to talk about, they become motivated and encouraged that you care and are involved as a sales leader! This idea of that everyone is just “10 digits away” becomes more important now that the competition to close business is getting more fierce. . You, as a sales leader, are especially accountable now to communicate better and more effectively with your peers and clients. I encourage each of you to think the next time you are emailing-is it easier to email or to pick up the phone and communicate live?

Good Selling and Good Dialing!

-Todd

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3 Responses to “10 Digits Away!”

1. Ron Wickline Says:
   May 6th, 2008 at 8:46 pm

   As expected you are once again “spot on”! As the commercial used to state, “Reach out and touch someone”. It’s even more important today given the non-personal nature of our communication systems.

   Everyone enjoys a pat on the back and too few of us in the management ranks utilize this increasingly important tool (and yes, I include myself in this category). For many it’s a fear of being too complimentary and giving the impression of not setting high expectation. But from the receivers perspective, it’s needing to know that I’m on track and if you the manager are acknowledging and supportive, I’ll knock down walls for you! It has been my experience based on 20+ years in sales management that you can seldom over communicate good news and compliments on a job well done!

   Thanks for another “Job well done, Todd!”

2. Geoff Rhine Says:
   June 12th, 2008 at 9:43 am

   OK - I’m guilty! You are so right!

   I have frequently made a mental excuse for using e-mail to allow my contact to prepare for my message. WRONG!

   Hearing my voice and enthusiasm brings my contact into a proper context much more effectively than e-mail. Interpreting written words takes more mental energy, because we often try to second-guess what the writer really meant. The tone of our voice sorts that out much more efficiently.

   I had a quick question, used 10 Digits Away, got a quick answer AND enjoyed talking with you.

   Thanks for a great reminder.

3. Daniel McLennan Says:
   July 3rd, 2008 at 7:00 pm

   Todd, its your old friends Dan and Maria from Rolph Anderson’s introduction.

   *We would just like to say that as a different generation cohort digital communication is almost embedded in our DNA. As much as our generation DNA NEEDS digital communication, we at Image Creative Organization get far better results which result in positive outcomes when using voice-to-voice. We posted your piece on our blog!

   Thank you and keep blogging,

   Daniel McLennan & Maria Ferrato
   Image Creative Organization
   Imagecreativeorganization.com

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