Search Results
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Selling Value – Everything You Always Wanted to Know
- December 4, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
So if not those topics, then what should we all be writing about – all the time – that would be a real difference maker for salespeople?
I believe that it’s the importance of and ability to sell value. Why, you ask?
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Top 5 Sales Issues Leaders Should Not Focus On
- November 19, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Understanding the Sales Force
Did you ever watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers have a bad day at Quarterback? Did you notice that the following day, everyone was saying that he sucked? While it’s possible that these three Quarterbacks could have a bad day, most of their bad days are less about them and more about whether or not their offensive lines gave them the time and protection they needed to find an open man and make a good pass. It could also have something to do with whether or not their receivers were able to quickly get open.
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Leading a Sales Force is Even More Like Baseball
- November 6, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
I’ve written plenty about the similarity betwen baseball and selling, but today I’m writing about the similarity between baseball and sales leadership. If you’re not a baseball person, you might not see the same things that I see, most of which can be applied to leading a sales force. For example,
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Sales Success is Like Making Great Tasting Soup
- November 3, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Sales success is no more about any one competency than great-tasting soup is about one ingredient. If you omit one ingredient, like salt, the soup will taste bland. If you omit one competency, like Qualifying, your sales effectiveness will suffer. While you can’t leave one ingredient out of the soup, it’s also not possible to make soup by focusing on and including only one ingredient. Likewise, with sales, you can’t expect to succeed, dominate your market, and celebrate your results if you focus on and include only one of the competencies on my list.
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The One Thing Most Salespeople Are Unable to Do
- October 27, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Can you guess what it is – the one thing most salespeople are unable to do?
Based on what I most frequently write about, you might think that it would be consultative selling, but that’s not it. You might also guess that it’s the sales equivalent of eating right – not doing demos and presentations so early in the sales process. But that’s not it either.
However, there really is one thing that all but the most elite salespeople are unable to do. It is partly a result of their inability to sell consultatively while continuing to demo, present, quote and propose too early. Can you guess what it is now?
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Not the 3 Most Important Sales Hiring Attributes
- October 24, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
One topic that never gets stale is how to make sure that you nail sales selection. Whether or not salespeople actually fail, or they simply stick around, but fail to have an impact, the common theme is still failure to select the right salespeople. Recently, I stumbled upon this article about 3 Uncoachable Sales Attributes that you should focus on to get hiring right.
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How Would These Sports Celebrities Perform in Sales?
- October 23, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
I decided to lighten things up a bit with my analysis of how some famous sports celebrities would perform if they were in sales. You’ll enjoy this one.
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The Biggest Secret of Sales Rockstars
- October 20, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
In the old days, after speaking at a conference, I would frequently be told that I was the top-rated speaker at the event. More recently, people have told me that I “Rocked!” One time, as I was being introduced, an audience member came up to me and said, “Don’t Suck!” We can’t always be rock stars…
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Are Salespeople Also Joggers?
- September 26, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
As I drove to work today, I passed 4 joggers, all with different styles, paces and appearances. As usual, I saw the similarities between what I observed and the sales profession.
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Starting with the Sales Management Team – Is it a Bad Decision?
- August 21, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Companies typically have 5 reasons for starting with the sales managers:
