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Robert Koehler

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Global Sales Enablement

479 points

Experienced sales representative, product manager and sales performance consultant that grows revenue and profit by creating customer-centric sales enablement, performance improvement and account planning programs

May 24, 2012

Robert Koehler and 1 other person answered this question

How do you determine if a sales enablement organization is achieving success?

Gary, very good question. Thank you for jumping in! I’ve provided a link to some excellent focus conversations on topics related to ‘how do you define sales enablement’.
http://www.focus.com/questions/how-do-you-define-sales-enablement/
http://www.focus.com/questions/where-state-sales-enablement-today/
http://www.focus.com/questions/what-is-a-sales-enablement-manager-is-this-bec...
Regardless of definition my experience has been that it differs in different places but ... more

May 22, 2012

Robert Koehler and 11 other people answered this question

Is "blame the sales people" or "poor sales" the real problem or just a "shadow symptom" for the real issue?

Leanne,
Sometimes sales is the issue but more often than not in my experience there are a myriad of issues and solely “blaming the sales people” fails to improve the situation.
I’ve been in a sales organization that turned over 75% of the sales force ... more

Sales Management

May 3, 2012

Robert Koehler and 1 other person answered this question

Have you ever received anything at a sales meeting that you actually kept?

Lilia,
On the electronics side I received an ipod mini with all the sales collateral from one of our business partners. I used it to access some pieces just in time that I might not have otherwise used to improve my knowledge and messaging.
On ... more

April 30, 2012

Robert Koehler and 4 other people answered this question

What are current best practices you have seen in new hire sales training?

Alex and Tamara thank you for sharing. In discussions with others, folks have mentioned 'best practice' topics such as 'job shadowing by competency' (rather than general shadowing), blended/mixed programs rolled out by phase and 'high personal touch + intentional on-the-job coaching systematically set up for ... more

Sales Enablement

April 18, 2012

Robert Koehler and 6 other people answered this question

Can you get ROI from sales training acquired through RFP?

With an L&D organization that is well aligned with the field, sales managers and sales leadership and well versed in the day of a life and the challenges, you can build meaningful sales training. However, we've all seen or experienced examples of great sales training ... more

Sales Enablement

Sales Management

Nov. 11, 2011

Robert Koehler and 12 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Successful Tactics in B2B Demand Generation [11/11 @ 11 am]

What are some of the biggest content marketing mistakes marketers are making today?

1. Lack of alignment between the content and the customer buying process and/or internal selling process
2. Too much information, make it shorter
3. It's not about the product (yes, this is still an issue)
4. No objective measures of content effectiveness and little to no content auditing
5. ... more

Demand Generation

Nov. 11, 2011

Robert Koehler asked a question

What 3 things would you change/improve about the way most sales training groups work?

Oct. 25, 2011

Robert Koehler and 13 other people answered this question

What's the best way to avoid email overload?

1. Strongly limit use of cc: (send less, get less)
2. Prioritize emails from key executives and peers
3. Auto delete some groups, individuals while on vacation
4. Have and model purpose: try starting each email with the words “this is to…”
5. Don’t respond to everything
6. Set aside ... more

Information Technology

Email Marketing

Oct. 22, 2011

Robert Koehler and 8 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Sales Training Doesn't Work - Unless You do THIS [10/14 @ 11 am]

Which selling metrics (aside from revenue) matter most in evaluating sales performance?

For anyone interested in this discussion and passionate about examining, rethinking, and revising the metrics they use to assess sales health and sales performance, I strongly recommend that you review David Brock's Friday blog series, "Performance Management Friday" which includes discussions of measuring average transaction ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Oct. 20, 2011

Robert Koehler and 3 other people answered this question

As a sales trainer, how much research do you have to do on a company prior to stepping in?

In addition to Cale and Michael's good comments, I would add that for any internal or external group I am working with I research who they say their target client/buyer is and how they qualify in and out towards that target buyer. I ask marketing, ... more

Oct. 19, 2011

Robert Koehler and 3 other people answered this question

What has to happen in meetings with salespeople for the executive to feel it was effective?

The sales executive needs to learn about something that will improve their business or better execute on their priorities or be asked an intelligent question or set of questions that gets them thinking about new or different ideas.
As Dave Brock sagely points out the call ... more

Sales 2.0 Conference

Sales Management

Oct. 17, 2011

Robert Koehler and 3 other people answered this question

What are the differences between "organizational change management" and "training"?

It all depends on context. In general in my experience training is a specific intervention focused on closing a specific skill or knowledge gap.
Organization change management is typically a much larger effort requiring a variety of interventions, of which training may be just one, to ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Information Technology

Oct. 17, 2011

Robert Koehler and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Sales Training Doesn't Work - Unless You do THIS [10/14 @ 11 am]

Does using quantitative data over qualitative observations help solidify sales training ROI with internal shareholders?

Craig,
For 'qualitative observations' I have primary used smile sheets, talked to the participants as a group and/or individually and used post training surveys (1-30,60 or 90 days after training).
A specific 'subjective' question I will sometimes ask is 'what would you like senior executive leadership ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Oct. 14, 2011

Robert Koehler recommends this answer by Dan Waldschmidt

How do you train hardcore sales guys to get along with internal staff (operations, purchasing, etc)?

General Management

Human Resources

Oct. 14, 2011

Robert Koehler and 12 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Sales Training Doesn't Work - Unless You do THIS [10/14 @ 11 am]

What do you do if your top producer refuses sales training?

Craig, great question. Not sure what I'd do. Some options I'd consider:
1. Perhaps give them a pass and remind them that the pass is good for as long as they show top performance :)
and/or
2. Coopt them into helping deliver part of the ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Oct. 5, 2011

Robert Koehler and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Simplifying Social Business: Customer Centricity in a Social CRM World [10/5 @ 11 am]

What are the most common pitfalls companies experience when it comes to customer centricity?

Thinking that you are customer centric when you need improvement. In other words as Michael syas, 'not walking the walk'. This means to me not spending enough time with or taking the time to study the customer to deeply understand their challenges and a day ... more

Customer Service

Oct. 5, 2011

Robert Koehler and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Innovation and Continuous Improvement In Sales [10/5 @ 9 am]

We are a small company selling art, which is any not a necessity. Outside of Social Media outlets, any innovative ideas for increasing sales?

Laura,
I like Alex's idea of focusing on getting found. While hardly an innovative or novel idea, my gut impression is to also to focus on 'what' you are selling. If 'art' is not a necessity, can you sell an idea that is more of a ... more

Oct. 5, 2011

Robert Koehler answered this question at this roundtable

Innovation and Continuous Improvement In Sales [10/5 @ 9 am]

Does the panel feel that Management embraces innovation or are they just concerned about results?

Bruce,
Thank you for the question. While every company and management team is different my experience is that sales management is more typically concerned about results and whatever you have to do to get results- including innovaton- do it and make sure you get the results.
Steven ... more

Sept. 29, 2011

Robert Koehler is now following Tim Riesterer and 1 other person

Sept. 23, 2011

Robert Koehler is speaking at this roundtable

Innovation and Continuous Improvement In Sales

Aug. 8, 2011

Robert Koehler and 5 other people answered this question

Should every department have a quota like sales does?

I think more departments having much more tangible metrics and objectives would help. Working in sales I loved the lower subjectivity to measuring success. The weakly phrased, reinforced, and measured 'annual performance goals' of many departments do little if anything to raise individual and corporate ... more

General Management

June 30, 2011

Robert Koehler and 31 other people answered this question

As a salesperson, when do you ever accept 'no' as an answer?

Persistence can be a fantastic trait (makes me think of the Calvin Coolidge quote: 'Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. ....'). It's helped me complete marathons, see complex sales through to the end and weather life's trials.
Misplaced persistence in the world ... more

Sales Management

June 30, 2011

Robert Koehler and 10 other people answered this question

What is the KEY to asking the RIGHT questions?

I believe this is a combination of art and science.
The science (keys to asking the right question):
- Prepare, prepare, prepare- I almost always write down several sales questions in advance
- Have a questioning process, style and/or system that works for you. We’ve ... more

General Management

June 21, 2011

Robert Koehler recommends this answer by Michael A Brown

Does sales training really fail?

Sometimes it does, and here are a few reasons …
The training emphasis is on content rather than behaviors. An indicator is when the trainer opens with, “We have lots of material to cover, so let’s get started.”
The alleged training objectives contain few if ... more

Sales Management

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