Search Results
-
The Top 8 Requirements for Becoming a Great Salesperson
- January 14, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Do you remember the moment you became a Salesperson? Not a presenter, Not an order taker, but a true consultative sales professional?
Here are some guidelines to identify the moment you turned professional.
-
Another Powerful Reason Why Salespeople Struggle to Become Great Sales Managers
- February 2, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We talk a lot about the mistake so many companies make when they take their best salespeople and make them sales managers. While it’s not always a mistake, the most commonly discussed reasons include:
-
Holiday Sales Treat – A Mashup of Two Classic Songs
- December 6, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This past weekend I read that the lyrics to the popular Christmas song, “Baby it’s Cold Outside” were rewritten to emphasize consent. And the weekend before I saw the news that Brady Bunch Mom, Florence Henderson, had passed away. That immediately caused the Brady Bunch theme song to come to mind but my brain tends to combine things. In 2005, when I combined sales and baseball, it became Baseline Selling, which when I looked as I was writing this, was still ranked #9 in the sales category on Amazon.com. So my brain went and combined the Brady Bunch Theme song with a lyric change and came up with this diddy on OMG.
-
Remembering The Most Powerful Sales Lesson of My Life
- September 6, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Which one thing helps almost every salesperson succeed, even when they have other challenges?
-
Did You Know That There is a Season for Hiring Salespeople?
- September 17, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Did you know that when it comes to hiring salespeople, there are also seasonal trends we know to be true ?
-
Should a Salesperson be Punished after a Huge Sale?
- May 4, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My wife and I watched with a combination of fascination, sadness and shock as the coach of our son’s 12 and under AAU baseball team made them run suicides after the double header they won on Saturday, and again after the double header they won on Sunday. Why would he punish them after winning four games this weekend? And how does this apply to sales? You’ll be amazed by what you read.
-
20 Lessons from a 10-Year Sales Blogger
- April 16, 2015
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When my COO, John Pattison, had an excited look on his face, I thought he had a great new idea for a product enhancement. Instead, he said, “Did you know that this week is the 10th Anniversary of your Blog?” I didn’t. He also pointed out that I had written and posted 1,236 articles, generated more than 562,000 views directly on my blog and perhaps double or triple that number when you include syndication. So what have I learned about blogging and how can that help you?
-
Leading a Sales Force is Even More Like Baseball
- November 6, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I’ve written plenty about the similarity betwen baseball and selling, but today I’m writing about the similarity between baseball and sales leadership. If you’re not a baseball person, you might not see the same things that I see, most of which can be applied to leading a sales force. For example,
-
Baseball, Sales Cycles, and the Quest for Shorter
- September 23, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In selling, there are even more options for shortening the sales cycle. They include:
-
Baseball and Selling Revisited – A Powerful Analogy
- June 12, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A salesperson tells you about a great-looking opportunity that has been forecast to close this month. “We’re definitely getting this and it’s an awesome opportunity for us. We’re going to knock this one out of the park!”
At the end of the month, the deal hasn’t closed and you question your salesperson about it. You are told that the decision-maker has been away on vacation, but as soon as he returns, the deal is sure to get done.
A month later, nothing has changed. This time, the salesperson admits that he has had a little difficulty reaching the decision-maker, but he is sure that nothing has changed. You are assured that everything is good.
Six months later, when the deal still hasn’t closed, you force the salesperson to archive the opportunity with the salesperson still not understanding what went wrong.