sales training
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Rejection – Why it is the #1 Enemy in Modern Selling
- April 3, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
For a change, rather than contributing to all the noise about inbound replacing outbound, inside replacing outside, insights replacing sales steps, buyers’ process replacing sales process, let’s talk about something that has a huge, relevant impact on selling, regardless of how the opportunity came to be.
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Global Warming, Social Selling and The Sales Force of Tomorrow
- January 8, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
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What Would You Do? Sales Force Attempts to Maintain Status Quo
- January 6, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is what can happen when salespeople have zero concept of selling; when knowledgeable, technical people are moved into selling roles without being trained to sell; when the sales manager is more interested in selling than managing; when the president doesn’t hold the sales manager accountable; and when there isn’t a sales culture.
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Top 10 Kurlan Sales Articles of 2013
- December 19, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
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Lost Sales, Deals, and Accounts – Fairy Tales or Dragnet?
- December 3, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, Dennis and I were reviewing Lost Deal comments for a client when we came across one that began, “In the end, when all was said and done…”
You really don’t have to read any further. You can easily recognize, from just the first few words, that this was going to be a fairy tale. A story. One salesperson’s editorial. A whole lot of words that will not be particularly useful for you or the analysis. Webster’s Dictionary defines a fairy tale as “a false story meant to trick people.”
When it comes to analyzing lost deals, we should be far more interested in watching a police show, like Dragnet, where you are more likely to hear, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”
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The Monumental Effort Required to Grow Sales in 2014
- October 15, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When you look ahead to sales for the next 12 months, are you using the same assumptions as always? If you want to grow by 20%, do you use the same metrics for next year that you used for last year? Will the plan that got you there last year continue to work next year? Have you accounted for any of these changes?
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The Real Problem with the Sales Profession and Sales Leadership
- October 1, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In the context of best practices, the sales management role is now 50% coaching. The problem is that according to data from Objective Management Group, 82% of sales managers make very ineffective coaches. Just yesterday alone we had conversations with sales managers who:
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Can You Improve a Kick-Ass Sales Force?
- September 11, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If you are reading this, and your company matches up with any one of my criteria for underdogs, then you couldn’t possibly get away with what Hubspot can get away with. You must have strong hunters who are adept at overcoming resistance, can differentiate by selling consultatively, and ask the kinds of questions that develop respect, allowing prospects to open their mind to the possibility that you can help.
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The Key to Powerful Sales Conversations
- August 28, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Earlier this week, I wrote this article about the importance of using specific words and phrases at specific times.
That article discussed some of the milestones in the sales process where just the right word or phrase can make such a huge (make or break) difference in the direction that the sales call takes. In the article, I mentioned “at just the right time”, but I didn’t elaborate. I’ll correct that omission with the following examples.
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Specific Words are So Crucial to a Sales Conversation
- August 27, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I just returned from a speaking engagement in Athens and had to stop at passport control several times during this trip. They always ask, “What kind of business?” and over the years I’ve used them all: consulting, speaking, training, business adviser, author, coaching, etc. I’ve learned that if I want to be interrogated, “speaker” would be the answer of choice. If I simply want to answer a few questions, “consultant” will do the trick. But to elicit the desired yawn from the officers, I only need to say “attend a conference.” Words make a huge difference and if you like scripts, you’ll be disappointed. But a well-chosen word or phrase at just the right time can be the difference between a resistant prospect and an intrigued one. Do you pay enough attention to the things you do and say as well as how you say them just before a prospect becomes resistant or more engaged? Well, you should!