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Public Speaking Simplified

August 4, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

I would guess that the only thing that is more common than an underperforming sales force is the discomfort that people have before they speak. And I’m not even talking about speaking in front of an audience. This discomfort can even manifest when presenting to one intimidating individual!

Speaking doesn’t have to be so difficult, especially when you are talking about what you know – your own area of expertise. Just follow my simple rules and you’ll be awesome!

10 Steps to Record-Breaking Sales Revenues

June 30, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

When things loosen up (and things will loosen up) and companies and consumers both begin spending money again, you could be in for a significant windfall. You may even have some record breaking revenue months if, and it’s a big if, you have your sales force doing all of the right things, even while companies and consumers aren’t spending money.

How to Find More Sales Opportunities (without Cold Calling)

June 19, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

The two biggest problems for most companies right now, in this economy, are delayed closings and not enough new opportunities. I’ve tackled delayed closings, so today, with a little help from my friends, I’ll tackle not enough new opportunities. I mentioned in my last post that (most of) you need three times more opportunities than ever before to make up for the late stage opportunities that aren’t closing right now.

Sales Assessment Says He’s Weak but He Made President’s Club

June 12, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

Yesterday a well meaning Sales Manager, in defense of his salesperson, asked me how a salesperson who made “Club” could possibly assess so poorly. It’s a great question with a dozen or more possible explanations. Here are some:

Good News Not a Substitute for Sales Force Competencies

April 8, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

Do you want to hear something crazy?

I’m a very prolific writer – not to say I’m a good writer, just that I post a lot. And of the dozens and dozens of posts from the last three months, would you like to guess what the LEAST read post was?

It was the one where I wrote about signs that the economy was improving! And one of the MOST read posts was the one where I wrote about the media making the economy worse.

Don’t Make Assumptions About Sales Candidates

March 31, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

I have previously shared many instances of sales candidate assessments coming to life with their email, voice mails and interview antics following the taking of our assessment. While the following email is another example of that, it is an even better example of what happens when a skeptical client finally realizes it:

The client wrote:

The Sales Force with Over Achievers That Don’t

March 26, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

I heard about a CEO who told one of my colleagues that all of his salespeople over achieve. In the same phone conversation he mentioned that sales are down 20%. Can you imagine where sales would be if his salespeople under achieved?

Media is to Fuel as the Recession is to Fire – How Does it Impact the Sales Force?

March 11, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

The media – they didn’t cause the banking crisis but they have surely capitalized on it, dramatized it, chronically reported every devastating development and turned a serious but contained fire into a wildfire.

I don’t want to hear how many jobs have been lost. Who does that help?

The CEO Who Needed to Hire Salespeople

February 25, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

Yesterday I spoke with a CEO who asked for some help recruiting salespeople. It seems that the salespeople they had previously hired had failed. As I learned more about their business, a few things became obvious to me:

Personality Assessments – They Still Don’t Get it

February 18, 2009
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

The following email was recently forwarded to me. As you read it, look at the descriptors which the client references in the personality assessments. They’re not sales descriptors, so in essence, we have another example of an assessment which claims to be measuring one thing, but actually is measuring another: