Understanding the Sales Force

  • Sales Traditions and Rituals – They’re Not Just for December

    • December 11, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Sales Traditions and Rituals - They're Not Just for December

    For some salespeople, selling is as caked in tradition and ritual as any religious ceremony.  To get a sense of this, consider the many inside sales roles, demo-centric salespeople, and low-level, in-home salespeople.   Many inside salespeople repeatedly read from the same script.  Most demo-centric salespeople must cover all of the features and benefits.  And many in-home salespeople perform a mini-show on every sales call.

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  • 10 Tips for Great Keynotes and Better Sales Presentations

    • December 10, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I thought I would share some tips that you could incorporate into your group sales presentations, lunch and learns, conference talks and appearances to make them more effective.

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  • Why Did The Move from Outside to Inside Sales Take So Long?

    • December 9, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Eventually, most antiquated models are replaced by more up-to-date, efficient, and sometimes exciting models.

    Outside sales is being replaced by inside sales but not in the way that most people think.  The people in outside sales aren’t being replaced by the people in inside sales. That’s not what this is all about.  Let’s quickly compare inside sales to outside sales.

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  • What is the Most Difficult Part of the Sales Process?

    • December 6, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    We discussed the various challenges associated with all three milestones and when all was said and done, everyone agreed that the midpoint, that crucial point in time where compelling reasons to buy must be identified, is the most difficult for salespeople.

    Why?  Well a quick look at the following list of mini-milestones, that must be accomplished in order to get to the point where compelling reasons will be shared, tells the whole story.  How many of your salespeople can do all of this in their first meeting?

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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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  • Opinion: Why Sales Win Rates Have Reached an All-Time Low

    • November 27, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    One of the findings in the most recent Sales Performance Optimization Study, from CSO Insights, revealed that the win rate for deals has reached an all-time low.

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  • Study Says to Highlight 3 Features in a Sales Presentation

    • November 25, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    A very interesting article caught my attention on Inc. Magazine’s website. You must read the article in order to understand the following questions.

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  • The Law of Opposites; Does This Description of Salespeople Offend?

    • November 18, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ll get to it, but first bear with me…

    Last week, I was driving into Boston to lead our fall Sales Leadership Intensive. I was listening to the personalities on the Boston sports radio station discuss the client appreciation event that they attended the prior evening.

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  • Social Selling – I’m a Proponent, Not a Detractor – Look at The Stats

    • November 15, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Bob Thompson left several comments on the article at the CustomerThink site.  In his last comment, he asked what the stats would look like if we only reported on what the best salespeople did with social media.  I think that’s a terrific idea, Bob, and while it’s much more difficult to isolate those statistics, I did the research and report on it here.

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  • Top 10 Ways Salespeople are Selling in the Dark

    • November 13, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Did you happen to see the movie Gravity?

    Early in the movie, the two astronauts, played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, lose communications with Houston.  From that point on, they don’t stop talking to Houston, they don’t stop reporting in and they don’t change protocol.  What they do change, is they add a phrase to the beginning of each message, “Houston, in the dark…”

    They are moving blindly, without direction, without feedback, without certainty.  They are in the dark.  That’s exactly how most salespeople go through each day, through each sales call and meeting, and through each sales cycle.  They are in the dark.

    It’s most obvious when salespeople don’t know:

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