Search Results
-
New: The 21 Sales Core Competencies for 2020 And Beyond
- September 27, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Like Apple, OMG updates its assessments on a non-stop basis but rolls out significant updates a couple of times per year. Last week OMG introduced the latest revision to the 21 Sales Core Competencies.
There are thirty competencies in all, each with between six and twelve attributes but some are more important than others and OMG measures twenty-one of them in the following three categories:
-
The Official 2017 List of 21 Sales Core Competencies
- March 15, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
These days, changes happen faster than ever and the same can be said about professional selling. Selling is evolving, the rules of business are changing, there is more information available on line than there was last week and sales organizations must evolve accordingly.
-
New Data: My Top 5 Unacceptable Sales Performance Findings
- February 14, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The report says, “87% reported that their sales teams were having difficulty meeting or exceeding quota.” That is so much worse than what has been reported in recent years when the numbers were closer to 55%-60%. This is problematic for more than the obvious reason. When salespeople aren’t hitting quotas, companies need to hire more salespeople, which increases the cost of recruiting, salaries and benefits, not to mention the costs associated with hiring additional sales managers that won’t coach up their salespeople. It also reinforces a culture of mediocrity because when not hitting quota is normal and expected, more people don’t hit quota because their jobs are clearly not in jeopardy.
The next finding explains the previous finding.
-
How Indecisiveness Undermines Sales and Sales Leadership Effectiveness
- February 1, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If you are driving down the road in your car, looking at your phone, fiddling with your radio, looking at people walking on the sidewalk, weaving in and out of traffic or speeding because you’re in a hurry, you are probably not a very good driver and bad things will happen.
If you have a pile of files on your desk, a to-do list that must be scrolled to read, past-due proposals, and an empty pipeline, you are probably not very well organized, don’t manage your time very well, and likely behind on quota.
We’re referring to things we do that prevent us from being as effective as we could be or need to be and there is another one we should discuss, and that’s when a sales leader has a Non-Supportive Buy Cycle attribute of needing to think things over. In the 4-minute video below, which you must watch to understand the concept, I explain how the indecisiveness of a sales leader prevents them from being able to develop, coach up and grow their sales team.
-
New Competency Has 10 Attributes for Post 2024 Sales Success
- November 18, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Uncategorized, Understanding the Sales Force
The problem is not that prospects and customers expect you to lie, the problem is that they wonder if you are being truthful, especially when it sounds too good to be true or they believe you are telling them what they want to hear.
Thank God that Larry Levine wrote and published Selling in a Post Trust World earlier this year! That’s a book that will help you adapt to these changing times. Another book that will have you selling more and selling with integrity is my timeless book, Baseline Selling-How to Become a Sales Superstar.
In addition to the 21 Sales Core Competencies that are current best practices, I officially recommend the following ten, additional, post 2024 selling attributes:
-
How I Learned I am a Sales Consulting Imposter
- November 11, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I didn’t like this candidate. He was way too cocky and aggressive, he wasn’t prepared, and he didn’t like all of my questions. I ended the call after about a minute and a half because I already knew he wasn’t going to proceed in the process. I told him that if he didn’t hear back from me by the end of business on the following day, then he didn’t make it to the next round (an interview with me).
Considering the findings on his OMG assessment, imagine what could happen if he felt rejected from the way I ended the call, and when he didn’t get the follow up call the next day. Consider how his lack of patience, along with not being a relationship builder and not needing to be liked, could manifest.
Did you imagine what could happen?
-
3 Keys That Determine the Length of Your Sales Cycle
- November 2, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It’s easier to sell value when there is urgency.
It’s easier to reach the decision maker when there is urgency.
It’s easier to sell value to the decision maker.
It’s easier to create urgency when you are talking with the decision maker.
They are inter-related milestones and they are game changers.
Let’s explore three scenarios:
-
7-Steps to Achieve Sales Team Excellence
- October 9, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Any company and/or executive can initiate a sales transformation, but there is one dealbreaker that can cause a sales transformation initiative to fail. But you have to see it through. You must be visible. You must lead by example. You must be engaged. You must show how important this is. You must show your commitment.
-
Could Lost Deals Correlate with Sales Success?
- September 20, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I love looking for correlations and causation and we use causation to build predictive sales scorecards. Nobody closes 100% of their closable opportunities but with a properly constructed scorecard, you’ll know the opportunities on which to devote your resources, and which opportunities would be best to lose as fast as you can.
-
Hydrangeas Tell the Story of Underperforming Salespeople
- September 13, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You don’t have to stand by, throw your hands in the air, become frustrated and use hope as your strategy. When did hope even become a strategy? You don’t need to terminate these underperforming salespeople and replace them with new salespeople who might not get it done. Take matters into your own hands, get the help you need to actually develop your salespeople.