sales performance
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How to Interpret Sales Revenue and Economic News
- June 13, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Perhaps the disconnect between what I see and what is being reported is simply this. While there are some isolated geographies and industries that are doing poorly, others are doing quite well. But when we look at the overall numbers, they just don’t provide an accurate reflection of what is actually taking place.
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How Would Your “Top Salespeople” Do If…..
- May 16, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Most companies have people who are considered top performers who, under different circumstances, would be considered extremely weak salespeople. While these salespeople do appear to be weak when we assess them, it’s much more difficult for management to recognize how weak they are when they lead their company in revenue. Notice how I didn’t say “sales”? That’s right, they happen to manage more revenue than anyone else, but that has less to do with selling than it does account management…
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The App Store Provides Insights into Your Company’s Sales Challenges
- November 30, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Is there any possibility that someone could go wrong buying from you? Is buying from your company the safest choice? Is it the easiest choice? Is it the traditional choice? Is it free or very low priced? Is it the tried and true choice?
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The Delayed Impact of Lack of Sales Commitment
- June 2, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
While commitment is a single data point – not the be-all-end-all – it’s a very powerful and predictive data point as well.
If you are a client, upon learning that a top producer lacks commitment you might be asking, “How can that be?”
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Do You Need Your Salespeople to Love and Respect You?
- October 5, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I was coaching a sales manager whose reps were all under performing, even though many of them have a history of achieving and over achieving during less difficult times. Many salespeople with prior success have been struggling to match their past performances. The truth is that most of them just aren’t good enough to overcome the resistance that they face right now. The question is, what percentage of those struggles are due to the ineffectiveness of the salespeople and what portion lies with the ineffectiveness of their sales manager?
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Sales Assessment Says He’s Weak but He Made President’s Club
- June 12, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday a well meaning Sales Manager, in defense of his salesperson, asked me how a salesperson who made “Club” could possibly assess so poorly. It’s a great question with a dozen or more possible explanations. Here are some:
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New Metrics for the Sales Force – Unusual Thoughts for Unusual Times
- December 12, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Some unusual thoughts for some unusual times:
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Over Achieving on the Salesforce – We Have it Wrong
- December 9, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Does a salesperson over achieve simply because she exceeded her goal? What if one huge deal, order or account drops in her lap? Does that make her an over achiever or just lucky?
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Free Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator Tool
- December 8, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week we introduced the Free Sales Force Grader Tool.
Today I am introducing the Free Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator.
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Dell, The Economy, Their SalesForce and You
- December 8, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week I received an email from my Dell representative’s sales manager. It was five paragraphs, and started out great: