Kurlan & Associates
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  • How to Use Your Experience with Turbulence to Overcome Resistance

    • February 24, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    We were on a JetBlue flight from Florida to Boston and the turbulence was much worse than usual.  More dramatic, longer lasting, and bad enough for the flight attendants to remain seated for the entire flight.  You’ve probably experienced a flight like that too.  Fun!  

    The jet was probably traveling 500 MPH but it’s funny how when the air is smooth, it doesn’t even seem like you’re moving, but when you add some serious bumps, you can feel every single one of those 500 MPH.  It feels more like an out-of-control roller coaster!

    Sales calls work the same way.

    When prospects are rushed, disinterested, resistant or rude, the call feels bumpy, like a jet traveling through turbulence.  When prospects are engaged, interested, and answering your questions, it feels smooth, like you’re hardly moving.

    So how can you get that smooth feeling on every call or meeting?

    read more
  • Salespeople Make This Mistake – The Dumb Question I Was Asked in a Hotel Restaurant

    • February 15, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I pulled up to the entrance of the Doubletree Hotel, greeted Chris, and we walked into the hotel restaurant.  As we approached the table, a well-meaning server asked, are you an Honors member?  I said, “yes.”  

    A moment later she returned and said she couldn’t find me in the system.  She asked me to spell my name, went back to her computer, and returned again, saying, “I can’t find your reservation in the system.”

    I explained that I wasn’t a hotel guest and we were here for breakfast.  “Oh, then you’ll have to pay for your breakfast!”  

    “OK,” I said.  After all, I was expecting to pay for breakfast!

    Can you imagine how much simpler it would have been if her first question was, “Are you staying with us?”

    Salespeople make the exact same mistake.  How do I know?  I can prove this with several examples.

    read more
  • Hiring Salespeople Should Not be Like a Coin Flip

    • February 6, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Hiring salespeople does not have to be like a pot luck supper or a coin flip.  If you are selective instead of impulsive, good things will happen.  Take a look at the image below.

    read more
  • I’m Sorry But Your Sales Process Sucks

    • February 1, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Perhaps you saw this too.  Yesterday, a post appeared in my LinkedIn feed that talked about the power of sales process.  The article was clearly written to support the author’s technology application, which helps track sales KPI’s; so they should know a little about the topic of sales process.

    Towards the end of the article, they provided a sample of what an effective sales process should look like.  The following text is exactly what they wrote:

    read more
  • An Easier Way to Coach Salespeople – For a While

    • January 30, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    As I suggested to a pair of sales managers today, there is an intermediate step they can take.  You can use the following approach to coach to any selling competency but this example helps your salespeople who need to take a more consultative approach.

    This is easy – you can do this.

    read more
  • Great News! The Latest Data Shows That Salespeople are Improving

    • January 23, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Some really terrific news came across my desk this week when John Pattison, Objective Management Group’s (OMG’s) COO, showed me two graphs he had created.  For the first time in recent memory, salespeople as a profession GOT BETTER!

    That’s right, when we compared the results of the 85,000 or so salespeople that were evaluated in 2018 to the 80,000 or so salespeople that were evaluated in 2017, there was a measurable improvement in overall scores!

    Let’s review the two graphs below.

    read more
  • Do the Least Informed Salespeople Have the Loudest Voices

    • January 22, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do the least informed among us have the loudest voices? 

    Consider two very different salespeople working a new opportunity. 

    read more
  • Top 13 Requirements to Help You Soar as a Sales Manager

    • January 17, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In my last article I shared the top 8 requirements for becoming a great salesperson.  Wow, did that resonate with people and there was a great discussion about it on LinkedIn.  In addition to that, I received a number of emails asking, what are the requirements for becoming a great sales manager?

    I’ll share those in a moment but first, since they were so popular, a few more “do you remember the first time” questions:

    read more
  • 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. 

    read more
  • Popularity Polls are Just Like Sales Management Tracking Metrics!

    • January 8, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Have you ever watched a news program where they presented poll results, like the number of people in favor of legalizing marijuana?  The poll shows popular opinion, but not the facts, logic, or impact on arrests, the economy, traffic accidents, unemployment, addiction, death rates, etc.  There is a huge difference between people’s often uninformed opinions, versus what the facts might suggest.  That’s the problem with the statistics I’m going to share in this article.  The stats show what sales managers are doing but those managers are largely uninformed. They don’t know what’s good for them, haven’t been asked or held accountable to doing it differently, and aren’t in any way shape or form following best practices.  John Pattison, Objective Management Group’s COO, mined some data on salespeople who report to sales managers.  I was appalled by what I saw.  Check this out!

    read more
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    OMG Names Kurlan a Diamond Award Winner for 2024

    January 31, 2025
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    January 7, 2025
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Kurlan & Associates

Kurlan & Associates, Inc. was founded in 1985 by Dave Kurlan, a renowned expert in sales force assessments, training and strategic growth strategies.

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