Search Results

  • Top 10 Ways to Increase Sales

    • October 3, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ll bet that every CEO, President, Director, VP of Sales and Sales Manager asks the “how can we increase sales?” question on a regular basis.  Do you?

    There are as many answers to this question as there are politicians running for US President in 2012.  They include but aren’t limited to:

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  • Does Your Sales Force Have Asthma?

    • September 23, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Both of my parents had Asthma so wouldn’t you think that when I described the sensations to them – my inability to breathe, the burning sensation, and huge fear, they would have recognized the symptoms? They didn’t want me to have Asthma, they didnt’ think I could have Asthma, they didn’t connect the dots to conclude it was Asthma and they didn’t send me to a doctor.  They were in denial.

    The same thing happens with your sales force.  

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  • Red Sox and the Sales Force – Winning and Losing is Contagious

    • September 21, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Of course you can coach, train and develop SOME of the wannabes, but only if they are Committed, Motivated wannabes, that you can hold accountable.

    Either way, winning is contagious  and you must do everything in your power to create a winning environment where success is expected and anything less is not acceptable.

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  • Top 11 Reasons Why Salespeople Fail to Close Sales

    • September 19, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The reason I’m bringing this up is that in most companies, when certain stages of the sales process are not being exectued as they should, executives often don’t know why.  That’s one of the many reasons why we evaluate Sales Forces – to identify root causes of the known (and unknown) problems.  

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  • What’s the Difference Between Sales Commitment and Motivation?

    • September 8, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    “Which is more important in sales – commitment or motivation?”

    Let’s discuss the difference first.

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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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  • If You Structure Your Sales Force Like the Big Companies…

    • July 13, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Yesterday I read a White Paper about structuring sales forces and it got my blood boiling.  It wasn’t that it was a study about sales forces, and it wasn’t that it was a study using large companies.  I got upset because of the conclusion – that you should structure your sales force like the big companies.  

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  • Can Sales Candidate Assessments Drive Results?

    • May 13, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    They claimed that salespeople who scored highest on their assessments had 69% higher close rates.  That’s impressive, right?  But their assessment didn’t drive the results. Those salespeople drove the results.  Their assessment simply indicated that those salespeople would be more successful.  That is what an assessment is supposed to do!  They could just as easily said, “Our assessments do what they’re supposed to do!”

    So let’s take a closer look at a 69% higher close.  It means that if the salespeople with a lower score close 1 of every 10 opportunities, then the strong salespeople, who scored highest on the assessment, will close 69% more of their 10 opportunities, or 1.69.  It’s not nearly as impressive as it sounds, is it?  

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  • Bad Things That Happen When You Leave it Up to Your Salespeople

    • April 27, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Here are the 10 most common things that your salespeople will do when they aren’t managed effectively, or, in many cases, when they are only managed on an as needed basis.

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