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Sales Culture Blog
Why Sales People Fall Short!
Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community,In response to you requests, here is my list of the "Top Reasons why Sales Reps don't close the deal"1. Failure to ASK for the Order. (ASK! You have earned the right.) 2. Failure to create and leverage a Virtual Team (a.k.a. your own Sales Culture) 3. Taking a "NO" as a NO instead of needing to "KNOW" more. 4. Poor negotiation skills-failure to find a "win-win". 5. A mismatch between your offering and the clients pain points. 6. Making it about price and not about value. 7. Not getting all the "cards on the table". 8. Missing the BIG Picture and the client feeling under served9. Not reviewing the contract early enough. 10. Rushing the deal and not building rapport. 11. Lack of confidence in yourself ...
What Motivates your Sales People?
Todd Cohen.com Sales Community,As a sales leader we have firmly established your most important role is to develop, coach and mentor your sales team. Right? Right. You will succeed by having well trained and developed sales professionals who deliver revenue. Now, the question I want you to think about is this - do you know what motivates your people? Have you taken the time and really thought about each of your sales people and what is each individuals motivation to be at your company and be successful? Is it money? Is it challenge or the opportunity to work for a solid company? Is it for future advancement? Do you know what actually gets your people up each and every day, brings them to work and motivates them to be successful? If you do not know, then I want to suggest to you that you are accountable to know that. This ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Difference is Service
Good Morning ToddCohen.com Sales Community,Yesterday I was talking with some sales professionals who were concerned about their product being seen as a commodity. This is certainly not the first time I have heard this. It happens to all sales professionals at one time or another. I am often asked how I deal with that issue, and one of the first things that comes to mind is service. The service you provide as a trusted partner to a client is the difference and a large reason why people will buy from you. Now we all have heard the old adage " people buy you not the product". Guess what? It is TRUE. ...
Customer Intimacy
I heard a really great term this week. "Customer Intimacy". Now I know this is not an original term, nor is it new, so I did a quick Google search and of course I received about a million hits on the term, so allow me to share with the ToddCohen.com sales community my "in the moment" thoughts on customer intimacy. I have written many times about the idea that we as members of the sales community must create awesome relationships with clients and prospects. I have also postulated that this is perhaps the most important part of being a great sales professional. In a recent conversation with a sales professional he used the term customer intimacy ...
PhindMe Found Me!
Dear Sales Community,Social Networking is all the rage..and I am getting involved! Read on.."Philadelphia-based senior sales leader Todd Cohen, a consultant on successful sales strategies, has been named executive advisor in sales and marketing by technology start-up PhindMe (www.phindme.mobi). In his consulting position with the firm, Cohen provides counsel and direction for PhindMe's sales and marketing efforts. PhindMe is developing mobile marketing technologies that will enable local businesses to reach customers through cell phone-based and online content. PhindMe offers its clients easy to use content management, customer relationship management and social networking tools......."I am honored by the trust that PhindMe has placed in me. I will report back to the ToddCohen.com Sales Community from time to ...
Speaking about Sales!
Yesterday was a fun day...I had a wonderful time speaking to the sales community-in this case a group of consultants from Deloitte Consulting. I was graciously invited to speak at a staff meeting they were conducting; the topic was based on my recent white paper "Understanding Successful Sales Performance: The Sales Success Triad" and how great professional consultants are great sales professionals! That is an easy bridge to build and one that is fulfilling to cross. They were a receptive audience who understood that much of what they do every day is some form of sales activity and that reflects why Deloitte is a great firm.I was impressed with how much focus Deloitte ...
“The Sales Success Triad”
"What separates the successful salesperson from the other members of the sales community? Ask a dozen salespeople and you’ll most likely get back a dozen different responses. Is it the ability to create great leads that makes you successful, or is it a winning personality? If you’re looking at things like your charm or the size of your client lists, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Look at the basics – the simple stuff that sales professionals overlook from time to time. Things like your ability to listen carefully, respond correctly and approach clients not as a sale but as people you want to know and help solve problems. These are the things you need to focus on in
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