Analogies
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Why Coaching Causes Some Sales Managers to Hold On for Dear Life
- March 4, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Over the past few months I’ve been coaching 30 sales leaders from 3 companies and while most are trying their hardest to do everything I recommend, apply everything they learn, and coach as instructed, there are several that don’t follow through and fail to move the needle for their teams. A few don’t want to be coached. A few don’t think they need to be coached. A few are too proud to be coached. A couple are too mentally challenged to be coached.
Avoidance aside, there are six scientifically proven reasons for their struggles and I’ll share them with you here.
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How to Use Your Experience with Turbulence to Overcome Resistance
- February 24, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
We were on a JetBlue flight from Florida to Boston and the turbulence was much worse than usual. More dramatic, longer lasting, and bad enough for the flight attendants to remain seated for the entire flight. You’ve probably experienced a flight like that too. Fun!
The jet was probably traveling 500 MPH but it’s funny how when the air is smooth, it doesn’t even seem like you’re moving, but when you add some serious bumps, you can feel every single one of those 500 MPH. It feels more like an out-of-control roller coaster!
Sales calls work the same way.
When prospects are rushed, disinterested, resistant or rude, the call feels bumpy, like a jet traveling through turbulence. When prospects are engaged, interested, and answering your questions, it feels smooth, like you’re hardly moving.
So how can you get that smooth feeling on every call or meeting?
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Salespeople Make This Mistake – The Dumb Question I Was Asked in a Hotel Restaurant
- February 15, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
I pulled up to the entrance of the Doubletree Hotel, greeted Chris, and we walked into the hotel restaurant. As we approached the table, a well-meaning server asked, are you an Honors member? I said, “yes.”
A moment later she returned and said she couldn’t find me in the system. She asked me to spell my name, went back to her computer, and returned again, saying, “I can’t find your reservation in the system.”
I explained that I wasn’t a hotel guest and we were here for breakfast. “Oh, then you’ll have to pay for your breakfast!”
“OK,” I said. After all, I was expecting to pay for breakfast!
Can you imagine how much simpler it would have been if her first question was, “Are you staying with us?”
Salespeople make the exact same mistake. How do I know? I can prove this with several examples.
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Hiring Salespeople Should Not be Like a Coin Flip
- February 6, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Hiring salespeople does not have to be like a pot luck supper or a coin flip. If you are selective instead of impulsive, good things will happen. Take a look at the image below.
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I’m Sorry But Your Sales Process Sucks
- February 1, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Perhaps you saw this too. Yesterday, a post appeared in my LinkedIn feed that talked about the power of sales process. The article was clearly written to support the author’s technology application, which helps track sales KPI’s; so they should know a little about the topic of sales process.
Towards the end of the article, they provided a sample of what an effective sales process should look like. The following text is exactly what they wrote:
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Do the Least Informed Salespeople Have the Loudest Voices
- January 22, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Do the least informed among us have the loudest voices?
Consider two very different salespeople working a new opportunity.
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Popularity Polls are Just Like Sales Management Tracking Metrics!
- January 8, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Have you ever watched a news program where they presented poll results, like the number of people in favor of legalizing marijuana? The poll shows popular opinion, but not the facts, logic, or impact on arrests, the economy, traffic accidents, unemployment, addiction, death rates, etc. There is a huge difference between people’s often uninformed opinions, versus what the facts might suggest. That’s the problem with the statistics I’m going to share in this article. The stats show what sales managers are doing but those managers are largely uninformed. They don’t know what’s good for them, haven’t been asked or held accountable to doing it differently, and aren’t in any way shape or form following best practices. John Pattison, Objective Management Group’s COO, mined some data on salespeople who report to sales managers. I was appalled by what I saw. Check this out!