Understanding the Sales Force

  • Cultural Differences with a Sales Force Evaluation

    • April 21, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was in New Orleans speaking at the Gazelles Coaches Summit, a prelude to the Fortune Magazine Sales Summit. I was asked a question about cultural differences with the Sales Force Evaluation: Is the lack of Money Motivation on an entire sales force in Ireland a cultural difference? My questioner went on to say that the good people of Ireland, when asked if they would like a cup of tea, need to be asked three times before they’ll say yes – even though they really want that cup of tea.

    The Money Motivation issue has only three possible outcomes:

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  • Why is Selling So Difficult – Let Me Count the Ways

    • April 20, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Wouldn’t it be nice if selling was as easy as most salespeople treat it? You would just come right out and say what you’re selling, tell prospects why it’s important, explain the features and benefits, tell them what it costs, and make the sale. After all, that’s how we did it in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s so easy. It’s so logical, it’s so ineffective.  Why is selling so difficult?  I have a number of answers….

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  • Top 14 Requirements to Perform a Sales Force Makeover

    • April 16, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    For kicks, let’s take a look at this week’s Baseline Selling mail bag.

    One reader emailed that he just inherited a radio station in Honduras, has never sold before, and he and his salespeople aren’t able to book appointments.

    Another reader is the Sales Director for several well-known magazines and said that her top producing team is down 50% from last year.

    Yet another reader wrote and wanted to know how to chop her 2-3 year sales cycle down to 2-3 months.

    And one President fired all of his salespeople, is back on the road selling and wonders what he can do to thrive.

    What do all four of these scenarios have in common?

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  • What Happens When You Develop Sales Competencies?

    • April 10, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Earlier this week I wrote an article for my Baseline Selling Tips Newsletter. It was about What Sleep Apnea and Sales Improvement Have in Common. If you don’t get my Newsletter, you’ll need to read that article in order for the rest of this post to make sense.

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  • Good News Not a Substitute for Sales Force Competencies

    • April 8, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do you want to hear something crazy?

    I’m a very prolific writer – not to say I’m a good writer, just that I post a lot. And of the dozens and dozens of posts from the last three months, would you like to guess what the LEAST read post was?

    It was the one where I wrote about signs that the economy was improving! And one of the MOST read posts was the one where I wrote about the media making the economy worse.

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  • Top 6 Tests to Determine if Your Sales Process Supports Sales Competencies

    • April 6, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do your salespeople sound like these folks working the deli counter? Three of the four had some kind of process, but are the processes effective?

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  • Don’t Make Assumptions About Sales Candidates

    • March 31, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I have previously shared many instances of sales candidate assessments coming to life with their email, voice mails and interview antics following the taking of our assessment.  While the following email is another example of that, it is an even better example of what happens when a skeptical client finally realizes it:

    The client wrote:

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  • Good News About the Economy Positively Impacts the Sales Force

    • March 31, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I often get to see things six to twelve months before they happen.  When manufacturing placed projects and orders on hold as they did last October, it’s easy to predict that it will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months. 

    The word from clients so far this week is that manufacturers are taking projects off of hold and releasing money – even in the automotive industry!  That too will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months.

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  • The Sales Force with Over Achievers That Don’t

    • March 26, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I heard about a CEO who told one of my colleagues that all of his salespeople over achieve.  In the same phone conversation he mentioned that sales are down 20%.  Can you imagine where sales would be if his salespeople under achieved?  

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  • The Secret – The Ancient Scrolls and its Impact on the Sales Force

    • March 24, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Since this book is not the Kabbalah itself, rather a Cliff Notes version, it tends to read more like a self-help book. It is far more powerful than a self-help book though as it points to a number of rules that will cause a transformation in one’s life.

    Seven of the desired behaviors are consistent with the philosophies in Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball as well as Objective Management Group’s Sales Assessments:

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