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Dave Kurlan

  • Top 10 Ways to Increase Sales
    • October 3, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ll bet that every CEO, President, Director, VP of Sales and Sales Manager asks the “how can we increase sales?” question on a regular basis.  Do you?

    There are as many answers to this question as there are politicians running

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  • The Sales Interview – When One Candidate is Actually Two?
    • September 30, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    sales candidate showing mixed signalsSuppose you are interviewing a candidate and there is a whole lot to like.  On the other hand, you observe and hear some things that you don’t like.

    Suppose you have a great first interview with a candidate but you

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  • The Difference Between Sales Commitment and Work Ethic
    • September 29, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When a sales force evaluation shows that a salesperson lacks commitment, the most likely remark we hear from management is usually, “but he has such a good work ethic!”  When we ask what they mean by “work ethic”, management often

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  • 12 Differences Between Your Salespeople and Sales Candidates
    • September 28, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was reviewing data for a recent subset of the salespeople that Objective Management Group has assessed and  was analyzing the distribution of the Commitment finding when I decided to separate the findings into two groups:

    1. Sales Candidates – those
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  • Top 15 Questions That Prospects Ask Themselves
    • September 27, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Following up yesterday’s Moneyball article, here are some more new things for you to think about.

    When your salespeople are in front of or on the phone with prospects, do they ever think in terms of whether their prospects:

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  • Does Moneyball Work for the Sales Force?
    • September 26, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    moneyball.coverThe movie was great – much more drama than the book – but the book contained many more insights about the revolutionary new way to see performance through statistics.  More on that in a minute…

    Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics

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  • Does Your Sales Force Have Asthma?
    • September 23, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When I was young, my lungs would literally burn when I exerted myself on hot, humid days.  It wasn’t until I reached my forties and experienced similar symptoms that I recognized that I had Asthma as a kid.  But that’s

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  • Cold Calling Example – Best and Worst in a Single Sales Call
    • September 22, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    voice mail messageToday I received the best and worst sales cold call ever – all from the same salesperson.  It started with a voice mail where he expertly left his name, number and not much else – so I had to call

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  • Red Sox and the Sales Force – Winning and Losing is Contagious
    • September 21, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    redsoxThe Red Sox began the 2011 baseball season by losing 10 of their first 12 games.  So what?  Before the season began most experts predicted that the 2011 Red Sox could be the best team ever!  Yet despite all of

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  • Top 11 Reasons Why Salespeople Fail to Close Sales
    • September 19, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    stop sign

    Today I coached a salesperson who thought he had call reluctance – but I didn’t agree.  He was pushing through, making calls – although not as many as he should.  He has some need for approval – but since he

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