Search Results
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20 Ways Salespeople Waste Time and Lose Money
- August 31, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I was thinking about how salespeople chase their tails and waste time that could be better utilized on actual selling activities. Here are the first twenty time-wasting tail-chasing things that came to mind and they all reflect some degree of lack of commitment, lack of discipline, lack of consistency and excuse making:
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Hiring Salespeople – How Deadpool Would Fare as a Sales Candidate
- August 16, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Hiring salespeople doesn’t have to be complicated but most companies get the entire process wrong from expectations, to job description, specs, job posting, vetting, phone interview, first interview, final interview, selection and on-boarding. The companies we help attract more candidates, better quality candidates, conduct fewer interviews, have significantly less turnover, and new salespeople producing out of the gate. We could probably help you too, but you must want the help. That means getting your ego out of the way, embracing a different way to hire salespeople, paying for the help, and being more patient than before. If you are willing to do that, you can be a big winner and build a kick-ass sales team.
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Is Sales Today Nothing More than its Tech Stack?
- August 9, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If you are on the sales team in any function, focus on selling and ignore the noise and distractions of anything that isn’t directly helping you develop your skills to book more meetings, improve your ability to reach decision makers, build relationships and trust, take a consultative approach, sell value, qualify and close business.
To everything else simply say “fuck off.”
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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.
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Onboarding and 11 Reasons Why Salespeople are Failing
- May 8, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When it comes to sales onboarding, nearly half were not onboarded in their first sales job and 23% more received no sales training relative to how the company’s products/services should be sold. If you were one of those new salespeople, it will come as no surprise but for the rest, and especially those of us who invested in our careers, became students of selling or like me, entered the field of sales development, it’s malpractice practiced at scale by millions of companies. They believe that salespeople should just know what they’re supposed to do and figure it out. How hard can it be? Ha!
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Use Sales Scorecards Because People are Fickle
- April 24, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A properly constructed sales scorecard objectively scores an opportunity and accurately predicts whether or not you will win the business. Not to be confused with a marketing scorecard which scores a lead based on how closely it comes to your target customer, a sales scorecard assigns weighted points based on whether the buying conditions are consistent with those that typically result in a win.
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Exposing the DIY Sales Organization
- April 22, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When it comes to the ten best practices for sales organizations, most CEOs, CROs, CSOs, and Sales Managers lack the expertise in much the same way I lack the expertise to professionally construct landscaping, built-in cabinetry, and even Smoothies. We can do those things, but the DIY work product pales in comparison to a professional’s work product.
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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.
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Was the Easter Sermon About Salespeople?
- April 1, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
As someone who for thirty-eight years has led a sales consultancy specializing in sales, sales management and sales leadership training, I can easily say the exact same things about people “who belong” to the sales profession. They should be attending at least weekly training. They should be practicing their profession as we practice our faith. They should be reading about sales. But most in the sales profession are content to sit on the sidelines, and attend training only when the company forces them to. More and more, we are seeing:
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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.