Search Results
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Vote the Best Top Article on Sales and Sales Management
- December 17, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is a pretty exciting time for us. We reviewed 1,000 articles which I’ve posted on this Blog since 2006 in an effort to present you with the Top 15 Sales Articles of the past six years, and later this week, the Top Sales Article of the last six years. It was not quick, easy, fun or obvious. They aren’t necessarily the most viewed and they do not have the most inbound links. But we did pick fifteen of the more serious articles. Some are articles backed by science and some are assessment comparisons. Five are on selling and two are articles where I debunked other published articles. Missing are the articles with analogies, humor and comparisons to children, but other than that, it’s a nice cross-section.
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Zig Ziglar’s Legacy to the Sales World
- November 28, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Zig died today at the age of 86. Seth Godin memorialized him here. I wrote about our chance meeting here 6 years ago.
I want to talk about Zig’s life and his sales and selling impact.
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Top 10 Lies Your Salespeople Hear and What to Do About it
- November 15, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Best Top 10 Lists, Understanding the Sales Force
Do you know who else thinks we are morons? Prospects.
How many of your salespeople have been told any of the following lies?
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Sales Managers Must Make Sure That This Never Happens
- September 26, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You are driving down the highway and see an enormous truck in your side mirror. The truck is moving very fast – twice your speed – and closing in quickly. You continue to look in the mirror and because of the way your side mirror is shaped, it appears that the closer the truck gets, the more likely it seems that the truck will simply run right over you. You accelerate a little, keeping watch on that mirror and then it happens. You miss the sharp bend in the road and drive off the cliff.
This short story is the real-world equivalent to something which often occurs with your salespeople.
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Getting Excited About New Sales Opportunities
- September 24, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Why do salespeople get more excited about big sales opportunities than they do about strong sales opportunities? I don’t know about you, but I get much more excited about an opportunity which has a strong likelihood of closing than a big one that at best has less than a 50% chance. What about you?
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2 Keys to Selling Success from Ann Romney and Chris Christie
- August 29, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I have been delivering that message for more than 20 years, not to citizens who must vote for a candidate, but to sales leadership, sales management and salespeople who let their need for approval – their need to be liked – interfere with every facet of what they do.
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The Unusual Case of Arturo – How He Sabotaged His Own Sales
- July 26, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Solving the problem was actually quite easy. I explained to Arturo that his prospects were wondering, “If he doesn’t follow up when he is trying to get the business, what kind of follow-up will I get after he has the business? He doesn’t appear to care very much or be very reliable, so I don’t think I will buy from him.”
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Top 5 Sales Management Best Practices
- July 24, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Best Top 10 Lists, Understanding the Sales Force
Let’s see how those actually compare with the Top 5 Sales Management Best Practices – not the things sales managers necessarily do, but the things sales managers should do:
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Can the Right Music Motivate and Improve Sales Performance?
- May 22, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
One of the many changes to affect selling during the last several years is that salespeople are making fewer face-to-face sales calls than ever before and more of the selling has moved to the phone. This has resulted in more calls (although shorter), more resistance with a longer sales cycle, and greater success in closing sales, deals and accounts which might not have been possible just a few years ago. The biggest difference though? It might just be the music.
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Do Chain Reactions Like This Really Occur When Selling?
- May 8, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Mary always succeeded in finding new opportunities, but her weaknesses, especially her Need for Approval, Discomfort Talking About Money, and Tendency to Become Emotionally Involved, would usually interfere with her ability to gain traction and close the sale. During the past year, she has improved enough so that she is not only finding new business, but closing it too. But she isn’t out of the woods yet.