Kurlan & Associates
Kurlan & Associates
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  • How Salespeople Can Differentiate Themselves with Their Introduction

    • November 4, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    sales analogy king

    Discover how adopting a catchy moniker—like my new “Sales Analogy King”—can set you apart in sales intros. Inspired by Verne Harnish and a “Tree-Stump Guy” hire, this reflective piece explores personal branding, legacy, and uncovering hidden talent with assessments like OMG.

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  • The Golf to Sales Analogy: When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

    • November 4, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    golf and selling

    Discover how a late start in golf taught me the ultimate sales lesson: “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.” From clueless reps sending premature proposals to managers without accountability, this post reveals the blind spots killing sales performance—and how a savvy CEO fixed it all.

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  • Sales Cholesterol Reveals If Your Sales Pipeline Is Clogged (And How to Fix It)

    • October 31, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    sales cholesterol

    In this follow-up to my viral LinkedIn rant on pipeline blockages, I dive deeper into “sales cholesterol”—a new way to measure the health of your sales pipeline. Drawing from my quadruple bypass experience and inspired by comments from sales pros like Larry Levine, we map heart health metrics (HDL, LDL, ratios, and inflammation) to sales milestones using my Baseline Selling framework. Learn how to score opportunities, reps, and teams to spot clogs early, improve forecasts, and avoid those deadly stalls. No more unreliable probabilities—get objective diagnostics to tweak your lead gen “diet” or “medicate” with coaching.

    read more
  • The Salesperson’s Survival Kit: 236 Sales Attributes, Traits, Competencies, and Behaviors to Crush Quotas

    • October 24, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    62 Essential sales traits

    I dug through 20 years of blog posts to compile every sales trait, competency, attribute, characteristic, element, component and desirable skill I’ve ever written about. From the 21 Sales Core Competencies to Steve Jobs’ deal-making magic, this cheat sheet is your roadmap to elite selling—packed with data, humor, and no-BS advice to up your sales game.

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  • How to Differentiate with 4 Response Options and 10 Must-Have Traits for Sales Success

    • October 17, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    sales differentiation

    It happened again—a sales leadership candidate imploded over an automated job email, firing off snarky replies like demanding a call, calling me a “timid man,” and later slamming my business as a “sinking ship” seeking “submissive corporate slaves.” But that’s a win: It exposed his attitude early via predicted weaknesses like emotional blow-ups and rejection issues. Pivoting to sales pros, use a highway frustration analogy (stuck behind a 30 MPH slowpoke) to explore 4 response options: scream, pass, ram (yikes), or follow patiently. True differentiation? Nail option 2 with 10 must-have traits, from ditching fear to asking killer questions. Gauge your team’s fit and boost your sales game.

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  • How Half-Measures in Your Sales Process Can Kill Your Win Rate

    • October 15, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    sales process half measures

    Dr. Charles Stanley’s take on The Lord’s Prayer sparked a revelation: just like prayer, a sales process needs belief and intent to work. Too many companies compromise, settling for “good enough” results. Learn how a no-compromise approach with Baseline Selling doubled win rates for clients, including a $24M-to-$65M Oracle acquisition, and how it can boost your win rate by 30% or more—guaranteed.

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  • Sales Grit: Why Only 20% of Salespeople Have It (And How to Fix the Rest)

    • October 12, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    sales grit

    Discover how baseball’s evolving stats mirror the need for relentless sales grit. Drawing from real CEO and VP insights, explore why most salespeople fall short on commitment, perseverance, and more—and what it takes to elevate your team.

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  • How the MLB Playoffs Can Help You Rethink Your Sales Team

    • September 29, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    winning sales team

    What if your sales team was built like an MLB playoff roster? In this post, we explore how the high-stakes, cutthroat nature of the 2025 MLB playoffs can inspire you to rethink your sales team, keeping only the top performers who drive revenue growth and letting go of the rest.

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  • Top 5 Ways to Stop Striking Out on Your Sales Forecasts

    • September 21, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    subscribe

    The Boston Red Sox are whiffing 62% of their bases-loaded, no-outs chances—way worse than the MLB’s 15% fail rate. Sound like your sales pipeline? Discover why high-probability deals fizzle out and how to fix it with five key strategies, from robust qualifying to predictive scorecards.

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  • What Businesses Can Learn About Selling From Religions

    • September 14, 2025
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    prayer

    Ever wonder how religions compete for followers like salespeople pitch a product? From Judaism to atheism, each has a unique value prop to stand out. Here’s how their one-liners stack up, plus a lesson for B2B companies on selling you, not just price.

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Latest News
  • Another Top Sales Blog Award

    Another Top Sales Blog Award

    March 11, 2026
  • OMG Names Kurlan & Associates a Diamond Winner for 2025 Performance

    OMG Names Kurlan & Associates a Diamond Winner for 2025 Performance

    February 17, 2026
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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