Dave Origins

  • Inbound Ruined Outbound — But It’s Not Too Late to Join the Evolution
    • September 4, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Baseball and Sales, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force
    A boy holding greeting cards knocks on a 1960s front door while a rotary wall phone and a snowy black-and-white television sit inside the house.

    Phones evolved. TVs evolved. Selling got inbound, tools, and a buyer-journey myth — and most salespeople used all three as a hall pass to skip the conversation. Only 17% can still do the thing that works.

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  • Dave Kurlan’s 20 Keys to Sales Mastery: How to Become an Elite Salesperson
    • April 13, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Dave Origins, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
    Young man riding a green motorized clay tennis court roller early in the morning, repairing wet courts after a rainstorm – illustrating Dave Kurlan’s “do whatever it takes” mindset from his sales mastery story

    Discover Dave Kurlan’s 20 practical keys to sales mastery, drawn from decades of experience and OMG’s nearly 3 million assessments. Learn how the top 5% of salespeople think, practice, and outperform everyone else with consultative selling, disciplined habits, and a relentless “do whatever it takes” mindset. Start improving your win rate, deal size, and results today.

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  • Why Your Sales Team Needs Veteran Story Hour: Lessons from the Red Sox
    • April 4, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force
    1986 Boston Red Sox players Bob Stanley, Bruce Hurst, and Spike Owen sharing stories on stage at a panel event

    At a recent event, my wife and I heard hilarious and meaningful stories from three members of the 1986 Boston Red Sox — pitchers Bob Stanley and Bruce Hurst, and shortstop Spike Owen. It was nostalgic, fun, and powerful.
    Why don’t more sales organizations do the same? Why not ask their best, most successful, veteran, and retired salespeople to spend an hour sharing meaningful, memorable, and even hilarious stories with the current team? It costs nothing, it’s not difficult or scary, and it delivers real results.

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  • The Baseball Dad Lesson That Made Me a Better Sales Coach
    • April 1, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force
    My son's intense batting cage sessions that taught me what real deliberate practice looks like in sales coaching

    How my son’s intense baseball training taught me the real secret to becoming an elite real-time sales coach. From hardcore introvert to mastering live role plays and in-the-moment coaching — with practical first steps for sales leaders.

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  • 8 Cold Calling Lessons from Matthew (The Biblical Sales Team, Part 6)
    • November 17, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Bible and Sales, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force
    A white-robed figure of God with arms open before a blazing sun, the series image for a sales coaching lesson from Matthew 21:28-32 on coachable salespeople.

    In the sixth installment of the Biblical Sales Team series, we dive into Matthew chapter 10, where Jesus sends out his disciples to spread the word. Drawing parallels to modern sales, discover 8 timeless lessons for cold calling success: from smart targeting and seeking referrals to handling rejection like a pro and prioritizing low-hanging fruit. Whether you’re knocking on doors or picking up the phone, these ancient insights remind us that effective prospecting beats automated emails every time. Plus, why demos should wait for qualified leads and how to craft a killer positioning statement.

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  • Baby Fish and New Salespeople Experience the Same Fate
    • August 1, 2024
    • Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
    • Categories: Analogies, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force
    turnover

    If your turnover is less than 10% you have a turnover problem – not enough turnover!  If your turnover is between 10-20% you’re good.  If it’s greater than 20% it’s worth exploring what is contributing to your high turnover rate and how to fix it.  Sometimes it’s because you are hiring the wrong salespeople.  Sometimes it’s lack of effective onboarding, lack of effective sales training, lack of coaching, lack of accountability, or lack of leadership.

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  • The Second Most Important Sales Lesson of My Life
    • September 8, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force

    Earlier this week I posted an article that told the story of the biggest sales lesson of my life.  I received so many emails about that article because it seemed to really resonate with my readers.  Yet, as much as it resonated, there was one question that several of them asked in their emails.  They wanted to know why we were in that tenement building in the first place.  And the answer to that question leads me to the second most important sales lesson of my life.

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  • Remembering The Most Powerful Sales Lesson of My Life
    • September 6, 2016
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Dave Origins, Understanding the Sales Force

    Which one thing helps almost every salesperson succeed, even when they have other challenges?

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