Todd Cohen

The Deafening Sounds of Radio Silence!

As sales professionals we have all experienced something like this.... you conduct a great sales campaign, have multiple appointments and everyone loves what you are offering and you are getting definite buying signals. Your network is strong in the account! You report this deal as looking awesome in your pipeline reviews with the boss. You may have even gone as far as to let your internal resources know that some work is coming. Everything looks great for the BIG close! Then-NOTHING! The emails go unanswered and phone messages go unreturned. You slowly realize that "IT" has happened. Your client has gone "radio silent." This situation conjures up mental images of ...

Time to Build the Pipe. Time to Build the Pipe. Time to Build the Pipe.

As sales professionals, do you ever feel like the guy from the Dunkin' Donuts commercials? Do you get up every morning, bleary eyed and weary from the day before and think to yourself "got to build the pipeline"....? I think we all do and its completely normal. Perhaps the most essential element of what we do as sales professionals is to be constantly performing the activities that fill our sales pipeline! (If you are not, then thats another conversation!) As a sales professional, having a full and robust pipeline, is necessary to having a strong year, making great commissions and insuring a strong start to the following year. A strong pipeline is a good indicator ...

Economic Slowdown?

Hardly a day passes without some news agency reporting some sort of impending doom for the economy. I listen very carefully and try to make sense of it; seek out experts and ask questions. I have talked to professionals from all walks of life and everyone has some compelling vision of what is coming. Obviously, I am most concerned about helping the sales community protect itself against a downturn. I have devoted my column this week to sharing some of my thoughts about what we can do to make sure the sales keep coming in and we stay sharp! In my career, I have been through a few significant slowdowns and one ...

Be on TIME!

OK..I need to have a small "rant" for a moment or two. I think the one thing that could earn ejection from the sales community is not having a healthy respect for time! Time is respect. Period. If you make an appointment, be on time. Plan it well and think about the things that will make you late.....traffic, AIR TRAVEL delays (especially in Philadelphia!) weather etc.... There is nothing worse than showing up late for an appointment and being late with no explanations. Nothing screams disrespect more than a disrespect for peoples time! I am just amazed at how this continues to be a problem in the sales community. If ...

Great Sales Leaders!

I am really curious what this sales community thinks a great sales leader is? What defines that person to you? I have written my column this week on sales leaders and offer some of my initial thoughts on what a great sales leader should look like. As sales professionals we have all worked under a variety of leaders and as a result have been shaped and sharpened by those experiences. I think about my sales career and how much influence some really great sales leaders have had on me. Of course, that works both ways and I can also point to areas that have not been as...hmm..should I say not as ...

The Secret of Sales is……

Sales Community Members... 

What do you think the secrets of sales success are? Is it a vast well of closely held deep dark secrets that only a few master or is it there right in front of you? I have talked, held sales coaching classes and lectured on this for years and thought about my own successes and almost successes and I keep coming back to one common denominator.

Excellent Sales Management Means to Communicate Obessively!!

Leadership and communication are intertwined and dependent on each other. This is not news nor is it a revelation, just my observation! Good leaders communicate well and good communication skills are essential to be a good leader. In my sales career, I have never stopped thinking about what a great leader is and I want to communicate my belief that as leaders in sales we must communicate obsessively! This means that we must communicate obsessively with our clients, our partners, peers; management and anyone part of our virtual teams! Read my full thoughts here and please blog your thoughts and ideas as well!