HomeBlogUnderstanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force

  • Contractual Obligation is a Missing Link of Sales Success

    • May 31, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    However, there is one area of sports for which there is no sales analogy.  Say it isn’t so!

    read more

  • Warning to Sales-Focused Companies Wanting to Stay Relevant

    • May 30, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Mike Myatt wrote an article for Forbes‘ online site called, To Increase Revenue Stop Selling. This article has been very heavily viewed and commented. I don’t agree with most of Mike’s suggestions, but in his defense, he is not a sales expert, sales writer, sales manager, sales leader or salesperson. He simply doesn’t like being pitched or sold to and urges salespeople (he doesn’t want them to sell or be called that) to simply let him buy – when he wants, where he wants, how he wants, from whom he wants, and for prices he is comfortable paying. Sounds like retail, doesn’t it?

    read more

  • More Sales Assessment Imposters Exposed

    • May 29, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Assessments can have a huge impact on selection, diagnosis and development of the sales organization.  However, if you choose the wrong assessments – imposters – you won’t receive any of the powerful intelligence or predictive benefits that OMG provides its users.  

    read more

  • Sales Coaching Lessons from the Baseball Files

    • May 24, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This sequence of analysis and tweaking works in exactly the same way when coaching salespeople.  You should be able to immediately identify what went wrong, when it went wrong, how it went wrong and demonstrate how to prevent and fix it.  The last two steps must take place through role-play.  Are you doing that effectively?

    read more

  • Can the Right Music Motivate and Improve Sales Performance?

    • May 22, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    One of the many changes to affect selling during the last several years is that salespeople are making fewer face-to-face sales calls than ever before and more of the selling has moved to the phone.  This has resulted in more calls (although shorter), more resistance with a longer sales cycle, and greater success in closing sales, deals and accounts which might not have been possible just a few years ago.  The biggest difference though?  It might just be the music.

    read more

  • Non-Salespeople – Assets or Liabilities When They Face Customers?

    • May 21, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is a tremendous example, and not the least bit unusual, of how non-selling, customer-facing employees, sell.  Despite two effective customer-facing people doing their part on selling us to return, one was horrible and not so subtly sold us on not returning.

    read more

  • Are Sales Leaders More Receptive to Training Than Salespeople?

    • May 16, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When a room full of sales leaders arrive for two days of intensive training, there are many things that can and do happen.  Here are ten of them:

    read more

  • Basketball and the Difference Between Sales Studs and Sales Duds

    • May 14, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I heard former NBA all-star and current ESPN basketball analyst, Bruce Bowen, talking about Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics.  He characterized Garnett as one of the toughest competitors on the court, unlike some younger, very talented players who aren’t as competitive and don’t know how to close out games.  He said the difference is that Garnett is trying to win while the less competitive players are trying to make friends.

    I’ve been talking about Need for Approval being one difference between the elite 6% of salespeople and the bottom 74% of salespeople for years, but this is the first time I have heard of the affliction as a differentiator in sports.  In one of my books – it was probably Baseline Selling – I discussed how it would play out if the pitcher had need for approval from the batter and vice versa.

    Why is Need for Approval such a differentiator?

    read more

  • The Other Rejection – How Salespeople Struggle to Cope

    • May 9, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I gave this some thought and identified the following 10 reactions to Passive Rejection:

    read more

  • Do Chain Reactions Like This Really Occur When Selling?

    • May 8, 2012
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Mary always succeeded in finding new opportunities, but her weaknesses, especially her Need for Approval, Discomfort Talking About Money, and Tendency to Become Emotionally Involved, would usually interfere with her ability to gain traction and close the sale.  During the past year, she has improved enough so that she is not only finding new business, but closing it too.  But she isn’t out of the woods yet.

    read more