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Unintentional Selling – Selling Customers on Defecting
- October 16, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Today, Verizon Wireless gets the brunt of my wrath!
I’m a planner. I make sure in advance that every detail has been covered because I hate surprises. So before my recent trip, I purchased a new smart phone after I was assured that it would work in Europe and Turkey. Then I called Verizon to confirm that my new phone would work in the three cities where I would be and I subsequently purchased Global Roaming.
Then, on October 9, it happened.
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Sales Assessment Findings and Cultural Differences
- October 12, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I was in Istanbul this week, speaking to nearly 250 sales and business leaders. I learned that Turkey didn’t participate in the global economic crisis as they’re simply growing all the time. My audience wondered how cultural differences affect our assessment findings and seemed quite satisfied with the explanation. I’ll repeat it here.
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How to Supercharge Your Sales Presentations
- October 9, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Despite the fact that most effective, consultative sales processes feature the presentation or demo in the final stage of the process, most salespeople jump to that event as early as possible. Why?
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Terrific New Sales Management Book
- October 3, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My colleague, Steven Rosen, has published a new Sales Management Book which you should read. It’s called 52 Sales Management Tips and it’s the kind of book that you can read in less than an hour! Each page has a very useful tip, every tip is consistent with what you read here three times most weeks, and every tip is time-tested and proven.
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Sales Assessment Findings – Interview is Another Preview of Performance
- October 3, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
when his clients didn’t care for a candidate who was recommended by our Sales Candidate Assessment, he was able to correlate his client’s perception to a single finding: Won’t Develop Relationships Quickly.
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The Importance of Positive Sales Attitude – A Tribute to a Friend
- October 1, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It just reinforced my belief that when you have salespeople who aren’t positive or kind, who complain or make excuses, or who lower your energy level or that of others, it is crucial that you replace them. It is addition by subtraction and you must be more concerned with the energy level than with replacing the production of those who are terminated.
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Salespeople Must Use & Embrace Life’s Most Embarrassing Moments
- September 27, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Can you remember that time, back in school, when you did something so embarrassing that you wanted to run away and hide forever? Of course you do – it was all about you. But I will wager any amount of money that you are the only one who remembers. The others who were there that day and anyone you might have told have long forgotten. It – wasn’t – about – them.
The same phenomenon applies to selling.
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Sales Managers Must Make Sure That This Never Happens
- September 26, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You are driving down the highway and see an enormous truck in your side mirror. The truck is moving very fast – twice your speed – and closing in quickly. You continue to look in the mirror and because of the way your side mirror is shaped, it appears that the closer the truck gets, the more likely it seems that the truck will simply run right over you. You accelerate a little, keeping watch on that mirror and then it happens. You miss the sharp bend in the road and drive off the cliff.
This short story is the real-world equivalent to something which often occurs with your salespeople.
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Getting Excited About New Sales Opportunities
- September 24, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Why do salespeople get more excited about big sales opportunities than they do about strong sales opportunities? I don’t know about you, but I get much more excited about an opportunity which has a strong likelihood of closing than a big one that at best has less than a 50% chance. What about you?
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Compromises in Sales Candidate Assessments Compromise Revenue
- September 19, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Experience has demonstrated that there are three areas where companies tend to compromise with sales candidate assessments and those compromises always lead to revenue shortages: