Consultative Selling

  • Baseball’s Huge Impact on Sales Performance

    • January 22, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Let’s use Algebra to get a better handle on sales methodology and where it fits in the grand scheme of things.  Consider the following formula:

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  • Drivers and Your Salespeople Need to be Patient

    • November 30, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In order to create urgency and accelerate the sales process, your salespeople actually must slow down their meetings.  Instead though, in much the same way that I rush to get to my next meeting, they rush to the presentation or demo.  To make matters worse, your prospects want your salespeople to present and conduct demos.  They want prices and proposals and your salespeople are too willing to oblige. 

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  • #1 Sales Presentation Tip from October 16 US Presidential Debate

    • October 17, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When your salespeople are invited back to be one of several to present capabilities, value propositions and solutions, the exact same scenario as described above is sure to be played out.  If the prospect liked you going in, they’ll look for opportunities to support your presentation.  If the prospect liked your competitor going in, they’ll look for opportunities to discredit you in any way they can.

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  • 6 Keys to Make All Sales Calls Easy Sales Calls

    • August 28, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Your salespeople can have more easy calls, but you’ll have to change up a few things.  

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  • Another HBR Article on Sales Leaves Me with Mixed Feelings

    • July 20, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was asked to comment on an article called The End of Solution Selling, which appeared in Harvard Business Review.  The article was generally right on, but it also included several things that irritated me enough to question them and the article.

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  • Warning to Sales-Focused Companies Wanting to Stay Relevant

    • May 30, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Mike Myatt wrote an article for Forbes‘ online site called, To Increase Revenue Stop Selling. This article has been very heavily viewed and commented. I don’t agree with most of Mike’s suggestions, but in his defense, he is not a sales expert, sales writer, sales manager, sales leader or salesperson. He simply doesn’t like being pitched or sold to and urges salespeople (he doesn’t want them to sell or be called that) to simply let him buy – when he wants, where he wants, how he wants, from whom he wants, and for prices he is comfortable paying. Sounds like retail, doesn’t it?

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  • Do Chain Reactions Like This Really Occur When Selling?

    • May 8, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Mary always succeeded in finding new opportunities, but her weaknesses, especially her Need for Approval, Discomfort Talking About Money, and Tendency to Become Emotionally Involved, would usually interfere with her ability to gain traction and close the sale.  During the past year, she has improved enough so that she is not only finding new business, but closing it too.  But she isn’t out of the woods yet.

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  • Challenges Don’t Always Require a Complete Sales Force Makeover

    • April 19, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Many of the Sales Force Evaluations provided by Objective Management Group (OMG) reveal that the company’s problems run so deep that they will require a complete sales force makeover.  However, it doesn’t always have to be that way.  Sometimes, a single word, question or statement will change how every prospect responds.

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  • Does Your Sales Force Look Like This?

    • April 12, 2012
    • Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I shared just a few of the charts, graphs and tables, which we include in a sales force evaluation when we are answering common, but difficult, business questions such as:

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  • Get Your Sales Force to Perform Magic and Make Sales Appear!

    • January 5, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    We don’t talk about it much but sales has a lot of magic to it.

    We disguise the magic and call it art, but when people are unable to describe how it actually works it must be magic.  Want an example?

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