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ISBM Sales Excellence Consortium
- March 26, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
On April 24, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) will hold an all day consortium on sales excellence. The event, to be held at the Philadelphia office of Deloitte Consulting, should be a great day for attendees. I will speak on the Keys to Recruiting STARS. You can learn more about the event and you can register here.
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Singing the Sales Blues
- March 26, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I received an email today that describes How to Sing and Play the Blues. It was very funny but unfortunately, I don’t know who wrote it so I can’t give proper credit. I forwarded it to a few music lovers and musicians and one of them, Ken Stark, Owner of Stark & Associates, a St. Louis sales development firm, replied back in less than five minutes with his original lyrics to “Too Much Pretendin’ Blues”. Next time your salespeople are singin’ the blues, have them sing this instead!
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Putting “The Secret” to Work for You
- March 26, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Unless you’ve been living in a cave you’ve probably heard all about The Secret by now. If you’re a driven person who has been among the living there is a really good chance that you’ve either watched the movie, read the book or visited their web site. I am asked often about The Secret, whether I believe in it and if it actually works so in today’s post.
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When the Weak Economy Collides with Ineffective Salespeople
- March 26, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
As the daily stories of economic woes continue to be featured in the headlines, most companies have their own version of the current economy and its affect on them. From the perspective of the sales force, we help overhear your salespeople returning from calls with objections like:
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Selling the Dream – 3 Lessons for the Sales Force
- March 24, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When a company, vendor, provider, salesperson, sales manager or business leader exceeds your expectations, you will tell somebody, try to get them excited and create buzz.
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Sales Motivation – Boston Celtics are the Hungriest Team
- March 14, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Max said that Garnett, Pierce and Allen are hungrier veterans because they haven’t won anything yet, unlike some of their counterparts in the NBA. He said that their hunger, more than their talent, is the big differentiator that is making the Celtics the team to beat this year.
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Focused Sales Efforts Temporarily Improve Sales Competencies
- March 10, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Every company has people whose sales competencies are not fully developed. Perhaps their salespeople don’t find enough new opportunities. Maybe they don’t ask for referrals often enough. It’s possible that opportunities languish in the pipeline for too long. There are a number of reasons for results like these, from weaknesses that prevent your salespeople from performing as desired, to sales management’s ineffective motivation, setting of expectations, coaching and accountability.
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Sales Compensation Changes Fail to Change Results
- March 7, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Great intentions but lousy results – it’s not unusual. But why? Let’s explore the reasons behind designing and implementing programs like these.
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New Salespeople – Realistic Expectations
- March 6, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You’ve seen new salespeople start out and inside of 60 days, build a pipeline to be proud of. You’ve had some that started and couldn’t seem to book appointments without your coaching. You’ve had some that were able to close some new business sooner than anyone expected. You’ve had some who couldn’t get started because they didn’t want to speak with a prospect until they knew they could carry off a perfect phone conversation. You’ve had some who never got started at all. Why all this variation?
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The Sales Part of Seth Godin’s ‘How Do I Persuade You?’
- March 5, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, Seth Godin posted this article, explaining how every prospect is different. I haven’t always agreed with Seth when his thought-leader-thinking has overlapped with my domain but this post is spot on. What he doesn’t suggest is, how do you take his questions and make them work in your sales organization?