Sales Culture Expert Todd Cohen Provides Coaching Tips for Sales Teams

PHILADELPHIA, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When you have the opportunity to help someone by coaching, do you respond by telling or by coaching? Being a great coach is a skill. We can all strive to "coach and not tell," said Todd Cohen, who presents keynote speeches and training sessions on building sales cultures in companies.

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"I was working on my latest Sales Culture Workshop™, and it became obvious that coaching is another form of selling. We have to sell people on the message and the value of receiving it and adopting change," said Cohen, author of Everyone's In Sales."

If we tell people what to do, we get resistance. But if we coach them, then we are influencing people, helping them be better and "selling" them in the process. So in that tone, this fits perfectly with my sales culture work and mantra "Everyone's in sales."

A great coach lets the person being coached find his or her own way. This makes us all feel good. Telling someone what to do stifles people's ideas and creativity.

He identified several principles of effective sales coaching:

• Builds strong and successful internal relationships and forms the basis for long-term relationship management
• Builds confidence and trust, which leads to a mutually desired outcome
• Creates more opportunities to develop people and show them they matter
• Creates a more profitable team and increases client and employee retention
• Reinforces coworkers' value and contribution to the bottom and top line
• Is direct and has a point but not necessarily an end – coaching is a long-term investment by the coach and the company
• Is a very refined form of selling, underwritten by our ability to sell ourselves and our accomplishments.

He has identified several tactics and strategies of great coaches:

• We are always coaching. Always. Every conversation is a "coaching moment." There is a difference between the act of coaching "up" someone's performance and behavior and telling someone to do something in order to achieve a desired result.
• Coaching is not always a planned experience; in fact, the best coaching often happens in a serendipitous manner. The best coaches always seek an opportunity to work with someone. "I have often used the term "walking-around coach" to describe those who do not coach from the office but proactively interact with peers and staff in a way that is engaging and in the moment," he said.
• Never tell anyone anything, and avoid statements as "Let me tell you how this needs to be done." Use words such as "I would like to suggest…" or "I have an idea that would help this along."
• Setting the stage for successful coaching is essential. Effective coaches always think about and plan for the best timing, atmosphere and location for a successful coaching session.
• Embarrassing someone is a guaranteed way to make sure your message is not received. "I remember when I was coached by the best, I was always asked, before any coaching began, if I was ready and willing to accept and receive coaching," he said.
• A good coach acknowledges willingness and readiness. Conversely, a good coach knows when not to coach and looks to set the stage for another time.
• A good coach can explain and engage the person being coached.

To learn more about Todd Cohen or hire him to speak at businesses or conferences, go to http://www.SalesCulture.com

About Todd Cohen

Todd Cohen is an author and principal of SalesLeader, where he serves as executive sales coach and advisor to clients ranging from small start-ups to large corporations. Cohen also has hosted his own radio show, "Let's Talk Sales Culture."

Todd inspires, advises and builds high performance sales teams that produce outstanding results. He also provides strategic oversight and serves as executive sales coach and advisor to clients ranging from small, rapidly growing start-ups to well-established, large corporations.

Todd Cohen works with all companies that want to increase sales. Since 1984, Todd has coached and led sales teams to deliver more than $700 million in revenue for leading companies including Xerox, Gartner Group, Thomson-Reuters, and LexisNexis.

Todd is a frequent keynote speaker at sales conferences and national association meetings and his Sales Culture Workshops™ have been met with wide acclaim.

He is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, Past President of the NSA Philadelphia Chapter. He chairs the Sales and Marketing group of the Greater Philadelphia Senior Executives Group. Todd is also a regular contributor to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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SOURCE Todd Cohen