• How Dell and Apple Use Customer Service as a Sales Force

    • May 20, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ve written several articles about customer service and how quickly and easily they can passively sell your customers on defecting from your company and moving their business to a competitor.  My favorite targets over the years have been Verizon, Dell and the airlines, but recently, my commercial insurance agent, and my accountant have accomplished this feat too.  In this article, it’s Apple’s turn and just wait until you read this…

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  • Top 10 Video Blunders When Used as a Sales Aid

    • May 19, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I love the fact that companies have video available to make email and Internet communication more personal; to deliver a more compelling visual message; to say with emotion what can’t be said in an email; to introduce themselves or their companies; to tell a story; and yes, to sell in a way that can’t be done with text.

    But before you go crazy and decide to include or increase your use of video, let’s talk about the mistakes to avoid.

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  • Best Sales Strategy For Your Company

    • May 18, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What would you do if one of your sales reps called at 5 PM on a Friday, the last day of the month, on the final day of a bad quarter and said, “Good News – I closed ___________!”(insert any huge company here)

    You’d get excited, your heart would beat a little faster, you’d feel relieved because things seem to be turning around, and you’re thinking, “This is good, damn it.”

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  • Is Your Law Firm Anything Like Your Sales Consulting Firm?

    • May 17, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    So it surprises me that despite the value and obvious need for these benefits, many companies do not rely on sales consulting firms because they think they can do it themselves. Their egos get in the way…

    Most of the clients I have helped over the years thought the very same thing!

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  • Derek Jeter Shows Salespeople How to Convert Leads to Opportunities

    • May 13, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Derek Jeter, the leader and all-star shortstop for the New York Yankees, goes all out running hard to first base on every ball he puts into play.  As a result, it’s easy for management to expect the same kind of hustle and effort from everyone on the team.  After all, if the star does it, then everyone should do it. Other teams?  Not so much.  David Ortiz of the Boston  Red Sox never runs hard on a ground ball so what does management say to a younger player who also fails to run hard?

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  • Aligning and Optimizing Sales and Marketing to Increase Conversions

    • May 12, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do you ever wonder how web pages help (or hinder) the sales effort?  I do.

    When salespeople follow up on leads their success has a great deal to do with the quality and freshness of the leads. When they fail they blame marketing for generating lousy leads!

    On the other side of the coin, marketing looks at the NUMBER of leads generated for the sales force and how many of them convert to opportunities and business.  When the salespeople are ineffective at converting, marketing blames it on the sales force.

    When sales and marketing are aligned and optimized (lead emphasis on quality and sales emphasis on process), sales increase dramatically.

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  • What Sales Leaders Don’t Know About Ego and Empathy

    • May 12, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In the past week, three people had discussions with me about recruiting salespeople and suggested that the difference between successful and unsuccessful salespeople is that effective salespeople have empathy and ego.

    These people probably use personality and behavioral styles assessments too.  Those assessments, always poorly adapted for sales, feature empathy and ego.  There are three things you must know when it comes to salespeople and their empathy and ego.

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  • Tom Peters Top 9 Items for the Sales Force

    • May 11, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Tom had dozens of items on the list and an argument can be made to include more of them as staples of the sales force but these are a really good start.  If you were to pick just one to work on first, which one would you choose? 

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  • Xobni as Sales Assistant, Pivots Help Close Sales

    • May 6, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    My guest on yesterday’s edition of Meet the Sales Experts was Matt Brezina, the co-founder of Xobni. Do you have Xobni on your computer?  If you do, you know just how helpful it is.  If you don’t, all you need to know is that it will make you more you MUCH more productive with your Outlook or Blackberry email applications.  Listen to the show to learn more about it or visit their web site.

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  • Sales 2.0 – The Answer to our Prayers or a Costly Distraction?

    • May 5, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Let’s take a look at this phenomenon from another perspective.  Sales 2.0 is simply a high-tech, 21st Century version of the low-tech, 20th Century method for approaching, engaging and getting in front of prospects.  You know what I’m referring to:

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