Dave Kurlan
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Salespeople Must Use & Embrace Life’s Most Embarrassing Moments
- September 27, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Can you remember that time, back in school, when you did something so embarrassing that you wanted to run away and hide forever? Of course you do – it was all about you. But I will wager any amount of money that you are the only one who remembers. The others who were there that day and anyone you might have told have long forgotten. It – wasn’t – about – them.
The same phenomenon applies to selling.
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Sales Managers Must Make Sure That This Never Happens
- September 26, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You are driving down the highway and see an enormous truck in your side mirror. The truck is moving very fast – twice your speed – and closing in quickly. You continue to look in the mirror and because of the way your side mirror is shaped, it appears that the closer the truck gets, the more likely it seems that the truck will simply run right over you. You accelerate a little, keeping watch on that mirror and then it happens. You miss the sharp bend in the road and drive off the cliff.
This short story is the real-world equivalent to something which often occurs with your salespeople.
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Getting Excited About New Sales Opportunities
- September 24, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Why do salespeople get more excited about big sales opportunities than they do about strong sales opportunities? I don’t know about you, but I get much more excited about an opportunity which has a strong likelihood of closing than a big one that at best has less than a 50% chance. What about you?
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Compromises in Sales Candidate Assessments Compromise Revenue
- September 19, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Experience has demonstrated that there are three areas where companies tend to compromise with sales candidate assessments and those compromises always lead to revenue shortages:
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Is a Lost Sale Better for Salespeople Than a Win?
- September 17, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This got me thinking about sales and whether the same reactions to wins and losses in sports held true for wins and losses in selling. There is a huge difference between sports and selling:
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Targeting Sales Opportunities – The Hidden Truth
- September 10, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We frequently discuss reasons why salespeople fail, the differences between successful and unsuccessful salespeople, and scenarios where salespeople make good versus bad choices. Those aren’t the only topics which separate good selling from bad. Salespeople make other decisions which impact the likelihood for success and today’s article takes a look at one of those.
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Make Your Salespeople Focus on This to Grow the Business
- September 5, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Let’s focus on the only tool more important than the calendar and task list – your pipeline management tool. Most salespeople, despite dozens of CRM applications from which to choose, still don’t fully comprehend pipeline management. And if they don’t get it, they probably aren’t managing it!
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2 Keys to Selling Success from Ann Romney and Chris Christie
- August 29, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I have been delivering that message for more than 20 years, not to citizens who must vote for a candidate, but to sales leadership, sales management and salespeople who let their need for approval – their need to be liked – interfere with every facet of what they do.
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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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Music and Selling – There are Many More Similarities Than You Think
- August 22, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It appears that I have written enough articles about music and selling to include a series about the connection. One of the constants in the music business is that the artists must choose between writing and recording songs that are either consistent with what made them famous (giving their core audience more of what they want) or adapting and creating music which would appeal to a potentially newer audience (and perhaps alienating their core audience.) I think that Paul Simon chose the latter and alienated everyone!