sales process
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Top 12 Questions to Ask Yourself About Sales Process
- June 14, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Most people don’t understand the difference between sales process and sales methodology.
A customized, optimized, formal sales process includes the sequence of steps, to-do’s, milestones and goals that must be achieved during a sales cycle.
A sales methodology is the approach one takes to execute those steps.
For instance, using a few well-known companies and brands:
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What Automotive Technology Can Teach us About Sales Process
- May 20, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Much like the automobile drivers of decades past, the salespeople in companies lacking a formal, structured sales process don’t know what they don’t know. They aren’t aware that they aren’t as safe as those with the process. They don’t know they are out of control and at risk every time they conduct a sales meeting or call.
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The Complex Sale – Part 2
- May 19, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, we discussed the elements of the complex sale and the factors that make it so challenging. I also asked whether you should you attempt to incorporate some of the elements of the complex sale in order to outsell your competitors.
Today, we will revisit the factors that make it so challenging and discuss how various selling weaknesses interact with those factors.
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Do You/Should You Have a Complex Sale?
- May 18, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The Complex Sale – it’s so—-complex!
Today we will simplify the complex sale and even ask if you should have a complex sale.
First, what makes a sale complex?
In most cases, a sale is complex when it:
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Selling is All in the Timing
- May 9, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Selling is like cooking.
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The Prospect Isn’t Talking with Any Other Salespeople
- April 4, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It’s not that this can’t happen. Some people don’t need to compare, talk with three companies, look at several options or get three quotes. I don’t. Most great salespeople don’t. And your salespeople should never assume that a prospect NEEDS to shop around.
On the other hand, when the salesperson says, “They aren’t talking with anyone else”, and it turns out that they were, you have to wonder how the salesperson missed it.
There are several reasons why it could get missed. They include:
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Getting Deals Closed – End of Quarter Sales Gone Mad
- March 3, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In the 26 years that I’ve been helping companies grow and develop sales and revenue, I have rarely met with an executive for the first time and not heard about —it.
It all begins around week 11 of the quarter. A frenzy of calls, increased activity, sales management and sometimes C-Level intervention, discounts, offers that can’t be refused, and more. For 3 weeks every quarter, the entire sales force – hell, the entire company – takes on a do whatever it takes attitude to bring those deals in house.
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Sales Effectiveness – IDC and CEB Draw Conflicting Conclusions
- February 24, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The latest IDC Study says that of the customers who changed vendors last year, 65% did so because they either had a poor relationship with their vendor or a better relationship with the new vendor. One of their conclusions is that companies need to do a better job teaching their salespeople how to develop relationship building skills, especially in the C-Level.
The latest Corporate Executive Board study starts out with this headline: “Most companies are betting that reps who focus on building stronger customer relationships will rebuild sales. They’re wrong—here’s why.”
So why are these two studies coming to two different conclusions?
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What The Salesperson Saw (or Didn’t) – A Question about Sales Calls
- December 10, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It’s one thing to have eyes, but our salespeople need to use them too. Typically, their mouths are moving so fast and so often, and the sound of their own voice is so compelling (to them), that their eyes are neutralized. This is similar to what happens on a long drive when you suddenly realize you drove 10 miles past your exit and have no idea how you got that far without noticing.
What do your salespeople miss on their sales calls?
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How to Determine if Your Sales Process is Effective
- December 8, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Can you reverse engineer your sales calls?
OTHER THAN THE PART OF YOUR SALES CALL THAT INVOLVES PRESENTING, could you break down and explain, each step, strategy, tactic, question, response and milestone met, in the order they occurred, why they were chosen, and the resulting reaction of each occurrence, AFTER you’ve completed an entire sales cycle?