Search Results
-
The New Salesenomics
- May 24, 2019
- Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
-
The 14 Lies Preventing Salespeople From Getting Their Prospects into a Buying State of Mind
- May 17, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Let’s cover some of the lies being told to companies with sales organizations and how those lies prevent sales organizations from being their best. Over the past 10-20 years, we have seen and heard the following proclamations (and you can find most of them with this Google search link:
-
Six Overlooked Factors When Hiring Salespeople
- April 11, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I’ve been sick with my annual bout of asthmatic bronchitis – fun stuff – and the question I’ve been asking myself is, “how long will it last this year?” Historically, it’s takes 2-4 weeks for this to subside and it sucks big time during that 2-4 weeks. But thinking about time frames got me thinking about one of the universal timelines and challenges facing companies everywhere.
How long should it take for a new salesperson to become successful and why do so many of them fail?
-
The 21-Day Solution for the Toughest Sales Weaknesses
- April 5, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I wrote a popular article called, How the Rubber Band Sabotages Sales Performance. That article discussed six competencies specific to Sales DNA and the impact those six have on performance when they appear as weaknesses. At the end of last week’s article, I promised to introduce a solution to you within a week and true to my promise, the solution follows.
-
One Question Provides Salespeople with Instant Feedback on How Well They Differentiated
- March 13, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Most salespeople do not know the difference between their prospects’ decision-making process compared with their decision-making criteria.
What’s worse is that even more salespeople don’t even bother asking about it. According to data from Objective Management Group (OMG) who has evaluated/assessed 1,843,105 salespeople, only 27% of all salespeople are strong qualifiers so it’s likely that the majority are not asking.
If you do ask a prospect about their decision-making process, you might hear about the steps they will take. If you ask about criteria, you might hear about the topics they’ll consider when they make their decision.
I’ll take you through an example.
-
Dave Kurlan’s 10 Rules for Effective Sales Emails That Connect With New Prospects
- March 10, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
They aren’t personal, they aren’t written well, their messages are identical, you want to delete them and I know you get these emails too. I had already decided to save some of these worthless emails for an upcoming article when Keenan posted this rant on LinkedIn. After you read his rant and related comments, please return to my article for a short tutorial on what’s wrong with these emails and how to make them stickier.
-
The Top 8 Requirements for Becoming a Great Salesperson
- January 14, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Do you remember the moment you became a Salesperson? Not a presenter, Not an order taker, but a true consultative sales professional?
Here are some guidelines to identify the moment you turned professional.
-
Popularity Polls are Just Like Sales Management Tracking Metrics!
- January 8, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Have you ever watched a news program where they presented poll results, like the number of people in favor of legalizing marijuana? The poll shows popular opinion, but not the facts, logic, or impact on arrests, the economy, traffic accidents, unemployment, addiction, death rates, etc. There is a huge difference between people’s often uninformed opinions, versus what the facts might suggest. That’s the problem with the statistics I’m going to share in this article. The stats show what sales managers are doing but those managers are largely uninformed. They don’t know what’s good for them, haven’t been asked or held accountable to doing it differently, and aren’t in any way shape or form following best practices. John Pattison, Objective Management Group’s COO, mined some data on salespeople who report to sales managers. I was appalled by what I saw. Check this out!
-
The Top 10 Sales Articles of 2018
- December 13, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
-
Why are Half of All Sales Reps Still Missing Quota in a Booming US Economy?
- December 10, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Between 2010 and 2016, and soaring revenue during 2017-2018, the percentage of reps making quota has not only remained flat, but the percentage hasn’t even returned to pre 2008 rates. This article attempts to explain why.