Todd Cohen

Momentum is KING

ToddCohen.com Sales Community: Q3 is Here......yes, it has snuck up on us and now we have to keep the momentum strong. It is now more important then ever that we each hold ourselves accountable for keeping up the momentum. If we are to leverage what we have started and finish the year at or above plan we need to keep the momentum strong. Great sales leaders leverage the positive and at the same time ratchet things up. Momentum is KING. How can we keep up the momentum? Increase you field travel where possible and cost effective. You will accelerate more deals by being in the field as much as possible. This is excellent coaching time-in real time. Prioritize your field travel to ...

“Can I Be Honest With You?”

Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community- It time for "Todd's List of Annoying Sales Talk"....or something like that.  I actually just invented this today after hearing a speech where the presenter answered every question the same way by starting with "I want to be frank with you"  or " I want to be honest here".  Seriously folks how many times have we as sales professionals started to answer a question posed to us by a client with something that sounds like " "Let me be honest" or " Can I tell you the truth?" .. We all do it and we are all guilty of using these awful starters when in fact we are not being dishonest or disingenuous at all.  The issue with using these type of phrases is that they cast a doubt in the clients mid that you are actually ...

Energy Management

Hello Todd Cohen.com Sales Community! Are you thinking about energy management? I bet you are thinking that I am talking about how to conserve gas or reduce your energy bills. Nope. I am not. I was in a sales meeting with a client today and the topic was one that I have spoken about with you often. The topic I refer to is time management. Great sales professionals are good at managing and getting the most from the hours each day ( and nights we work). Time management s a key part of being successful and feeling good about what we do. OK, now during this meeting, we started talking about time management as a ...

Systems Driven

Hello Sales Community- How many times have we as sales professionals heard the complaint that we could not get a deal done because there was some issue with the systems at our company?  I once worked for a company that had no less than 17 billing systems!   Yes, you read that right!  17 separate and discreet billing systems. In this era of mergers and acquisitions, companies are buying each other long before they think about how to merge and integrate billing systems to make it easy for the client to do business.    Now, you may be asking yourself...."is this another Todd rant"....?  Well, sort of.  We as sales professionals cannot let this back office dysfunction get in the way of us bringing great solutions to clients problems. Just today I was taking to a coaching client of mine ...

Sales AND Marketing - It’s AND not VS.

ToddCohen.com Sales Community, I was in a meeting yesterday with a client and we were having a spirited and engaging conversation around the topic of sales and marketing working as a team. Now to great sales professionals this is a basic tenet of our job. To be a great sales culture, sales and marketing need to be aligned, on the same page, in synch or whatever saying you prefer - you get the idea. Wait, not everyone does though....the conversation yesterday was with people who DO get it, but I am still amazed at the people who cant get this fact and think that sales and marketing is actually sales vs. marketing. Its NOT. Wake up! We ...

Sales Culture and Service!

Hello ToddCohen.com Sales Community! Here is a thought for the day.....have you though about the fact that great sales cultures are built on delivering great service? OK, maybe this is not your first and last though of the day, but as sales professionals and part of the overall sales community we must be the ones who are experts at delivering exceptional service to our clients. This is really not a negotiable point.

Starbucks.

Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community, I love my coffee ( yes, I do actually drink decaffeinated). Yes, this post has virtually nothing to do with sales and I dont care. I was finishing my walk this morning and stopped into my regular Starbucks to get my large decaf coffee. I refuse to say the words "venti" or whatever. Anyway, I am amazed that people can ask for a drink that's at least 16 different words and do it with straight face. I am equally amazed that the people behind the counters can repeat it and it gets made correctly. So, I began to think about how these people who work at Starbucks might ...

Almost There

Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community, Its amazing ( well at least to me)! On June 4th we will celebrate our first full year of building the ToddCohen.com Sales Community! How does a year go by so fast?....Well, to that end, several new things are about to happen. First, you will be seeing the new and upgraded ToddCohen.com website. We have made many upgrades to the technology and added great new features. I have just finished recording video and more podcasts. Many great people writing timely articles for us to learn from as a community. On the heels of the new ToddCohen.com, my new corporate website, SalesLeaderLLC. com will be launched as well. ...

Finding Sales Talent

ToddCohen.com Sales Community, Finding great sales talent is always a challenge for companies. Its hard to find the best! Sourcing and attracting sales talent takes time, skill and the right focus and perspective. I have asked John Smith, Vice President and Partner from Kellen James in Phoenix , Arizona to comment on this for our Sales Community! I think you will enjoy Johns comments and thought. Good Selling! -Todd

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