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5 Keys to Get Prospects to Trust You and Then Buy From You
- November 27, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
For most of 2017 those of us in the US have been inundated with political news. That means lots of talking points (or spin) and of course talking points and selling go hand and hand, right?
Maybe.
While catching up with the latest news during the Thanksgiving break, I heard talking points from both sides of the political spectrum. I was very disturbed with the lack of facts in those talking points. First we’ll discuss the lack of facts and then we’ll discuss how to make sure your talking points hit home with your prospects.
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How Companies Routinely Short Change Their Own Sales Force
- November 10, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Early on, their salespeople succeeded at selling to the low hanging fruit – the people that raised their hands because they needed or wanted the product. When the salespeople run out of low hanging fruit, sales stall as they struggle to convert prospects who see the product as nice to have, but not must have. That’s when most companies change gears and begin to innovate and invest in their product when in fact, they really need to innovate and invest in their sales force.
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Increase Odds of Successful Sales Hire by 368%
- November 6, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A Harvard Business Review study proved that using pre-employment assessments increased the probability of a successful hire from 13% to 72%.
I read that exact statement in a marketing promo for a search company and as they hoped, it got my attention. I thought the premise would make for a good article. I began by searching Google for the source of that quote and low and behold, I couldn’t locate it. I can’t say for sure that the study doesn’t exist or the percentages aren’t correct but I could not find a single thing that correlated to that quote.
Of course it makes sense that no such statistic exists
because with assessments making that much of a difference, it would be a no-brainer for every company to use them and on what planet are the chances of success only 13%?
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Distraction, Engagement, and Selling with Great Efficiency
- October 24, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Many salespeople are so busy getting the work done that they don’t see how much selling time they waste doing administrative work that can be postponed until later.
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It’s OK for Salespeople to Lie When This Happens
- October 20, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This new world we’re all living in is getting downright scary. It’s time to talk about selling in the context of this combustible culture but before I get started, a simple request to the haters on the left and the haters on the right. You are invited to read something else. I don’t want to spend the next week responding to hate comments.
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Why Do Salespeople Use Facts and Logic to Combat Objections?
- October 17, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The easy answer to the title question is that they have been trained to do that since they first arrived at sales kindergarten. Whether talking points, bullet points, inarguable facts, competitive differences, ROI, value proposition, brand promise or cost of ownership, these words and phrases have been reinforced since day 1.
The problem is that while salespeople confidently spout off these return volleys, the only thing accomplished is to make it more difficult to sell anything. When a prospect states an objection their resistance goes up. When a salesperson attempts to counter the objection with logic or facts, the prospect hears the hard sell and resistance is raised some more.
Logic does not overcome objections. So what does?
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5 Sales Hiring Mistakes and Fake Resume Claims
- October 10, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
One of the regional sales managers asked, “What are the 5 Biggest Mistakes that Sales Managers Make When Recruiting Salespeople?”
While that question is quite easy to answer, most companies, including their recruiters, HR professionals, sales leaders and executives are guilty of some or all of the following 5 mistakes:
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Customers Love to Buy – Why Do Salespeople Struggle?
- October 2, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
So if we all love buying stuff, why do salespeople struggle so much when they try to sell stuff? Why isn’t it as friction-free as an abundance of happy buyers would suggest it should be?
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4 Reasons Why Salespeople Suck at Consultative Selling.
- September 26, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, a sales manager I was coaching asked me to explain the difference between a great question and a tough question. I gave him the one-minute version but this article has the expanded version of that answer.
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9 Reasons Why Salespeople Lack the Urgency Necessary to Succeed
- September 25, 2017
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I coach a lot of sales leaders and their most common frustration is that they can’t understand why their salespeople don’t seem to have the same urgency as they did when they were selling.