Understanding the Sales Force
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A Key Competency That Differentiates Top Sales Performers From Posers
- July 21, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The bottom 50% of all salespeople are posers too. In an article last week we discussed how data can help you hire the ideal salespeople.
In that article I shared a top/bottom analysis where the top performers were 100% more effective reaching decision makers than the bottoms. Below I’ve shared another top/bottom analysis with different findings.
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A Home Run – How the Right Data Can Help You Hire Your Ideal Salespeople
- July 13, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
From time to time I’ve posted some compelling top/bottom sales team analyses using sales assessment data from Objective Management Group (OMG). From nearly 250 data points in 21 Sales Core Competencies, we identify the specific findings and scores that differentiate a company’s top 3 performers from their bottom 3 non-performers.
There are several reasons for doing this:
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Is Your Sales Process Backwards, Upside Down or Stupid?
- July 7, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When we look at the sales processes that most companies have in place, there are usually elements of upside down, backwards and stupid.
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Why More Salespeople Are Being Recommended for Difficult Selling Roles
- June 24, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Something else we haven’t done for quite a while is revisit Objective Management Group’s (OMG) sales selection statistics on the percentage of people that are recommended for various selling and sales management roles.
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The Bob Chronicles Part 5 – Bob Can’t Win This Argument Over a Sales Core Competency
- June 22, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
OMG has assessed more than 2 million salespeople and measures their sales capabilities in 21 Sales Core Competencies. While some might not like their scores, most salespeople agree with our findings because they are extremely accurate. However, there is one competency of the 21 that causes salespeople to dig in, disagree, and push back. Today I will explain the competency and share yesterday’s conversation with Bob. For new readers, and those who don’t remember, Bob tends to get himself into trouble and is representative of all weak salespeople.
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A Properly Constructed Sales Process Can Help You Experience the Euphoria of a Walk-Off Win
- June 15, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The walk-off win in baseball, the buzzer beater in basketball and the field goal with no time on the clock in football are all terrific metaphors for certain types of wins in sales. Some deals are sure things from the get go and others stand no chance of going your way. However, some huge opportunities are truly nail-biters and could go either way. When those opportunities are finally decided and you win, they too are euphoric.
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8-Year Old Houston Astros Fan Demonstrates a Huge Secret of Sales Success
- June 11, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It was my first visit to Fenway Park since 2019 and it was exciting to see most of the seats filled. It was exciting to hear all of the fan noise that has been missing for so long but there was one fan in particular that I heard louder than all of the others. Starting in the fourth inning, Timmy, the eight-year-old Astros fan sitting next to me, didn’t stop chatting with me for the remainder of the game. When Timmy said he hated the Red Sox I had to ask him why. His answer is the focus of this article on selling! “Why do you hate the Red Sox so much Timmy?”
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Will Salespeople Travel or Continue to Work Remotely in 2022?
- June 1, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My first attempt to understand how 2022 might look was to survey Objective Management Group’s Partners (sales development experts that provide OMG’s assessments to their clients). Among other topics, we asked them two questions about travel and in-person training and here is what they had to say:
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How Gas Grills, Gardening, Masks, and Baseball Mimic Your Sales Team
- May 3, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My project corresponds so well with how many executives approach their sales teams.
They do nothing for years, and then, after growing frustrated with complacency and inability to grow revenue, finally decide to make changes and rebuild their sales teams.
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Crappy Salespeople and Lack of Urgency Alignment – The Bob Chronicles Part 4
- April 27, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is the fourth installment in the Bob Chronicles. Bob is the weak salesperson who represents the bottom 50% of all salespeople. You can read previous installments about Bob below:
The $225,000 Mistake That Most Salespeople Make
Data – The Top Salespeople are 631% More Effective at This Than Weak Salespeople
Good Bob, Bad Bob, The Stockdale Paradox and Sales Success
You’re probably wondering, what did Bob screw up this time? He screwed up urgency. You might be asking how a salesperson could possibly screw up urgency but Bob and the rest of the weak salespeople screw up just about everything else so why not urgency too?