Sales Coaching

  • Is Moving From Vendor Up the Ladder Scary to Sales Executives?

    • June 20, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is actually the third article on this subject. Last week I posted this article which contains a link to the original article.

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  • Top 5 Reasons Why Salespeople Don’t Make Quota

    • June 8, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I received the IDC Sales Advisor Newsletter in my email today and while it was about the importance of cross-selling, they said it is important because 50% of reps aren’t making quota.

    Forget cross-selling!  If 50% of your reps aren’t making quota you have bigger problems than whether or not they are cross-selling!

    There are only five possible reasons why reps are not making quota:

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  • Are Your Salespeople Jerks or Just Different From You?

    • June 1, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last week I conducted a 3-day Sales Leadership Intensive for a very small group.  Working with a small group has advantages because everyone receives more individual attention, we can go at their pace, and spend as much time as we need to on their issues.  Working with a small group also has disadvantages because their diverse learning styles tend to stand-out and can be a distraction.

    For example, in last week’s group, I had:

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  • How to Compensate Sales Hunters, Farmers and Account Managers

    • May 27, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Today I received an email from a long time reader with this interesting question:

    “We’ve heard a good hunter won’t farm and a good farmer (account manager) won’t hunt. If this is true how do we tackle the model of compensating hunters who bring in new customers who then turn it over to an account manager to grow the business?  Is it possible to expect someone who can hunt and then manage a book of business or does that create a conflicting sales profile?”

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  • 10 Steps to More Sales Opportunities

    • May 23, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last week, no fewer than 8 salespeople sent emails to me explaining that they committed to the 8 attempts rule and, as a result, had scheduled meetings with prospects they had been chasing for a long time.  The key is not to only make 8 attempts, but make 8 attempts Halloween style – haunt them –  8 attempts in 8 days.  

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  • Get Your Veteran Salespeople to Take Baby Steps

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

    You cannot script these questions.  Your salespeople must be able to identify the questioning opportunities in real time while their prospects are responding to the question currently in play.  This requires VERY focused listening, note taking, and patience.  And the biggest challenge?  Your salespeople must avoid the temptation to jump to a different question topic, jump to presentation, or jump in with a solution!

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  • Salespeople Failing to Get Prospects to the Phone

    • April 28, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is a great example of why so many salespeople waste so much time chasing down their prospects and why prospects do such a fantastic job of avoiding these calls and emails.

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  • Bad Things That Happen When You Leave it Up to Your Salespeople

    • April 27, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Here are the 10 most common things that your salespeople will do when they aren’t managed effectively, or, in many cases, when they are only managed on an as needed basis.

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  • Does Fear Prevent Salespeople From Executing Your Sales Plan?

    • April 22, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    These are just a few examples of self-limiting sales management beliefs!  Is it possible that you or your sales managers have some of them?

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  • Is it Good to Have Perfectionists on Your Sales Force?

    • April 20, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The best thing about perfectionists on your sales force is that you don’t usually have to worry about their administrative accuracy. Their emails, letters, proposals and quotes are well done and not prone to typos. The information they input into your CRM or SFA is accurate and done on a timely basis. Their call reports are meticulous and submitted on time. What’s not to like about that?

    The downside of course. And what’s that?

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