- August 5, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
There have been at least 2 lists published of the sales books you should read on the beach this summer so we are not going there! But summer is for sun and fun and some of the best things in life happen during the summer. As a result, we miss some of the best work-related things because we aren’t working as many hours, may be in catch-up mode and not have the time to get to everything we would get to during cooler months. With that in mind, some of the best articles you haven’t read were published this summer!
I’m going to share four of them right here, tell you why the article will help today, and you can decide whether or not to read it.
Buyer Who Has No Use for Salespeople – This has been the most popular article of the summer. It started with a buyer who contributed an outrageous comment on another article and this article began as my formal response. But many readers commented, attacked him and he returned and attacked back so it morphed into a very entertaining read. The key here is that it exposed what happens when weak salespeople fail to bring value to their customers and prospects. This article is a must read.
Sales Process and Shoes Analogy – This sounds stupid but this short article links to the finest article I have ever written on sales process. You must read it if you have even the slightest doubt as to whether your sales process is perfect as it is.
Ineffective Sales Managers – This is really two articles and the link on your left links to the second. The link to the first article appears in the first sentence. The first article discusses the many reasons why most sales managers are so ineffective and the second article provides examples of how they do things wrong, and what they could be doing instead. There is also a great baseball analogy and you know how I like those!
Digital or Analog – This is an interesting read on the different approaches that newer companies – often in the technology space – take, versus older, traditional companies – often in manufacturing or distribution – and how they get to a common middle ground. Read this is to compare what you have in place to best practices.