Search Results
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Salespeople With This Weakness Score 47% Worse at Reaching Decision Makers
- October 16, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A lot of the salespeople I coach have a weakness in their Sales DNA – their need to be liked. Approximately 58% of all salespeople have this weakness and on average, salespeople score 76% in that competency. Elite salespeople have an average score of 87% and weak salespeople have an average score of 69%.
What would it look like if we were to pivot this data and look only at the group who have it as a weakness? When we filter the results by the need to be liked, there are some very interesting scores. Could it be that the need to be liked – by itself – is a predictor of sales success? Maybe. We know that if the salesperson is in an account management role, the need to be liked is an asset. However, in any kind of producer role, especially in a consultative process or methodology, it will get in the way. Take a look at this data!
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What Percentage of New Salespeople Reach Decision Makers?
- June 20, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I reviewed a new set of around 8,500 rows of data today. I wanted to know what percentage of salespeople were able to get past gatekeepers, including voice mail systems, and reach decision makers. This was very interesting!
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Voice Mail – Reaching Decision Makers
- January 19, 2015
- Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
- Categories: Monthly Tips, Tactics - Getting to 1st Base (Appointments)
This story is from a reader of Baseline Selling:
Please read Page 43 of Baseline Selling. Since I’m over the embarrassment of screwing up something so simple, here goes. After almost 20 years of selling, managing & coaching salespeople and now sales development, I just learned last week how to leave a voicemail!
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Top 4 Reasons Salespeople Struggle to Reach Decision Makers
- October 30, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
So here we are again, with half of the salespeople reporting that they aren’t reaching decision makers. And why would a decision maker want to be reached if the salespeople are focused only on presentations? And companies wonder why their sales cycles are so long, their closing percentages are so low and their margins are slip sliding away…
Also noteworthy were these findings from the survey results:
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Top 6 Reasons Decision Makers Fail to Attend Your Meetings
- July 30, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My mind doesn’t work the same as most people. I always seem to find a sales analogy buried somewhere. Frank, who writes the Sales Archaeologist Blog, has that ability too.
Recently, at a picnic with my family, I took note of all the guests and couldn’t help but see the similarities between the picnic and selling to a group.
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Official Guidance for Sales Teams Navigating the 2nd Trump Economy
- January 20, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Let’s discuss how the Trump economy will affect sales organizations.
It will be easier to schedule meetings – hooray!
It may be easier to reach decision makers – that’s awesome! They hide when they aren’t interested in spending.
Sales cycles will be shorter – that’s great news!
But with all that good news, I do have five warnings to share:
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The Nutcracker and 3 Sales Competencies That Cause Low Win Rates
- December 6, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
During a first sales call, suppose your salespeople hear one prospect say, “This has been a very interesting and productive conversation and we might have some interest in this.” And imagine another prospect at the same meeting says, “We’ll get back to you next month and let you know what kind of progress we’ve made.” And still a third might say, “In the meantime, please send us a proposal with references and timeline.”
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Three Dog Night Classic is Foundation for Present Day Selling
- November 26, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If you start with the having fun part you can’t go wrong. Most selling is WAY too serious, way too dependent on bullet points from slides, talking points from company narratives, and the oh, so boring vomiting of company and product information. Where’s the fun in all of that? And if you don’t bring the fun, who wants to spend any time with you? Differentiate!
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Getting Salespeople to Prospect When They Aren’t Prospecting
- November 15, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
While some growth can be expected to come from effective account management, the kind of growth desired by most companies comes from consistently finding and closing new accounts. While companies love their inbound lead-generation programs, and those programs do generate leads, the quality of the leads, and the quality of the meetings booked by those young and inexperienced top-of-funnel kids, leaves much to be desired.
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3 Keys That Determine the Length of Your Sales Cycle
- November 2, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It’s easier to sell value when there is urgency.
It’s easier to reach the decision maker when there is urgency.
It’s easier to sell value to the decision maker.
It’s easier to create urgency when you are talking with the decision maker.
They are inter-related milestones and they are game changers.
Let’s explore three scenarios: