Dave Kurlan’s Understanding the Sales Force Blog

  • How Sales Management Mirrors Little League Baseball
    • May 29, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
    Little League baseball dad coach passionately coaching a team of adult salespeople in business suits on a baseball field, humorously illustrating poor sales management and development

    Most sales organizations operate just like Little League Baseball — cheap, convenient, and great for the top performers while everyone else stays stuck. Here’s why promoting your best salesperson to manager is usually a costly mistake.

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  • Why Chasing Whales is Killing Your Sales Pipeline (10 Brutal Truths)
    • May 15, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Bob Chronicles, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
    Frustrated fisherman in a tiny rowboat holding up a comically small fishing net full of holes, completely overwhelmed as a massive whale breaches right beside him — the perfect visual for chasing whales with the wrong tools.

    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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  • Too Many Sales Metrics? How to Choose One KPI That Drives Revenue
    • May 12, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
    Car dashboard showing speedometer, tachometer, tire pressure warning, miles to empty, and multiple metrics Waze navigation screen showing real-time alerts, 150 ft turn, arrival time, and traffic data on a car infotainment display

    Too many sales metrics? Between your CRM and dashboard, it feels like information overload. Here’s how to choose the one KPI that actually drives revenue — just like focusing on arrival time instead of 14 screaming gauges in your car.

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  • 25 Factors Indicative of a Strong Sales Culture
    • May 11, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Music and Sales, Sales Compensation, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
    Three key sales performance gauges showing rising Sales, Gross Profit, and Win Rate with upward green arrows — indicators of a strong sales culture

    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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  • 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
    Lucky or Unlucky? BA vs xBA in Sales. Split image showing a glowing red baseball strike zone sweet spot on the left and a 3x3 sales qualification zone map on the right labeled 'Probability of Success' with Sweet Spot (All Criteria Met) in red, Some Criteria Met in coral, and Most Criteria Missing in blue.

    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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  • CEO/Sales Leadership Reality Check: Are You Investing in What Makes You Look Good… or What Actually Drives Revenue?
    • April 30, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
    Sales Leadership Reality Check: Companies eagerly approve big AI budgets but hesitate or reject investments in sales training and coaching

    Companies rubber-stamp massive AI budgets but do a complete about-face when asked to invest in sales training or coaching. Discover why this happens and a low-risk way to turn your worst salespeople into producers — including real math and a built-in pilot test.

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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
    Professional illustration showing why cold emails fail and phone calls succeed for growing sales meetings and pipeline.

    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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  • Worst to First: How Sales Teams and Salespeople Can Turn It Around
    • April 23, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
    Split-image motivational graphic showing a sales team transforming from struggling and missing quota (dark left side) to celebrating record success with trophy and rising revenue (bright right side). Large "Worst to First" text in the center with the message "Leadership + Culture Change = Championship Performance" at the bottom. Ideal visual for sales leadership article.

    Discover how sales teams go from middle-of-the-pack to first place. Learn why leadership changes and culture shifts are the real keys to turning around veteran performance and hitting record revenue.

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  • 10 Questions Every CEO Must Answer to Increase Revenue Today
    • April 17, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Sales Compensation, Understanding the Sales Force
    A confident mid-50s CEO in a navy suit sits at a modern executive desk in a bright corner office, leaning forward with a focused, slightly skeptical expression as he looks directly at the viewer. On the desk are a laptop displaying sales pipeline charts and a notepad with handwritten notes including “Why 72% miss quota?”, creating a professional and thought-provoking business scene.

    Google Search Console revealed what CEOs are actually searching for. It’s not closing tricks or AI hype — it’s the foundational issues holding revenue back. Here are 10 questions every CEO must answer to drive real growth today.

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