Search Results
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When Do Follow Up Calls Add Value
- July 31, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Salespeople tend to fall into one of three groups when it comes to following up:
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Dave Kurlan’s Sales Videos & Rants
- June 10, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I’ve organized my sales videos and rants into categories so you can quickly find exactly what you’re looking for.
Raw, unscripted, no-BS takes on sales – most under 4 minutes. Warning: may contain truth bombs.
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The Importance of Decision Makers in an Uncertain Economy
- May 12, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
According to Objective Management Group’s data from the assessments on more than 2.3 salespeople, sellers who reach actual decision makers, early in the sales process, are 341% more likely to take the opportunity to closing.
But it’s worse than that.
In some companies, where they still believe they must call on procurement and rarely reach decision makers, the few salespeople who try and succeed are 880% more likely to get the business. Only one in four of the bottom half of all salespeople reach decision makers, and fewer than one in five of the bottom 10% get there. Only 1% of all new salespeople reach decision makers.
Then we have the case of determining who exactly is a decision maker.
The answer to that question depends upon who you ask.
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Grow Revenue During a Recession by Being Counter-Intuitive
- May 10, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
We know what doesn’t work in a recession.
The economic crisis of 2008-9, and the Covid lockdowns of 2020-2021 showed us that when companies focus on cost-cutting instead of growing revenue, revenue declines – sharply. Who would have guessed that smart people wouldn’t see that coming?
You know what to do when dry weather conditions aren’t favorable for growing trees, flowers, and shrubs. You don’t pull the plants out of the ground or let them succumb to the dry conditions. You add water. It’s a very simple concept.
Can companies add water to grow revenue when the economic conditions are evaporating? Yes, but it’s counter-intuitive.
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Did You Know That You Have Woodpeckers on Your Sales Team?
- May 8, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
There are plenty of things that could interfere with a salesperson’s ability to Hu or Farm and this article will discuss all of them.
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Snowstorm & Weather Apps Explain Why 75% of Sales Forecasts are Wrong
- March 16, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
As a Nor’Easter barreled across Central Massachusetts today, a few interesting storm-related happenings were analogous to some sales-related occurrences. This article will explore two weather-related analogies:
It’s in 3D – Dinger the Dog and his choice of Doors
The Magic of Weather AppsI’ve written about Dinger, our six-year-old Golden Doodle, several times. The most popular article was when I claimed and proved that Dinger’s listening skills were better than those of salespeople.
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Top 10 Keys to Determining and Improving Your Ideal Win Rate
- March 7, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Understanding the Sales Force
What kind of car should you drive?
Answering that question with anything other than, “It depends,” is irresponsible because there are so many variables. Choosing a car depends on budget, family size, how much stuff you load into your car, the length of your drives, the logo/ego influence, fit and function, ergonomics, appearance, perceived value, reliability, cost to drive it (gas/electric/mileage), and so much more.
If that makes senses, why do companies struggle when I am unable to instantly tell them what their win-rate or closing percentage should be?
There are so many the variables that can influence your sales win-rate and here are my top ten keys to win rates:
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The Challenger Style and its Impact on Sales Selection
- March 1, 2023
- Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
- Categories:
This White Paper responds to this article, which appeared on the Harvard Business Review Blog. The HBR article introduced a new selling style called the Challenger.
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The Difference Between Sales Competencies, Sales Capabilities and Sales Outcomes
- February 14, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Data and Science, Understanding the Sales Force
If you watched Super Bowl 57, you observed two teams that simply refused to give up or give in. Sometimes, that’s the feeling I get when I’m writing articles and I have solid data on my side, while dozens of competing authors just won’t stop their constant barrage of articles using junk science, anecdotal evidence, and alternate facts.
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Top Salespeople are 8600% Better at This Than Weak Salespeople
- January 20, 2023
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Data and Science, Understanding the Sales Force
As you can see from the table above right, the top 5% of all salespeople are 56% stronger at qualifying than strong salespeople, 452% stronger than serviceable salespeople, and 8600% stronger than the bottom 50%. 8600% Stronger!!!! Who says qualifying isn’t important? See how your industry/salespeople compare.
