Search Results
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Hidden Sales Competition and Why it Could Happen to You
- September 27, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Have you ever had a sales opportunity that was completely under control, you were following your sales process, everything was looking great, and then, from out of nowhere and without warning, surprise competitors appeared?
Yes, the magic mushroom competitors!
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Senate Confirmation Hearings Shows Us What Salespeople Do Wrong Every Day
- October 12, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Oh no, another post on the political climate. Don’t worry, I’m not taking sides, I’ll be right down the middle, and very critical of both sides. And stay with me for the pivot to the good stuff – my sales analysis. Here goes!
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How to Raise the Incomes of Minimum Wage Workers Without Wealth Distribution or Socialism
- June 5, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Minimum wage employees are forced into those low paying jobs and the wealthiest Americans are to blame. Why can’t low hourly wage workers seek and earn better paying jobs? Is it lack of skills? Lack of motivation? Lack of commitment? Lack of education? Lack of opportunity? Lack of training?
Why not sales? Selling is a profession that employs 16 million in the US alone and for most sales jobs, especially with today’s lack of candidates, there is a laundry list of qualifications that are NOT required:
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Improper Use of BANT Will Cause You to Kill Opportunities
- April 26, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I received an email asking me to check out an article on the Salesforce.com blog that features an infographic they hoped I would promote.
The article focuses on the middle of the funnel and the handoff between marketing and sales. In doing so, they discuss MQL’s (Marketing Qualified Leads) and SQL’s (Sales Qualified Leads). While I don’t have an issue with the infographic, I have huge issues with the content of the article and if you follow the advice in this article, you’ll have far fewer MQL’s that your salespeople can turn into SQL’s.
Here’s why.
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Salesperson’s Terrible Reaction Part 2
- October 31, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I posted a very short article where I discussed one salesperson’s reaction to a great sales role play. I received a number of emails telling me how helpful the video, story and lessons were.
The article highlighted Self-Limiting beliefs or negative self talk. Today we will take it a step further and discuss the other things that could have been at play – hidden weaknesses – and the interference they cause salespeople while selling to their prospects. Like chains, salespeople are only as strong as their weakest link…
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I Admit it – Why Words in Selling Really Are Important
- October 5, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When it comes to words, there was probably nobody more clever than the comedic genius George Carlin. The video below is the funniest and best example of his use of words. Watch that and then we’ll talk about how the same premise applies to sales.
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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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Sales Hacks and How to Improve Your Lead Follow Up Conversions
- August 31, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I have previously written about how important it is to quickly and consistently follow up on inbound leads. This article from September of 2013 included two great infographics that demonstrate lead conversion statistics. However, Russ, from FindAccountingSoftware.com, emailed me a link to this case study on 63,256 outbound calls that has much more specific, useful information.
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How to End the Sales & Marketing Argument
- May 11, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Republicans and Democrats argue all the time. Fans of long-time rival sports teams argue too, regardless of whether the rivalry is at the high school, college or pro level. Players argue with umpires, referees and judges. Kids argue with their parents and everyone argues with their cable company and wireless phone providers. So why is it so hard to understand why marketing argues with sales?
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Baseline Selling Field Guide
- January 20, 2015
- Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
- Categories: