Search Results
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Top 10 Criteria for a Qualified Sales Presentation
- August 17, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Salespeople should not be allowed to present until their prospects have yielded the right of way. Where intelligent pedestrians qualify the opportunity to cross, intelligent salespeople qualify the opportunity to present.
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What it Takes to Make Your Sales Pipeline Accurate & Predictive
- August 5, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, while speaking in DC, I asked my usual questions, but the response to one of the questions left me scratching my head. It wasn’t a new question; as a matter of fact, I’ve been asking it for years. And, as you can see below, I’ve been writing about the pipeline in various ways for years:
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25 or 6 to 4 and your Sales Force
- August 1, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
That 14-year swing is huge. You can’t afford to have your salespeople behaving like facilitators, order takers, account managers and amateurs – ever. You need them to be proactive – selling consultatively, everywhere, and always.
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Top 5 Sales Presentation Tips
- July 18, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The one area where salespeople appear to be most comfortable and confident is when they are presenting. That is when they feel like they are in control and, unlike listening and asking questions, it is when they believe they can do a great job. The problem is that most salespeople do not understand how to present in the most effective ways. Here are some examples of what they do wrong and some easy to learn adjustments:
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Top 8 Reasons Your Biggest Sale May Not be Your Best Sale
- July 12, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Sometimes your biggest sale isn’t your best sale. When biggest isn’t best, sometimes it is because:
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Do Your Salespeople Have to Give Up Control to Their Prospects?
- September 17, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I disagree with his article when he implies that we should be resigned to the fact that there isn’t much to be done except building trust until the prospect is ready to engage.
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Xobni as Sales Assistant, Pivots Help Close Sales
- May 6, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My guest on yesterday’s edition of Meet the Sales Experts was Matt Brezina, the co-founder of Xobni. Do you have Xobni on your computer? If you do, you know just how helpful it is. If you don’t, all you need to know is that it will make you more you MUCH more productive with your Outlook or Blackberry email applications. Listen to the show to learn more about it or visit their web site.
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Secrets of Effective Sales Development
- March 29, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
“I’ve heard it all before.”
That comment applies to the music AND it can be attributed to some veteran salespeople after reacting to their first day of sales training. No matter what you read about selling, not much has changed in the last 40 years. Even my book, Baseline Selling, is based on concepts that go back as far as 1935. Did I improve on those concepts? Yes! But Selling itself is not a new concept.
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Great Sales Opportunities That Don’t Close
- March 2, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If getting opportunities into the pipeline is the most universal sales challenge, then getting opportunities closed comes in a close second. I’m talking about prospects who aren’t ready to say, “yes” but are still “very interested”. These calls pose problems for salespeople for several reasons:
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How to Get Salespeople to Stop Resisting Change
- March 1, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Some Professional Sales Development Experts are adept at overcoming resistance. But sales managers not so much. Salespeople may resist: