Salespeople Like Children
-
The Sales Process Milestone You Can’t Get Wrong
- May 9, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Process, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
Every year, I observe that May 11th marks the day when tree leaves reach full size, a natural milestone that mirrors the critical timing in sales. Just as leaves may appear early or late due to weather, prospects reach buying decisions at varying times. Salespeople often assume the end of their pitch signals the moment to close, but prospects may not be ready—or may have been ready earlier. Missing these cues can lead to lost sales. A well-structured sales process like Baseline Selling accounts for this, but unexpected delays or accelerated decisions can still disrupt timing. Mastering the art of aligning with a.prospect’s decision-making moment is key to closing deals effectively.
-
Pump it Up for Sales Performance
- May 14, 2024
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
A client has a small sales team in the northeastern US. Last week the CEO reconnected with the sales team to check if everyone was selling properly. They weren’t. The team had lost a few customers because a high pressure competitor was stealing their accounts. He initially thought there was a problem with the connections between the sales team and its customers but it was actually a gap in the sales team’s selling skills. The sales team was rusty, having rested on their laurels for years, and the lack of initiative to replace clients they had lost was glaring.
Of course the drama with the sales team could have been avoided and the CEO could have replaced and upgraded the team from the start if he had done these five things:
asked us to evaluate the sales team
checked the pipeline to make sure opportunities were being added
considered the degree to which they underperformed last year
remembered that he had to intervene on a daily basis last year to keep the team motivated
recalled that the team was getting old -
The Latest Perspective on My Most Popular Article on Selling
- December 20, 2022
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Books, Movies, Theater and Television, Salespeople Like Children, 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.”
-
The Bob Chronicles Part 5 – Bob Can’t Win This Argument Over a Sales Core Competency
- June 22, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Bob Chronicles, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
OMG has assessed more than 2 million salespeople and measures their sales capabilities in 21 Sales Core Competencies. While some might not like their scores, most salespeople agree with our findings because they are extremely accurate. However, there is one competency of the 21 that causes salespeople to dig in, disagree, and push back. Today I will explain the competency and share yesterday’s conversation with Bob. For new readers, and those who don’t remember, Bob tends to get himself into trouble and is representative of all weak salespeople.
-
How Big of a Role Does Age Play in Sales Effectiveness?
- August 19, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
Young salespeople (0-2 years experience) tend to wing it, while older salespeople (20 or more years experience) tend to be more skilled and structured. Want proof? Let’s dig into the data.
-
What to Do with the Salespeople Who Become Your Biggest Problem
- May 3, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
I coach a lot of sales managers and sales leaders and when I ask them what they want help with today, it’s rarely a big opportunity, it’s seldom coaching best practices, it’s hardly ever targeted metrics for their team, and it’s almost unheard of for them to request that I help them improve as sales managers, Oh no. They almost always want help with their biggest problem child.
-
How the Cheesecake Factory Menu Can Make You a Better Closer
- September 13, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
Have you ever visited a Cheesecake Factory? I LOVE the menu – they offer EVERYTHING. The downside is that because there are so many items to choose from, it’s difficult to decide what to order. That’s better than the options you have with my Blog.
-
10 Reasons Why Parents of Toddlers Make Better Sales Coaches Than Sales Managers
- May 24, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
Toddlers watch Sesame Street, play with blocks, take baby steps, constantly ask ‘why’, eat food that has been cut into tiny bite size pieces, love to start with dessert, and love to have fun. Their parents make sure they are comfortable, help them overcome their fears, work to prevent resistance and emotional meltdowns, and teach them as they go about their business.
What does any of this have to do with sales and sales leadership? Read a bit more and I’ll explain.
-
How You Can Increase Sales During the Summer
- June 3, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
It is concert season and salespeople tend to drag out their own old and inappropriate beliefs about selling in the summer.
For one, they work much less. I understand the need for a summer vacation, but why is the summer any different from when they take their winter vacation? They return from their winter vacation and work really hard, but for some reason, before and after the summer vacation, they hardly work. That’s lazy!
-
What Committed Salespeople Do Differently
- April 24, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Salespeople Like Children, Understanding the Sales Force
Commitment. We have discussed commitment a LOT in this Blog recently because many people misunderstand the role it plays in successful selling.
