sales competency

  • How Soon Should You Make Changes to Your Sales Force?

    • June 28, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This month’s newsletter from IDC’s Sales Advisory Group lists 5 things which a new Sales VP should do.  Some of them are good, but others not so much.  Among their points were some that have nothing to do with being new, plus one with which I am in complete disagreement.  Consider 4 of their 5 bullet points below:

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  • When are Salespeople Too Old to Sell Effectively? 10 Conditions

    • June 27, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When it’s time to recruit salespeople, clients have often told me that they want a “less mature, more energetic, and fit” salesperson – code for “younger”.

    Like the Beach Boys, who can still pull it off with ease, salespeople can still pull it off with ease as they age, well into their 70’s, as long as the following ten conditions exist:

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  • Getting Reluctant Salespeople to Fill Their Empty Pipelines

    • June 25, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last week, I wrote this article about the best time to ask salespeople to fill their pipelines.  One reader asked how to get salespeople to fill their pipelines.

    It’s an interesting question because your real performers don’t have to be asked.  They will keep it filled on their own. If you are having difficulty getting salespeople to fill their pipeline, then one of several things may be true:

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  • Controversial “Best Time” For Salespeople To Fill Their Pipeline

    • June 21, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The obvious answer is to make sure that they fill the pipeline when it begins to empty or is getting close to being empty, right?  

    Wrong.

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  • Effective Selling Can’t Occur Until Salespeople Perfect This

    • June 20, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In today’s article, we discuss five examples of what salespeople must do to sell more effectively.

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  • The Sales Leadership Landscape – A Different Perspective

    • June 13, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Sales Leaders are to Homeowners as Sales Development Experts are to Professional Landscaping Companies.

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  • How the Right Sales Leader Can Turn Around Sales Performance

    • June 12, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What kind of people problems have you created?
     
    How can you fix them?

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  • How Selling is Just Like Driving a Car

    • June 5, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    If you can make the adjustments when you are driving, then you should be able to make similar adjustments when you are selling.  Those adjustments, in no particular order, include being sure that:

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  • 5 Ways to Motivate Your Salespeople

    • July 14, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was coaching a senior leader today and the conversation turned to motivation, specifically, how to be a better motivator.

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