harvard business review

  • Not The Top 20 Attributes of Successful Salespeople

    • August 1, 2022
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The article was 100% junk science and to use the word science would be a disservice to the word junk. Below, you’ll find five reasons why this article was so wrong, so bad, so misleading, so pitiful, and just plain stupid:

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  • Why Do You Think That Harvard Business Review Does This When it Comes to Sales?

    • November 18, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The most recent example of Harvard Business Review and sales stupidity came earlier this month when they ran an article on social selling being the solution to prevent salespeople from becoming obsolete.  I wrote this article on LinkedIn bring it to light and differentiate fact from fiction.

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  • HBR or OMG – Whose Criteria Really Differentiate the Top and Bottom 10% of Salespeople?

    • August 22, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In their June 20, 2016 article, A Portrait of the Overperforming Salesperson, HBR identified several traits, attitudes and actions that they claim differentiate the top from bottom performers.  I’ll summarize it for you below and then explain why I believe it is junk.  The findings include:

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  • Has the Sales Profile of an A Player Changed Dramatically?

    • February 3, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Recently, a number of readers asked me to review two articles which they thought were right up my alley.  Apparently they thirst for one of my specialties – poking holes in articles that are just plain wrong about hiring salespeople.  It’s not that I enjoy ripping articles apart, it’s just that I don’t have any tolerance for authors who either don’t know what they are talking about, don’t have any science backing them up, or use examples that can’t be replicated across industries, markets and geographies.  Shall we dig in?

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  • More Junk Sales Science in HBR Blog

    • April 14, 2015
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What do donuts, chips, cake and ice cream have in common with some of the articles that are written and published about salespeople, sales selection and assessments? That’s right, they are all junk and junk is bad for you to consume. Over the years, there has been no better source of junk science written about sales and salespeople than the reputable Harvard Business Review Blog. Recently, they put out another absurdly awful piece, this one written by sales consultant, Steve Martin. As most of these articles do, “What Separates the Strongest Salespeople from the Weakest” attempts to use personality and conditions to differentiate the two groups. This comes on the heels of another horrible article I called out in March 2015, which led to this amazing epic debate on the science of sales, sales assessments, and sales selection. This is why this latest HBR article is yet another example of junk science.

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  • Harvard Business Review Blog Off Target on Sales Greatness

    • March 5, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This recent article in the Harvard Business Review Blog was as far off target as any I have ever debunked.  Steve Martin lists 7 characteristics that he says differentiate great sales forces from good ones.  His seven are:

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  • Is SELLING an Afterthought in Today’s Sales Model?

    • August 16, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I believe that the blog at Harvard Business Review believes that it is.  Once again, HBR was nice enough to run another article for me to dig into.

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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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  • Top 10 Questions for Salespeople to Ask and Stay Away From

    • October 12, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The theme of my recent posts has centered around links sent by readers, asking me to weigh in with a counterpoint to the conclusions drawn in the  articles.  Today, I address yet another Harvard Business Review Blog article (how many misguided HBR Blog articles are there?), this one about the Single Worst Question a salesperson can ask.

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  • Harvard Business Review Hit and Then Missed the Mark on Sales

    • November 16, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Their conclusion was that everyone receives sales training on presentation and pitch but not on rising to the challenge and customer interaction.  They recommended that salespeople should get more training in those areas where they haven’t developed the other skills.  You don’t say…

    OK, I can’t wait to share my perspective.  Here is how HBR missed the mark:

    In no particular order:

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