Sales Pipeline and Forecast
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Book More Meetings by Hunting Like a Hawk
- July 22, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Inbound is for the birds. Most salespeople haven’t made a real cold call in years. Here’s why your team needs to start hunting like hawks again — and how to do it.
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There are No Feelings in a Sales Pipeline Review
- July 20, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Baseball and Sales, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
When you’re too close to a deal, emotions cloud everything. Learn why the best sales managers step back for the pavilion view—facts over feelings—and turn pipeline reviews into real coaching opportunities.
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From the Vault – 130 Additional Articles on Sales and Sales Leadership
- June 26, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Politics and Sales, Sales Compensation, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
I discovered more than 125 articles that were published in various magazines over the years, many of them in Top Sales Magazine, where I have been a regular contributor for more than 15 years, as well as Selling Power, TED Magazine, Smart Selling and others. They are listed in no particular order, with links (as they become available) to each article. Most are shorter articles – 400 or 800 words – than those I write for Understanding the Sales Force and some go back to 20006. Come back often as more links are added every day!
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The Great AI Sales Clone Experiment (And Why Most Reps Are Striking Out)
- June 23, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
When every salesperson uses the same ChatGPT and Claude prompts, they all sound exactly the same. Prospects spot it immediately. Here’s why real coaching beats AI shortcuts and how to actually get better.
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What CEOs Need to Know About Their Sales Teams
- June 16, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Baseball and Sales, Best Top 10 Lists, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
When it comes to sales, CEOs don’t know what they don’t know. This is the article where you can understand what to expect from your sales team.
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Why Chasing Whales is Killing Your Sales Pipeline – The Bob Chronicles Part 9 (10 Brutal Truths)
- May 15, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Bob Chronicles, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Bob’s pipeline was loaded with whales again. Sound familiar? In this article I break down the 10 brutal truths about why chasing big deals is quietly killing most sales pipelines — from skewed forecasts and low margins to terrible closing rates. If you’re tired of hoping whales will save your quarter, this one’s for you.
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How to Use Baseball’s xBA Metric to Measure Your Sales Pipeline and Improve Your Sales Forecasts
- May 4, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Two Hollies songs playing simultaneously on SiriusXM? A rare lucky break. The same thing happens in sales every day. See how baseball’s xBA metric helps you separate skill from luck in your pipeline and dramatically improve forecasting accuracy.
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Growing New Sales Meetings/Pipeline: What Works and What Doesn’t
- April 27, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Struggling with inconsistent sales meetings? See why cold emails from lead-gen companies fail (with real examples) and discover the proven method that actually grows your B2B sales pipeline — picking up the phone. Learn what works and what doesn’t in 2026.
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Sales Cholesterol Reveals If Your Sales Pipeline Is Clogged (And How to Fix It)
- October 31, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
In this follow-up to my viral LinkedIn rant on pipeline blockages, I dive deeper into “sales cholesterol”—a new way to measure the health of your sales pipeline. Drawing from my quadruple bypass experience and inspired by comments from sales pros like Larry Levine, we map heart health metrics (HDL, LDL, ratios, and inflammation) to sales milestones using my Baseline Selling framework. Learn how to score opportunities, reps, and teams to spot clogs early, improve forecasts, and avoid those deadly stalls. No more unreliable probabilities—get objective diagnostics to tweak your lead gen “diet” or “medicate” with coaching.
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Top 5 Ways to Stop Striking Out on Your Sales Forecasts
- September 21, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Best Top 10 Lists, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
The Boston Red Sox are whiffing 62% of their bases-loaded, no-outs chances—way worse than the MLB’s 15% fail rate. Sound like your sales pipeline? Discover why high-probability deals fizzle out and how to fix it with five key strategies, from robust qualifying to predictive scorecards.
