Dave Kurlan

  • How to Get Business to Fall From the Sky

    • January 20, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    It’s predictable, phenomenal, and fulfilling. I’m talking about the magic that occurs when you and your salespeople leave their comfort zone and work hard to perform the very activity, behavior and actions which, when left to your own devices, you would choose not to do.  Whether it’s a salesperson who finally:

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  • Sales and Selling – Which Has Evolved More?

    • January 19, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Let’s compare the evolution of selling to the evolution of salespeople.

    Which do you think has evolved more?  After all, both have been around since there has been anything to sell.

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  • The Defining Moments in your Sales Cycle

    • January 13, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What are some of the more subtle, but important, key moments in your sales process that affect every sales outcome?

    If I were to review some recent conversations with clients and their salespeople, crucial accomplishments included:

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  • What is Maximum Effort on the Sales Force?

    • January 11, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    here is a third type of salesperson, one of the elite top 5%, who can consistently maintain maximum effort for much of the year.  But that salesperson isn’t the norm.  So the questions that come from this are these:

    Are the top 5%’ers A players or super human players?

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  • Can the Beatles Help You Close Big Deals?

    • January 8, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Some people didn’t care for any of the three and bought from alternative sources.  Some preferred just one or the other.  And some bought from all three.  They were the big winners of their day.  Who were they?  Try The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones.  Check out the following table which, if they were traditional sellers, could have been used to tout their features and benefits.

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  • When, How and Why Salespeople Discount Products and Services

    • January 6, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When I pick up the dogs, Heather gives me the bill.  When it’s $140, I pay, she gets the dogs for me, and we leave.  However, when the bill is $800, Heather gets really uncomfortable, and begins editing the invoice and always seems to get it under $650. Nice, right?  Only if you’re a customer.  If you’re Bob, the owner, who has no clue she is doing this, what must it be like for him?

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  • Sales Success Secrets From Beyond the Grave

    • January 5, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Warning. I have included some very controversial material in this article so I’ll start with the easy stuff and finish with the material you may not want to read. I have some insights from three totally unrelated books as well as an unrelated article that I had a chance to read last week. I found common themes that relate directly to sales and sales management success. 

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  • The Holidays are a Great Metaphor for Sales Success

    • December 22, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Which do you anticipate more?

    The gifts that you will receive?  What will it be?  Could it be what you were hoping for?  Will it be smelly socks? Will you have to return it? Will you love it? Will you hate it?

    Or…

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  • Your Sales and Sales Management Questions Answered Part I

    • December 15, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In an article last week, I provided the post to a sales competency contest. The final question in that survey asked the participants for any sales issues they needed help with. Today I’ll answer the first four of those questions below:

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  • Sales Assessment Completion Time May Impact Validity of the Findings

    • December 14, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    How would you like to influence the development of our never-ending quest for improvement in our suite of world-class assessment tools?  We constantly seek ways to expand our world-class insights, legendary accuracy, and real-world relevance.

    I just reviewed some new data that shows the percentage of Sales Candidate Assessments that are completed in a particular amount of time.  

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