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Do Stories Make a Difference When Selling?
- May 10, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Perhaps you have some stories that you always share – to make a point, lower resistance, show a different perspective, break up a technical presentation, provide examples, or explain what you do.
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Selling is All in the Timing
- May 9, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Selling is like cooking.
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The Longest Sales Cycle Ever – How They Closed the Deal
- May 3, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If only your salespeople had that kind of commitment and staying power. If only they were able to somehow get connected to their target prospects. If only they could close the big ones on the first call. It’s OK to dream big. It’s OK to think about possibilities like this. It’s OK to want your salespeople to do more, more quickly, more often, and with more success. Until your desires become expectations, you won’t do anything to change the behaviors that lead to results.
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The New Way To Train and Develop Salespeople – Does it Work?
- May 2, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The impact of these changes is that salespeople receive less information, less often, but focus more, for a longer period of time, on each important component of the sales process. The net result is that they reach their potential and generate more revenue more quickly than in the past. One hour – one topic – one thing to practice – two weeks to practice it.
Simple. Effective. It works. So the formula is LESS, LESS OFTEN = MORE, MORE QUICKLY.
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Salespeople Failing to Get Prospects to the Phone
- April 28, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is a great example of why so many salespeople waste so much time chasing down their prospects and why prospects do such a fantastic job of avoiding these calls and emails.
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Bad Things That Happen When You Leave it Up to Your Salespeople
- April 27, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Here are the 10 most common things that your salespeople will do when they aren’t managed effectively, or, in many cases, when they are only managed on an as needed basis.
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Does Fear Prevent Salespeople From Executing Your Sales Plan?
- April 22, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
These are just a few examples of self-limiting sales management beliefs! Is it possible that you or your sales managers have some of them?
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Is it Good to Have Perfectionists on Your Sales Force?
- April 20, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The best thing about perfectionists on your sales force is that you don’t usually have to worry about their administrative accuracy. Their emails, letters, proposals and quotes are well done and not prone to typos. The information they input into your CRM or SFA is accurate and done on a timely basis. Their call reports are meticulous and submitted on time. What’s not to like about that?
The downside of course. And what’s that?
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Little League and the Sales Force – It’s more Than Trophies
- April 18, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The underlying premise for a contest is to change behavior that will drive revenue!
Challenge your salespeople, provide incentives for them to modify behaviors to drive revenue, and reward them for leading the way. It’s a formula that can’t be beat.
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Money Motivated Salespeople a Dying Breed
- April 8, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I mined the data on 150,000 salespeople that were assessed in the past three years, a period of time that includes both the pre and post economic crash. I noted that the only data point that has changed for salespeople is the percentage that were Money Motivated.
50% fewer salespeople are money motivated today as compared to the findings from 2007.