Search Results

  • Is Your Sales Force More Like a Dunkin’, Starbucks or Panera Drive Thru?

    • January 21, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This all begs the question, is the sales force at your company more like the Dunkin’, Starbucks, or Panera drive-thru?  Today’s article will explain how to answer that question.

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  • How the Rubber Band Sabotages Sales Performance

    • April 1, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I have written many articles about Sales DNA, the combination of strengths that support sales process, sales strategy and sales tactics; or, when it appears as a weakness and sabotages ones ability to execute.

    Unlike strategies and tactics, where you can learn and apply them, improving your Sales DNA requires much more effort and time.  

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  • 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. 

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  • 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. 

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  • Discovered – Data Reveals the Second Biggest Obstacle to Closing More Sales

    • May 7, 2018
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Whichever way you turn, wherever you look, and whatever you listen to there is data. Polls, surveys, metrics, analytics, analyses, white papers, graphs, charts, infographics, tables, spreadsheets and more. There is data everywhere. 5 of my last 10 articles were based on data and I know that my regular readers love the articles that are based on data so I am writing about data again today.

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  • Discovered – Data Reveals the Biggest Obstacle to Closing More Sales

    • April 30, 2018
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Humans have been waiting for thousands of years to discover the secrets of life.  Why are we here?  Why do bad things happen?  What happens after we die?  Is Heaven real?  What is God’s plan for us?

    While many experts have attempted to answer all of these questions, most of us lack proof. There’s no data.  If we wake up tomorrow morning and suddenly there are not only answers to these questions, but science-based proof, that would be a game-changer for us.

    Likewise, every day most companies try to determine why their salespeople don’t close more business, why so many opportunities die on the vine, and what they need to do differently to change their results.  They try everything!  Most leaders think it’s an issue of closing skills.  It’s not.  Others think it’s about prospecting.  While that has an impact on the size and quality of the pipeline, it has little to do with results.  But I have discovered the cause, will show you the data, and discuss how to fix it.

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  • 4 Reasons Why Salespeople Suck at Consultative Selling.

    • September 26, 2017
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Yesterday, a sales manager I was coaching asked me to explain the difference between a great question and a tough question.  I gave him the one-minute version but this article has the expanded version of that answer.

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  • Sales Effectiveness – How to Win Every RFP That You Respond To

    • June 19, 2017
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I am amazed by the sheer number of salespeople who believe they must respond to an RFP, RFQ or RFI.  The resources, including people, time and money, required to respond to the specs from just one of these requests is daunting.  Some companies have so many requests coming in that they spend all of their time responding to them.  This is crazy!  Do you respond to every email you receive? Every call you get?  After all, it’s a request, not a demand.  So why the frenzy over responding and replying so quickly?  You won’t believe some of the reasons!

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  • Preppers – Who They are and What They Share with Elite Salespeople

    • March 28, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

     As you know, urgency leads to action and that brings us to our topic.  Who are Preppers and what do they share with Elite Salespeople?

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  • Must Read – This Email Proves How Poorly the Bottom 74% of Salespeople Perform

    • February 17, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Ken is one of my longtime readers, a former client, and last week he sent this note expressing his frustrations as a buyer of services.  I’ll add my comments and conclusions at the end of his note.

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