Todd Cohen

I am Pissed Off.

Do I have your attention? The reason I am ...ahem....annoyed is that I have had it with the carping and complaining of some "sales people" in certain professions moaning and groaning because the market is bad now. I cannot believe the way some salespeople have become so entitled the last few years and have actually forgotten how to sell! Things have come much to easily and now that the market has turned, everyone feels like they are helpless! Get a grip. I mean right now! No one is entitled to permanent success and its time to get tough.  Stop telling me how crappy everything is.  Start telling me what you ...

December 8th.

Dear Sales Community, I want to invite any of you in the Philadelphia area to the monthly meeting of "The Company of Friends"-a great networking group that I am active with. You all know how I feel about the absolute importance of lifelong networking and Philadelphia is a city that offers so much in the form of networking groups and organizations. This group which is part of FastCompany, meets the 2nd Saturday of every month at Strayer University near the King of Prussia Mall. The meeting starts at 9:45. It is always a full house, so get your seat now. My topic will be "Everyone is in Sales-Using Sales Techniques in Job Transition". I ...

Everyone is in Communications!

I was giving a speech recently on one of my favorite topics "Everyone is in Sales", when Oliver Picher, a local marketing and PR guru made the comment to me that "everyone is also in communications". He is so correct about that! Great sales professionals are not only great listeners, but they communicate well. I was very intrigued and interested with Olivers perspective on this topic, so I asked him to share his thoughts with the ToddCohen.com Sales Community. I am happy to introduce this weeks column has been written by a new guest author, the very same Oliver Picher. His article is called "A Dirty Little Secret: Everyone is in ...

Persistence Pays Off.

I think at this time of the year, its time to make sure that you are being persistent about closing business. Not that you should be less persistent any other time of the year, but now we have to make the plan and there is little time left to do it! We have bonuses and commissions to earn and I hate to think we as a sales community are leaving any money on the table. Thats just not acceptable! I am reminded of a story about what a very good rep I used to have on one of my own teams did to close an order he needed to make the plan. He had been working with ...

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 ...

Do Natural Born Salespeople Exist?

Dear Sales Community Members, Time for the age old question of whether or whether not sales people are naturally born or are created? I have written this weeks column on this topic, but I really want to know what you think-the opinions on this one vary from end to end! Here is a snippet from my column:

"A question that I have discussed for years is whether sales people are born or made. In other words, is there such a thing as a natural born sales person? This is a term that has been bandied about for years and I think that a case can be made for both sides of the argument. I

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 ...

Humility Counts.

Hello ToddCohen.com Sales Community... I am back after a week of dealing with the typical change of season cold....and thank you to those of you who wrote to me and asked when the blogging would continue! Your kindness touched me and I am grateful. On another note, my colleague, Dr. Janice Presser,and I both had articles published in the Business World Times last month. Her article was on the topic of humility, an area that also I speak about in my recent white paper. I am passionate on this point that great sales professionals have deep and sustaining humility. This is what I said:

"Humility is at the heart of lasting sales success. Genuine

More Sales Through More Referrals!

As a sales professional, you own your business-this is your territory, your area, your vertical market or whatever patch of earth you call you area to get out there and sell! As sales professionals, you (hopefully) are spending a great deal of time prospecting and developing clients and then CLOSING them! That also means that along the way you have developed a good relationship with your clients! So, let me ask you this....are you leveraging your relationships within your client base to ask for referrals to new prospects so that you can earn more business? Are you networking inside your satisfied clients and finding new opportunities?...Great sales professionals are always doing this! Further to the ...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1….Liftoff to a STRONG Q4 Close!

I was reading the local paper this morning and there was a headline that read "Stock Market Soars to Record Close to Kick off the Fourth Quarter". This made me think about the fact that we are now in the last 3 months of the year and its make or break for us in the sales community! Yes, the final push is ON. Are you positioned now to close the business and beat your plan? In my last Newsletter, I asked the sales community where you will be on the last day of the year? Relaxing or standing a lonely vigil at the fax waiting for the final orders to come in? There are some basic things ...