Understanding the Sales Force

  • The 14 Lies Preventing Salespeople From Getting Their Prospects into a Buying State of Mind

    • May 17, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Let’s cover some of the lies being told to companies with sales organizations and how those lies prevent sales organizations from being their best.  Over the past 10-20 years, we have seen and heard the following proclamations (and you can find most of them with this Google search link:

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  • 10 Reasons Why Salespeople Hallucinate

    • May 15, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I saw something that simply wasn’t there.  A figment of my imagination.  You could even call it a hallucination.

    Salespeople frequently have hallucinations where they think there is something there, like a great opportunity, and in reality, there isn’t anything there.  Not even close.  And then there are the salespeople who don’t see an opportunity when there is actually a great one hiding in plain site.

    Let’s talk about the many reasons that these scenarios occur.

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  • Dave Kurlan’s 23 Steps to Improved Channel Sales

    • May 8, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When you purchase a car, do you consider yourself a customer of the dealer you bought or leased it from, the auto maker, or both?

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  • What to Do with the Salespeople Who Become Your Biggest Problem

    • May 3, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I coach a lot of sales managers and sales leaders and when I ask them what they want help with today, it’s rarely a big opportunity, it’s seldom coaching best practices, it’s hardly ever targeted metrics for their team, and it’s almost unheard of for them to request that I help them improve as sales managers,  Oh no.  They almost always want  help with their biggest problem child.  

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  • Using the Power of a Duracell to Help You Hire Perfect Salespeople

    • April 25, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Apparently, Duracell 9 volt batteries are the picture of consistency. 

    Last night, all 7 of our upstairs smoke detecters starting squawking within about 30 minutes of each other to indicate that their batteries needed to be replaced.  Given that the Duracells were installed in those units on the same day 4 years ago, one would hope that there are more things that we could rely upon to be as consistent and predictable.

    One of those things is Objective Management Group’s sales candidate assessments.

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  • 2 Selling Shortcuts That Will Always Work

    • April 22, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do shortcuts work in sales?

    I can tell you that shortcuts work when you’re driving a car and need either a more direct route to your destination or a route that avoids traffic.  Waze helps a lot with that!

    Shortcuts work in math when you know what the formula is and how to use it.

    But shortcuts in sales?  Not usually.  Watch this 1:30 video on sales shortcuts and then I’ll share two scenarios where shortcuts can actually be used.

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  • The Voicemail Message with Everything but the Kitchen Sink

    • April 18, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This week I received a voicemail message from a salesperson that literally included everything but the kitchen sink.  I don’t recall listening to a voicemail that sounded like this before.  I don’t think voicemails like this are effective.  I don’t like voicemails like this.  

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  • Six Overlooked Factors When Hiring Salespeople

    • April 11, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ve been sick with my annual bout of asthmatic bronchitis – fun stuff – and the question I’ve been asking myself is, “how long will it last this year?”  Historically, it’s takes 2-4 weeks for this to subside and it sucks big time during that 2-4 weeks.  But thinking about time frames got me thinking about one of the universal timelines and challenges facing companies everywhere.

    How long should it take for a new salesperson to become successful and why do so many of them fail?

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  • The 21-Day Solution for the Toughest Sales Weaknesses

    • April 5, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I wrote a popular article called, How the Rubber Band Sabotages Sales Performance.  That article discussed six competencies specific to Sales DNA and the impact those six have on performance when they appear as weaknesses.  At the end of last week’s article, I promised to introduce a solution to you within a week and true to my promise, the solution follows.

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  • How the Rubber Band Sabotages Sales Performance

    • April 1, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I have written many articles about Sales DNA, the combination of strengths that support sales process, sales strategy and sales tactics; or, when it appears as a weakness and sabotages ones ability to execute.

    Unlike strategies and tactics, where you can learn and apply them, improving your Sales DNA requires much more effort and time.  

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