Dave Kurlan
-
The Key to Powerful Sales Conversations
- August 28, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Earlier this week, I wrote this article about the importance of using specific words and phrases at specific times.
That article discussed some of the milestones in the sales process where just the right word or phrase can make such a huge (make or break) difference in the direction that the sales call takes. In the article, I mentioned “at just the right time”, but I didn’t elaborate. I’ll correct that omission with the following examples.
-
Specific Words are So Crucial to a Sales Conversation
- August 27, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I just returned from a speaking engagement in Athens and had to stop at passport control several times during this trip. They always ask, “What kind of business?” and over the years I’ve used them all: consulting, speaking, training, business adviser, author, coaching, etc. I’ve learned that if I want to be interrogated, “speaker” would be the answer of choice. If I simply want to answer a few questions, “consultant” will do the trick. But to elicit the desired yawn from the officers, I only need to say “attend a conference.” Words make a huge difference and if you like scripts, you’ll be disappointed. But a well-chosen word or phrase at just the right time can be the difference between a resistant prospect and an intrigued one. Do you pay enough attention to the things you do and say as well as how you say them just before a prospect becomes resistant or more engaged? Well, you should!
-
Do You Need to Save All of those Sales Assessments and Evaluations?
- August 22, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The best reason to save all of those sales candidate assessments which you ran last year can be answered with a few letters: EEOC. That’s right. It’s especially true if you don’t follow the sales hiring process to a “T”, or worse, if you don’t always follow the recommendations on the assessment. Let’s say that you loved one candidate so much that you hired him despite the recommendation not to do so.
-
Why Do Salespeople Forget What They Learn?
- August 21, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Some salespeople are fortunate enough to get trained and/or coached. Maybe it’s an all-day seminar, not really training as much as exposure to some different thinking or approach. We don’t expect anything to change from a single day, so why should you? I went to a short game golf school for a day. It was awesome while I was there, but 4 years later, I can’t do any of the things I learned there. Comprehensive sales training (8-16 months) leads us to expect dramatic change and a significant increase in sales.
-
Get Sales Compensation Right to Recruit Winning Salespeople
- August 13, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Sales candidates, especially good ones, are exponentially more difficult to attract than they were just two years ago. We regularly observe clients struggling when it comes to getting resumes from quality candidates. One of the reasons is compensation.
-
Why Sales Leaders and Salespeople Get Frustrated
- August 6, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You may not have control over external factors or forces but you do have control over how you react to them. Take a step back. Take a deep breath. Clear your head. Start over. Choose one thing that you know you can fix. Take action. Then get help fixing everything that you aren’t sure you can fix. One thing at a time. You can do this.
-
The Great Migration to Inside Sales – Will You Get it Right?
- July 31, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I agree that there is a significant trend toward moving salespeople to the inside. But in general, every company needs to conduct a case justification and every situation should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Making broad statements, that define the general scenarios where sales should be moved inside, simply won’t work for most companies because there will be more exceptions to the guidelines than those that fit.
-
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.
-
Why Can’t We Hire This Sales Candidate?
- July 22, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We interviewed him; she’s from our industry; we really like him; but your assessment says she is not recommended. Why can’t we hire her?
That’s probably the single, most frequently asked question that we hear.
So, to answer the “Why can’t we?” question, there are two more questions:
-
How Much Sales Development Can Leadership Do In-House?
- July 17, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
From time to time, clients want to handle some of the services we provide in-house. “Why can’t we do the sales process ourselves?” They can, but a few questions come to mind. If they didn’t have an effective, efficient, optimized, formal, structured sales process for the last 20 years, where would this expertise suddenly come from to create this process tomorrow? What if they get it wrong?