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Why Sales Transformation Achieves Better Results Than Sales Training Alone
- January 22, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You brought in sales training but it didn’t achieve the expected change because the training didn’t address the bigger problems that went beyond selling skills. You may not have realized that companies really need sales transformation and while sales training can be part of that transformation, on its own, it usually underperforms.
Why?
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New Movie Has 3 Great Lessons for Salespeople and Sales Managers
- January 18, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Among all the product shortages we have experienced in the past ten months, there has been no shortage of crappy movies. It’s almost like the movie studios decided to release all the movies filmed in the past several years that weren’t ready for prime time and hope that people would stream them at home during the pandemic because we had watched everything else.
One exception to the crappiness of 2020 movies is The Trial of the Chicago 7. This article is not a review of the movie but it was a terrific film and worth the time to watch it. As good as this movie is, it comes with a bonus because it also provides three exceptional lessons for salespeople and sales managers. Let’s take a look!
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Are Sales Managers Coaching More Frequently Now That Everyone is at Their Desks?
- January 14, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We know how sales managers were doing before the pandemic. It wasn’t very good and I wrote about it in November which had data for the last 10 years. What do you think would be different if I filtered the data to show only the last six months of 2020, the time during which sales managers should have already made changes? Do you think it got better, worse, or stayed the same?
Let’s find out.
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My Prediction – What’s in Store for Sales Teams in 2021?
- January 8, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When I made my predictions for 2020 I’m pretty sure I didn’t predict a pandemic. Making predictions isn’t easy.
In the US, sales teams are coming off three robust years of sales growth and while revenue was up during that time, the percentage of salespeople hitting quotas was not. That means the top 20% were not only carrying the load, they carried more of the load.
That dynamic growth hit an iron barrier last spring when COVID became the unexpected economic disrupter, but the second half comeback was quite impressive. What does 2021 have in store for those of us in the sales world? In the US, how will Democrat control of all three branches of government affect sales and selling? And how long before that kicks in?
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2021 Challenge: Put a Little Beatles Into Your Selling!
- January 4, 2021
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The only thing that would make the Beatles different today is technology. The sound quality would be SO much better. It wouldn’t change their songs but the songs would sound better. It wouldn’t eliminate the work they did to write the songs but they would get the songs transcribed and notated more quickly. They would still have to record their music but the recording would be digital which would make mixing much easier.
Isn’t this all pretty much the same as sales? Let’s take a run-through.
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Key to Successfully Hiring Salespeople: Getting it Right Versus Getting it Over With
- December 21, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Recruiting salespeople doesn’t need to be difficult or complicated, but it is a process and needs to be completed thoroughly and correctly. Ask yourself this question: eighteen months from now, would you prefer to have spent five months to get it right and have a productive new salesperson, or three months getting it over with, only to have to do it again four months later, and again four months after that.
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The Nutcracker in 2020 and 3 Critical Year-End Lessons for Salespeople and Their Managers
- December 15, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
But this is 2020 and everything is different. That is as true for the ballet as it is for my article. So while we won’t be in Boston, we will stream a performance on TV and while there may not be any in-person sales calls, virtual sales calls can be quite satisfying in December. Today’s article explores the three most likely December scenes in which you may find yourself as well as what you must watch for.
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My Dog Has Better Listening Skills Than Most Salespeople and I’ll Prove It
- December 10, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Prospects don’t pay a lot of attention so the less you say the better. It helps them listen and comprehend more of what you share with them when you use fewer words. But prospects aren’t the only ones who don’t listen. Salespeople don’t listen very well either. As a matter of fact, my dog has better listening skills than most salespeople because my dog knows what to listen for. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it in the video below.
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How a Mug of Dunkin Can Help You More Effectively Sell Value
- December 9, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is another Bob story. Bob was on a sales call and the prospect told him that they were looking for the lowest price. I hope you hate it when that happens. It’s a bad thing because while Bob was supposed to be selling value, a price-based conversation is transactional yet he’s supposed to be taking a consultative approach to support the value he provides. Would you like to guess what Bob did instead? Yup, he got them his best price. Ugh!
So what should Bob have done instead to turn this around and not waste everyone’s time?
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The $225,000 Selling Mistake Most Salespeople Make
- December 7, 2020
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
While colleagues and supervisors shared their enthusiasm for this exciting moment, my first reaction was, “And why do you think this is good news?”