sales training

  • Why Sales Transformation Achieves Better Results Than Sales Training Alone

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

    You brought in sales training but it didn’t achieve the expected change because the training didn’t address the bigger problems that went beyond selling skills.  You may not have realized that companies really need sales transformation and while sales training can be part of that transformation, on its own, it usually underperforms.

    Why?

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  • My Prediction – What’s in Store for Sales Teams in 2021?

    • January 8, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When I made my predictions for 2020 I’m pretty sure I didn’t predict a pandemic.  Making predictions isn’t easy. 

    In the US, sales teams are coming off three robust years of sales growth and while revenue was up during that time, the percentage of salespeople hitting quotas was not.  That means the top 20% were not only carrying the load, they carried more of the load.

    That dynamic growth hit an iron barrier last spring when COVID became the unexpected economic disrupter, but the second half comeback was quite impressive.  What does 2021 have in store for those of us in the sales world?  In the US, how will Democrat control of all three branches of government affect sales and selling?  And how long before that kicks in?

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  • How Companies Choose Sales Training Companies is Backwards

    • February 11, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do you partake of dessert prior to eating your appetizer?  Do you eat your dinner in the morning and have breakfast at night?  Would you prefer to have the builder complete the finish work on your new house prior to framing it and installing the roof?  Would you back your car out of the garage before opening the garage door? (I’ve actually done that by accident – twice!)

    It’s all quite silly.  You wouldn’t think of doing those things in that order but that’s how most companies choose sales training companies.  After 35 years in the sales training industry, I’m qualified to comment on this silly behavior, and explain why companies have it all backwards.

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  • Dave Kurlan’s Predictions for Sales Organization in 2020

    • December 16, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Before I can make any predictions for 2020, let’s start with these ten simple truths about selling for proper context.

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  • The New Salesenomics

    • May 24, 2019
    • Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
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  • Improve Your Win Rate and Shorten Your Sales Cycle by Doing This

    • April 11, 2018
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In September I wrote this article on the difference between asking good, tough and great questions.

    I included examples all three types of question in the article.

    There is also a proper sequence:  Good question.  Tough Question.  Great question.

    You will get immediate feedback on how effective your questions are:  Your prospects will say, “Good question” when you ask one.  They will say, “Great question” when you ask one.  And they will stop and struggle before answering one of your tough questions.

    Many salespeople make the mistake of preparing questions in advance. Salespeople who do that might be able to stumble onto one good question.  But great questions and tough questions must be spontaneous and in response to something your prospect already said when they answered prior questions.  

    I’ll share a role-play from a training program that wonderfully demonstrates what I’m talking about as well as the kind of listening skills required in order to ask good, tough and great questions. 

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  • Which Salespeople are Easier to Train – Millennials or Veteran Salespeople?

    • April 19, 2017
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    We brought home a puppy and we had him completely housebroken in 4 days.  He’s really smart and we’ve done this before, a combination that makes it nearly impossible to screw up.  To see him go to the door and touch it with his little paw, whimper when he is in his crate, go outside and do his business, and run back to the door is great. But it got me wondering, why is training a puppy relatively fast and easy while it is so much harder and takes so much longer to train salespeople?

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  • Top 3 Reasons Why Sales Training Doesn’t Change Your Salespeople

    • November 17, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I get asked this question a lot: “We’ve tried sales training before and it didn’t really change anything. Why didn’t it work?”

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  • Most Salespeople Are Wrong about the Concept of Being Willing to Walk

    • October 31, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    At some point in most training programs we talk about being willing to walk away.  In addition to being part of a Kurlan led sales training program, the willingness to walk away is a major focus of any training program on negotiation as well.  But most people in sales don’t really understand the concept of being willing to walk, how it plays out, and what to do when you get there.  I would love to share my thoughts on this below.

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  • What Sales Managers Do That Make Them So Ineffective

    • July 26, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Earlier this week I wrote an article on why so many sales managers are so bad.  In today’s article, I’ll share what makes them so ineffective.  The easiest way to explain this is to start with a baseball analogy.

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