Search Results
-
Could Lost Deals Correlate with Sales Success?
- September 20, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I love looking for correlations and causation and we use causation to build predictive sales scorecards. Nobody closes 100% of their closable opportunities but with a properly constructed scorecard, you’ll know the opportunities on which to devote your resources, and which opportunities would be best to lose as fast as you can.
-
Baby Fish and New Salespeople Experience the Same Fate
- August 1, 2024
- Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If your turnover is less than 10% you have a turnover problem – not enough turnover! If your turnover is between 10-20% you’re good. If it’s greater than 20% it’s worth exploring what is contributing to your high turnover rate and how to fix it. Sometimes it’s because you are hiring the wrong salespeople. Sometimes it’s lack of effective onboarding, lack of effective sales training, lack of coaching, lack of accountability, or lack of leadership.
-
How Practice Can Increase Sales and Commissions by 33%
- July 9, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Uncategorized, Understanding the Sales Force
According to data from more than 2.5 million salespeople assessed by Objective Management Group (OMG), only 72% of all salespeople are committed to their sales success and if we look at the largest population – the weakest 50% – only a little more than half of that group are committed. Why would they practice?
-
Stop the Dysfunction in the Sales Function
- June 17, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
For some reason, a plurality of executives think way too highly of their company’s sales capabilities and believe they will figure it out themselves. Egos and hurt feelings take priority over best practices, right people in the right seats, sales competencies and sales processes.
-
Winning and Retaining Business When There is Competition
- April 30, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We were away for most of April, watching our son play his senior year of college baseball. When we left Massachusetts, the calendar said early April, the grass and gardens were still dormant and the weather felt like mid-January with some games played in 25-degree wind chills!
When we returned home three weeks later, we looked outside and saw life! Flowers were in bloom, the Bradford Pears and Crab Apple trees had blossoms, and the green grass had already been mowed a couple of times. Although we weren’t there, nature did its thing without us.
Pivot to sales.
It doesn’t matter whether salespeople are in account management or account executive roles. The sales equivalent of nature at work occurs at both target accounts and existing accounts. When salespeople aren’t physically present or on the phone with decision makers at the account, it is likely that one of their competitors is physically present or on the phone competing for the business or trying to take their business away. Just because a salesperson doesn’t see or hear about it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
What can you do?
-
250 Best Articles on Sales and Sales Leadership by Category
- April 4, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
These are the top 10 articles in 25 categories on sales, sales leadership, sales assessments, sales performance, sales excellence, sales process and more.
-
10 Unfavorable Selling Conditions That Prevent Sales Success
- March 25, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When you encounter unfavorable selling conditions, refuse to accept them. This isn’t about moving forward with a couple of favorable conditions, it’s about NOT moving forward unless the conditions become more favorable. Whether or not you wish to admit it, the truth is that when the conditions don’t favor you, the business isn’t coming to you.
-
New Data: Top Salespeople are 7562% Better at Winning RFPs
- March 13, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
RFPs aren’t going away, and there are two ways that salespeople can approach them, the companies that write them, and the people associated with them:
Passively – in this capacity, they are nothing more than facilitators, waiting for an RFP to drop in their inbox, so they can get it off to the folks who write the proposals. When complete, they email the proposal back to procurement and hope to win.
Proactively – in this capacity, they regularly meet and develop relationships with the appropriate CxO’s and Sr VP’s of manufacturing, engineering, design, IT, IS, Finance, Marketing, HR, R&D, Operations, Facilities, Fulfillment, Distribution, Sales, Learning and Development, Enablement, and any other organizational head they might possibly sell to. They become a resource, an asset, a partner and not only help to write the specifications of the next RFP, but write the specs in such a way that they are the only company that can win the business.It seems obvious, doesn’t it? Option 1 is stupid and Option 2 is brilliant. But if option 2 is so brilliant and obvious, then why do so many salespeople become so defensive and dug in to option 1?
-
Focus on Winning to Drive More Sales and Revenue
- February 20, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In baseball, the coaching staff gets a report from their advanced scouts and from that report the coaches create a game plan. How to pitch to that hitter, how to get this hitter out, what to expect from this pitcher, what pitch he likes to throw when he’s ahead in the count, the strength and accuracy of the outfield arms, etc.
Some companies do some account planning for major accounts, but not nearly enough of this takes place.
What will happen to your business if you spend more time thinking about how to win, and less time focusing on your numbers?
-
Sales Process for the Anti-Sales Process Crowd
- January 31, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You can look at sales process any way you want but if what you want are more consistent, predictable results, in a framework that supports sales coaching, then you want a customized, formal, milestone-centric, customer-focused sales process and scorecard!