sales assessments

  • Bob Chronicles Part 6 – When Salespeople Suddenly Make Things Your Problem

    • January 20, 2022
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Bob was informed 2 weeks ago that an important customer proposal would be due by the end of business today. At 4pm, Bob was in a panic, screaming that he needed pricing in the next 10 minutes or you’ll lose the business.  Suddenly it has become your problem.

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  • Top 10 Sales and Sales Leadership Articles of 2021

    • December 7, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    There are several criteria for choosing the top articles of the year, including, but not limited to:

    Views (Article)
    Popularity (likes on LinkedIn and Twitter)
    Engagement (comments to the article, via email, and on LinkedIn)
    Personal (my favorites)
    Value (insights for the community)

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  • Nothing Beats This One Tool When You Can’t Sell Face to Face

    • August 19, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    There are some misguided selling strategies that can be undone and in today’s article we’ll discuss the benefits of the single tool that is the real deal and a huge difference maker.

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  • The Bob Chronicles Part 5 – Bob Can’t Win This Argument Over a Sales Core Competency

    • June 22, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    OMG has assessed more than 2 million salespeople and measures their sales capabilities in 21 Sales Core Competencies.  While some might not like their scores, most salespeople agree with our findings because they are extremely accurate.  However, there is one competency of the 21 that causes salespeople to dig in, disagree, and push back.  Today I will explain the competency and share yesterday’s conversation with Bob.  For new readers, and those who don’t remember, Bob tends to get himself into trouble and is representative of all weak salespeople.

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  • Data Shows That Your Sales Team is No Different Than Your Lawn

    • November 20, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    But why do sales teams continue to fail, year after year, regardless of industry, and in every economy?  Why don’t the numbers improve?  Why don’t more salespeople jump from C’s to B’s?  From B’s to A’s?  From D’s to C’s?  The answers – and there are plenty – are evasive.  But let’s try!

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  • New Data Shows an Overlooked Finding Correlates to Sales Effectiveness

    • October 15, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Compatibility is not only important, it could be one of the most overlooked criteria in hiring sales candidates.  Let’s do a deep dive! 

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  • 15 Lessons Learned from Converting a Multi-Day Conference to a Virtual Online Event

    • April 6, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What a month it’s been!  Not only how the Covid-19 virus has changed our lives and sent us to work from home, but how we are conducting our businesses from home.  Green screens, virtual backgrounds, video calls and meetings, team chats, video team huddles, a blur between days, working hours and relaxing hours, and more.  In today’s article I’m going off topic so that I can share how we converted Objective Management Group’s (OMG) 4-day Boston International Sales Experts Conference for OMG Partners, to a 3-Day Virtual Event on short notice, as well as the lessons learned so that you might be able to accomplish the same things that we did.

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  • The Deal Breaker That Prevents you From Hiring a Great Salesperson

    • January 13, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    One of the questions we are often asked by HR Directors is, “Can people game the OMG assessment?”  Of course they can try, but we have a very effective algorithm that smokes out those who attempt to cheat.  It doesn’t happen very often that somebody attempts a big cheat but when it does, it’s almost magical in the way we uncover them.

    There is a very small percentage of salespeople who attempt an all out cheat.  This unethical group can usually be found in the category of weak salespeople – the bottom 50% – which explains why they think they need to cheat.  But what happens if a good salesperson attempts to game the system?  What would that look like?

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  • Good Sales Recruiting is Like Selecting Movies and TV Shows

    • November 5, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do you like movies and TV Shows?  I love them!

    How do you go about selecting the next movie or show you will watch?  Do you look for a specific show, watch the trailer and if you like the trailer, watch it?  Or, do you look at all of the new releases, or everything in a particular genre, narrow down the selections, watch several trailers, and finally choose one?

    Most people use the second scenario which, by the way, is a very good approach for selecting and hiring salespeople.  Unfortunately, that’s not how most companies go about it.

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  • How to Raise the Incomes of Minimum Wage Workers Without Wealth Distribution or Socialism

    • June 5, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Minimum wage employees are forced into those low paying jobs and the wealthiest Americans are to blame.  Why can’t low hourly wage workers seek and earn better paying jobs?  Is it lack of skills?  Lack of motivation?  Lack of commitment?  Lack of education? Lack of opportunity?  Lack of training?

    Why not sales?  Selling is a profession that employs 16 million in the US alone and for most sales jobs, especially with today’s lack of candidates, there is a laundry list of qualifications that are NOT required:

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