• 12 Differences Between Your Salespeople and Sales Candidates
    • September 28, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was reviewing data for a recent subset of the salespeople that Objective Management Group has assessed and  was analyzing the distribution of the Commitment finding when I decided to separate the findings into two groups:

    1. Sales Candidates – those
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  • Top 15 Questions That Prospects Ask Themselves
    • September 27, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Following up yesterday’s Moneyball article, here are some more new things for you to think about.

    When your salespeople are in front of or on the phone with prospects, do they ever think in terms of whether their prospects:

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  • Does Moneyball Work for the Sales Force?
    • September 26, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    moneyball.coverThe movie was great – much more drama than the book – but the book contained many more insights about the revolutionary new way to see performance through statistics.  More on that in a minute…

    Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics

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  • Does Your Sales Force Have Asthma?
    • September 23, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    When I was young, my lungs would literally burn when I exerted myself on hot, humid days.  It wasn’t until I reached my forties and experienced similar symptoms that I recognized that I had Asthma as a kid.  But that’s

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  • Cold Calling Example – Best and Worst in a Single Sales Call
    • September 22, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    voice mail messageToday I received the best and worst sales cold call ever – all from the same salesperson.  It started with a voice mail where he expertly left his name, number and not much else – so I had to call

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  • Red Sox and the Sales Force – Winning and Losing is Contagious
    • September 21, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    redsoxThe Red Sox began the 2011 baseball season by losing 10 of their first 12 games.  So what?  Before the season began most experts predicted that the 2011 Red Sox could be the best team ever!  Yet despite all of

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  • Top 11 Reasons Why Salespeople Fail to Close Sales
    • September 19, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    stop sign

    Today I coached a salesperson who thought he had call reluctance – but I didn’t agree.  He was pushing through, making calls – although not as many as he should.  He has some need for approval – but since he

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  • Sales Selection – Would You Choose Bob or Mary?
    • September 16, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    NoMoneyGiven a choice between the following two salespeople, who would you rather have working for you?

    Bob: On the positive side he is extremely nice, friendly, knowledgable, courteous, reserved, and respectful.  On the negative side, he can’t ask difficult questions,

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  • Effective Sales Models
    • September 15, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    modelI wrote this article about the difference between sales process and sales methodology.  In addition to those two sales infrastructure components, companies should have a sales model.  How is the model different from the other two key components of an

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  • Stalled Sales Opportunities: When Your Prospect is Hiding
    • September 13, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    stalledThis happens to every single salesperson on the planet engaged in a sales cycle of longer than one call.

    “My prospect won’t return my calls”.

    “I can’t get my prospect to the phone”.

    “My prospect is ignoring me”.

    Those of

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