Dave Kurlan
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Top 10 Reasons Why it’s Hard for Salespeople to Land BIG ONES
- November 8, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I’ll be the first to admit that selling to big companies can take much longer, may include many starts and stops, musical chairs, committees, task forces, layers of management and additional competition. But beyond those considerable annoyances, what makes it so difficult?
I’ll offer my thoughts and you can feel free to add your own:
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The Latest Astonishing Findings about Sales Managers
- November 7, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This article recently appeared at SalesBenchmarkIndex.com. The number that stood out for me in their report was 83% – as in 83% of first year sales managers don’t make their number. Is that possible? Is it realistic? Is it believable? Can you explain it?
A few thoughts about that…
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The Lion King – Watching a Movie Again Improves Sales Effectiveness
- November 2, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You can watch a movie you haven’t seen for a while and appreciate the things you missed before. Your sales force will experience the exact same benefits from rereading the book, having refresher training, and focusing on the areas they didn’t apply and execute the first time around.
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Embarassed by This Sales Article in The Economist?
- October 31, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
On October 22, The Economist published an article called, The Art of Selling – The Death of the Salesman Has been Greatly Exaggerated. Is the Economist really that far out of touch? I wrote the last of my 5-part Death of Selling Has Been Exaggerated articles 5 years ago! And how long has it been since anyone referred to salespeople at “salesmen”?
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The Secret to Winning Sales Presentations and Public Speaking Success
- October 28, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I spoke to an Entrepreneurial class at Clark University this week, something I’ve been doing once or twice a year for the past 5 years. It’s much more difficult than working with experienced C-Level Executives, Sales Leaders, Sales Managers and Salespeople because the kids don’t have the context, reference points or experiences that professionals have. Despite the difficulty, it’s more fun because they don’t push back, they don’t claim to have heard it before, they don’t say that “it” won’t work in their business, they don’t resist, and they are great learners!
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Hiring Salespeople Who Aren’t Money Motivated – The Offer
- October 27, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Rob asked about the consequences in the hiring process when companies believe they have to offer enough money to get people on board. He wants to know if there are any practical tips to acquire candidates that are intrinsically motivated.
Great question Rob.
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Will This Sales Candidate Really Fail If We Hire Him?
- October 26, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When it says Not Recommended, you really need to believe the science behind the recommendation – if you dare to hire one of these candidates 75% of them will fail inside of 6 months.
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Sales Process is to Religion as Sales Methodology is to Prayer
- October 24, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Whether you have or are a salesperson yourself, if you don’t have BOTH an effective sales process that you follow – religiously – and a sales methodology that you practice – faithfully – you must – convert!
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How Can Strong Salespeople Lack Desire for Success?
- October 20, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This question is kind of funny to me.
Using Objective Management Group’s Sales Candidate Assessment, a company could assess 1,000 salespeople, understand that Lack of Desire for Success in Sales causes an automatic “Not Recommended”, and not be tempted to interview a single candidate who lacks Desire. That is until they introduce a sales candidate that they “know” into the mix.
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Do Your Salespeople Really Understand Pipeline Requirements
- October 19, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
They sent their lessons but didn’t get it right. Their takeaway was that it requires 20 opportunities to sell 1. But that’s not correct. It requires 9 opportunities to sell 1. Why is that distinction important?