Search Results
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Sales Experts Disagree on Right Way to Train Salespeople
- May 15, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I was involved in a nearly week long, on line discussion with about a half dozen other sales experts in the Top Sales Experts Group at LinkedIn that to date has included about 41 volleys. The original question, raised by the UK publisher of modernselling.com, asked whether there was a right way or a wrong way to train salespeople. While there was some agreement on some points, there was much disagreement on many points.
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Why is Selling So Difficult – Let Me Count the Ways
- April 20, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Wouldn’t it be nice if selling was as easy as most salespeople treat it? You would just come right out and say what you’re selling, tell prospects why it’s important, explain the features and benefits, tell them what it costs, and make the sale. After all, that’s how we did it in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s so easy. It’s so logical, it’s so ineffective. Why is selling so difficult? I have a number of answers….
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Top 14 Requirements to Perform a Sales Force Makeover
- April 16, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
For kicks, let’s take a look at this week’s Baseline Selling mail bag.
One reader emailed that he just inherited a radio station in Honduras, has never sold before, and he and his salespeople aren’t able to book appointments.
Another reader is the Sales Director for several well-known magazines and said that her top producing team is down 50% from last year.
Yet another reader wrote and wanted to know how to chop her 2-3 year sales cycle down to 2-3 months.
And one President fired all of his salespeople, is back on the road selling and wonders what he can do to thrive.
What do all four of these scenarios have in common?
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Good News Not a Substitute for Sales Force Competencies
- April 8, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Do you want to hear something crazy?
I’m a very prolific writer – not to say I’m a good writer, just that I post a lot. And of the dozens and dozens of posts from the last three months, would you like to guess what the LEAST read post was?
It was the one where I wrote about signs that the economy was improving! And one of the MOST read posts was the one where I wrote about the media making the economy worse.
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Exposed – Personality Tests Disguised as Sales Assessments
- January 28, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, I met with a long-time client who, in his previous company, used OMG’s Assessments to identify what needed to change in order to double revenue from $30 million to $60 million. In his new company, which is already about 12x that size, he wants to double revenue again. He said, “I just wasted two years with the _____ Assessment.” The assessment to which he referred was a personality assessment marketed as a sales assessment. It could have referred to any personality or behavioral-styles assessment.
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Sales Competencies and Your Competition
- November 6, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Companies don’t invest enough time and energy being strategic and tactical about competition. The approach shouldn’t be economic as much as it should be tactical. Your approach should revolve around neutralizing your competition as opposed to being competitive with your competition.
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Improve Sales Effectiveness at the Salesperson’s Hall of Fame
- June 16, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This weekend we visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY and I was struck by a few things:
1) Why don’t we have a Hall of Fame for Salespeople? I know that companies provide awards for their own salespeople but is that limited recognition enough for those who are motivated most by recognition?
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Maximum Effort is the Key to Sales Success
- June 4, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
When companies attempt to improve sales they often look first to sales skills. If you’ve been reading this Blog for a while, you know that I believe skills are important, but only to a certain degree. The problem with putting an emphasis on developing only the skills is that without the proper combination of strengths and incentive to support the use of those skills, the skills alone don’t get it done.
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A Tale of Two Salespeople – Conflicting Competencies
- April 16, 2008
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Salesperson number one shows up, fails to develop a relationship, assumes he (or she) knows everything, makes a presentation that the prospect doesn’t care about and leaves, believing he did a good job. The prospect has eliminated this salesperson.
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My Turnover’s Bigger Than Your Turnover
- June 21, 2005
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
They both share the same belief in the importance of a consultative approach to selling, have a sales process, and not being order takers. They both have capable sales management. They both pay well, above the industry norm. PM turned over only 2 of 16 salespeople last year while GP turned over 5 of 12. Why such a difference?