Understanding the Sales Force

  • When Sales Coaching, Best Practices and Books are Ignored

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

    Coaching is crucial to the success of any sales force; however, coaching without the context of an effective sales process, pipeline, metrics to drive revenue, motivation and accountability aren’t enough.  So, our events integrate these additional elements to make for a well-rounded, comprehensive two days.

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  • Sales Management Best Practices – Are Top Salespeople Challengers?

    • April 29, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I don’t promote an approach based on either Relationships or Solution Selling, but both must be incorporated into an appropriate sales approach.  Also worth noting, the approach or methodology is only one part of selling.  Without a sales process and a sales model, no methodology will work very well on its own.

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  • The Latest and Greatest in Sales Force Effectiveness

    • April 24, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    We have introduced our share of evaluation and assessment tools during the past 23 years, but this introduction was completely different.  My team worked tirelessly for nearly an entire year on our latest gem and our Partners received it, with even more enthusiasm than we felt, when we completed the project just 48 hours earlier.

    Why all the excitement?

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  • Top 5 Reasons Why Salespeople Don’t Qualify Effectively

    • April 17, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last week, I posted this article in reference to an Inc. Magazine article that was way off base about Consultative Selling.  It led to a significant number of comments with one of them being this question:

    “Dave, in your opinion, with all the training that is available and has been delivered to sales people over the years, how come sales people still fail at executing an effective approach to qualifying a prospect. Forget what we want to call the approach. Just basic fundamentals like asking questions. This is known throughout the selling universe but sales people still suck at this. How come?”

    Great question.  Here are my top 6 reasons why:

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  • Latest Research on Personality Assessments for Sales Selection

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

    Two articles caught my attention today.

    The first, 10 Traits of Successful Salespeople, was typical of the misinformation that often passes for must-read information:

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  • Fewer Sample Requests and Sales Proposals – What’s Wrong?

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

    Now, instead of sample requests, they’re getting commitments to do business and when they are ready, the sample requests lead to sales.  My client agreed.

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  • Inc Magazine Gets it Wrong on Consultative Selling

    • April 8, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Inc. Magazine ran an article on its website that I just can’t ignore.  It’s making my blood boil.

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  • Top 20 Reasons Why Sales Managers Suck at Coaching

    • April 4, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    So why aren’t more sales managers effective at coaching salespeople?  Here are my top 19 reasons and I left #20 open so that you could add your two-cents worth.

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  • Is Selling Difficult or Easy? It All Depends on Your Definitions

    • April 2, 2013
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Difficult selling, with its challenges, gives way to easy-to-achieve outcomes.  Easy selling, while avoiding challenges, causes difficult-to-achieve outcomes.  See my definitions below…

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