Understanding the Sales Force
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Three Ways I Can Help You Feel Better about the Economy
- January 14, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Start with this. Thanks to my friend and best-selling author Dan Millman, of Peaceful Warrior fame, for turning me on to this light-hearted take on last year.
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Right Sales People in the Right Roles and the Right Seats
- January 12, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I was on site at a client’s last week to kick-off their training. At the end of the kick-off I asked each salesperson for their three biggest lessons learned. One salesperson had difficulty coming up with anything of substance. It turned out that he was new to sales and when we assessed him two months earlier, our assessment indicated that he was not trainable. The client wanted him in the program anyway because he had a hunch it would work out. “Not trainable” manifests in different ways but usually has the same outcome – salespeople don’t improve.
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10 Steps for your Sales Force to Survive and Thrive in The Recession
- January 5, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Bernie is the President of a company that had experienced flat sales for the three strong economic years leading up to the recession. He had been looking for a VP of sales for two years but hadn’t found the right candidate or failed to pull the trigger.
He attended an event where he heard me speak and asked me to contact him. He asked for my advice and I recommended that if he was serious about finding the ideal VP, then he should:
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Surprising Statistics from the Sales Force Grader
- December 22, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The actual results are even more surprising than the number of people (several hundred) that have already visited the FREE Sales Force Grader.
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Tale of Two Assessments – Comparing Value
- December 18, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A potential client wanted to know how Objective Management Group could justify the cost of a our license (unlimited candidate assessments for one year or until the specified number of salespeople are hired) versus what seemed at face value to be a lower cost for DISC assessments.
There are several factors here but they are all worth noting.
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Leads for the Sales Force – Not
- December 14, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I received an email last week from a LinkedIn connection promoting his new super duper lead engine that connects salespeople with the most powerful buying influences in the world.
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Free Sales Content – Use at Your Own Risk
- December 12, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I can’t count and may not even know about all of the portals now on the web that feature subject matter experts, content, free downloads, articles and tips from people like me. It’s generally a good thing, at first, until someone like me loses control of his intellectual property – the articles I write.
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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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Panic on the Sales Force and What to Do About It
- December 10, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
What gets you in a panic? When I was young, height, water and people were enough to cause shortness of breath, a lump in my throat and a stomach ache. Today, I still have the symptoms, but not over any of the things that used to bother me. Today it would take somebody or something threatening harm to my wife, son or me.
What about for you? What causes a panic of that magnitude for you? I’m asking because I want you to know what it feels like, how difficult it is to function, concentrate, or breath. Have you been there?
Now let’s take your salespeople.
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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?