Music and Sales
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25 Factors Indicative of a Strong Sales Culture
- May 11, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Executives love the idea of a sales transformation until it’s time to actually change. Here are 25 proven factors that separate a truly strong sales culture from one that’s stuck making excuses.
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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, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
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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Mindset Matters: How the Songs in Your Head Shape Your Sales Success
- March 9, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
What songs are playing in your head before a big B2B sales call? Discover how song titles shape your sales mindset — plus the exact Spotify playlist I use to get pumped and close more deals.
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Scarred for Life: Sales Lessons That Make Your Company Unstoppable
- February 23, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
When a Steely Dan tune came on the radio, it got me thinking about how they tried to be all things to all people — jazz chords, pure rock, easy listening — and ended up respected by no one. Same fate hit George Benson and Al Jarreau when they crossed over.
One year after my quadruple bypass left me scarred for life, I realized sales has the exact same scars: chasing the wrong-size deals out of ego, staring at an empty pipeline, over-facilitating prospects, and misalignment with the real decision maker.
Get properly scarred for life and those painful mistakes will never happen again. -
Why Salespeople Need Music Lessons Before They Start Selling
- January 26, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Just like most kids fail to learn guitar without lessons, most salespeople flop when thrown straight into the field with no real training. In this article, Dave Kurlan draws a fresh parallel from the music world: self-taught “players” rarely succeed without mastering the fundamentals—notes, scales, chords, and theory. The same goes for sales. Sink-or-swim onboarding leads to mistakes, missed quotas, and burnout, while formal sales training (including process, methodology, and role plays) delivers massive wins. Backed by data showing 14% higher quota attainment, faster ramp times, and huge ROI, Dave explains the missing ingredient most programs ignore: a repeatable sales process and methodology. If you want new reps to make real music in sales—not just noise—skip the shortcuts.
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The Nutcracker Ballet Has 3 Relevant Sales Competencies
- December 15, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Books, Movies, Theater and Television, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
During a first sales call, suppose your salespeople hear one prospect say, “This has been a very interesting and productive conversation and we might have some interest in this.” And imagine another prospect at the same meeting says, “We’ll get back to you next month and let you know what kind of progress we’ve made.” And still a third might say, “In the meantime, please send us a proposal with references and timeline.”
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Let the Sales Conversation Wander: Evolving Chats Unlock Powerful Sales Discovery
- November 24, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Music and Sales, Sales Assessments Compared, Understanding the Sales Force
When Monday morning hit and I had zero article ideas queued up—first time in 20 years, post-surgery aside—I panicked a bit. Then, cruising in the car with Beatles tunes blasting, I pinged Grok with a wild card: “How many songs did Lennon and McCartney write?” What unfolded was a total detour: We tallied their 1,200+ jams, stacked ’em against my 2k sales rants, dove into Dolly Parton’s marathon, Nutcracker team-sync lessons, Eagles live magic over studio polish… and boom, this post was born. No script, just flow. And that’s the secret sauce for killer sales discovery too—ditch the grocery-list questions, let the chat evolve, and uncover those hidden “must-haves” that seal deals. Data from OMG? Only 27% of reps nail qualifying, but the pros? They’re 4x more likely to crush quotas. Here’s how to jam like a pro.
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How a Trip Back 50 Years Uncovered my Secret to Sales Success
- November 9, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Ever wonder how a nostalgic skim through 1972’s Top 40 hits could unlock a game-changing sales insight? I didn’t realize during my 40 years in the sales training business that pattern recognition is my ultimate secret weapon. From clashing tunes like The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music” vs. The Band’s “Don’t Do It,” to weather vibes, loneliness flips, and political nods, spotting patterns is like a BS detector for prospects. Dive into a real sales chat example where catching contradictions sparks urgency and closes deals. Capped by Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now”—talk about fate!
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The Salesperson’s Survival Kit: 236 Sales Attributes, Traits, Competencies, and Behaviors to Crush Quotas
- October 24, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
I dug through 20 years of blog posts to compile every sales trait, competency, attribute, characteristic, element, component and desirable skill I’ve ever written about. From the 21 Sales Core Competencies to Steve Jobs’ deal-making magic, this cheat sheet is your roadmap to elite selling—packed with data, humor, and no-BS advice to up your sales game.
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What Businesses Can Learn About Selling From Religions
- September 14, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Bible and Sales, Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Ever wonder how religions compete for followers like salespeople pitch a product? From Judaism to atheism, each has a unique value prop to stand out. Here’s how their one-liners stack up, plus a lesson for B2B companies on selling you, not just price.
