Search Results
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Why Doesn’t Sales Methodology Get More Attention?
- January 14, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This brings me to my original question, “Why doesn’t sales methodology get more attention from authors, writers and bloggers, and why does sales process get most of the coverage?”
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How Frequently Does Fear Play a Part in Sales?
- November 6, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Fear of failing doesn’t affect everyone that sells. The elite 6% are certainly immune to it, and most of the next 20% aren’t affected too much by it either. But the remaining 74% – the group that basically sucks – battles the fear of failing on a daily basis.
That fear – and most salespeople aren’t even consciously aware of it – prevents them from
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Top 5 Reasons Why Salespeople Don’t Qualify Effectively
- April 17, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week, I posted this article in reference to an Inc. Magazine article that was way off base about Consultative Selling. It led to a significant number of comments with one of them being this question:
“Dave, in your opinion, with all the training that is available and has been delivered to sales people over the years, how come sales people still fail at executing an effective approach to qualifying a prospect. Forget what we want to call the approach. Just basic fundamentals like asking questions. This is known throughout the selling universe but sales people still suck at this. How come?”
Great question. Here are my top 6 reasons why:
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Fewer Sample Requests and Sales Proposals – What’s Wrong?
- April 10, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Now, instead of sample requests, they’re getting commitments to do business and when they are ready, the sample requests lead to sales. My client agreed.
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Harvard Business Review Blog Post Gets Salespeople Wrong
- August 9, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The Blog at the Harvard Business Review recently ran this article about the top seven personality traits of successful salespeople. Thanks to Peter for sending this along to me.
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What Meteorologists Have in Common with Salespeople
- January 19, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Wow! A plowable snow event. No hype, no accumulation predictions, no mystery about the ever-moving rain/snow line, no warnings about treacherous travel, no details about the track of the storm and where it might go, just a “plowable snow event”. The excitement and exhaustion from the previous 3 storms had surely numbed her senses.
How does this apply to your sales force?
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Compelling Reasons for Your Salespeople to Go Mobile
- June 14, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Good Sales Managers know how important it is for their salespeople to uncover needs.
But it goes way beyond needs.
As I detail in Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball, it requires that your salespeople learn about their prospects’ compelling reasons to buy. Not just their needs. The issues, problems and frustrations – and even the consequences – that would cause them to spend money and spend it with your company, instead of your competitor.
But it goes well beyond compelling reasons.
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Are Sales Cycles Really Getting Shorter?
- December 11, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I read an article that claimed that winning sales cycles are getting shorter.
While I agree with everything else in the article, I questioned the 23% shorter because our substantial data does not support this claim. So where could the discrepancy be?
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Sales Management – Most Important Functions in the Sales Process
- July 8, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
As you can see, coaching, albeit different coaching , is required for each base. Motivation is most important for getting your salespeople to first base while pipeline management and accountability are crucial along the way.
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Sales Best Practices – Not
- March 24, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the difference between company A and B. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to implement the process either. But it does take more than a 60 day commitment to the new process. When it’s been broken for a decade it doesn’t get fixed in a calendar quarter.