Search Results

  • How to Prepare for the Coming Sales Team Super Storm
    • September 22, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    My first reaction was that this must have been something from 2016 – right before the boom that lasted until the pandemic slammed the economy to the ground.  Or, from the 4th quarter of 2020, when we expected the economy to come roaring back.  But it simply can’t be something that is remotely relevant to what we are about to experience.  Here’s what we know, and how that will impact companies and their sales teams in 2022.

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  • Data: The Top 10% of All Salespeople are 4200% Better at This
    • September 7, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    My wife and I entered the small jewelry shop and were greeted – not with a warm welcome – but with a matter of fact “my name is…and I’m the owner…and I created everything in the store” which was followed by fifteen minutes of non-stop presentation of everything she created.  

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  • A Key Competency That Differentiates Top Sales Performers From Posers
    • July 21, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The bottom 50% of all salespeople are posers too.  In an article last week we discussed how data can help you hire the ideal salespeople.

    In that article I shared a top/bottom analysis where the top performers were 100% more effective reaching decision makers than the bottoms.  Below I’ve shared another top/bottom analysis with different findings. 

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  • A Home Run – How the Right Data Can Help You Hire Your Ideal Salespeople
    • July 13, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    From time to time I’ve posted some compelling top/bottom sales team analyses using sales assessment data from Objective Management Group (OMG).  From nearly 250 data points in 21 Sales Core Competencies, we identify the specific findings and scores that differentiate a company’s top 3 performers from their bottom 3 non-performers.

    There are several reasons for doing this:

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  • Why More Salespeople Are Being Recommended for Difficult Selling Roles
    • June 24, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Something else we haven’t done for quite a while is revisit Objective Management Group’s (OMG) sales selection statistics on the percentage of people that are recommended for various selling and sales management roles.

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  • The Bob Chronicles Part 5 – Bob Can’t Win This Argument Over a Sales Core Competency
    • June 22, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    OMG has assessed more than 2 million salespeople and measures their sales capabilities in 21 Sales Core Competencies.  While some might not like their scores, most salespeople agree with our findings because they are extremely accurate.  However, there is one competency of the 21 that causes salespeople to dig in, disagree, and push back.  Today I will explain the competency and share yesterday’s conversation with Bob.  For new readers, and those who don’t remember, Bob tends to get himself into trouble and is representative of all weak salespeople.

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  • Self Directed Courses
    • June 3, 2021
    • Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
    • Categories:
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  • My Dog Has Better Listening Skills Than Most Salespeople and I’ll Prove It
    • December 10, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Prospects don’t pay a lot of attention so the less you say the better.  It helps them listen and comprehend more of what you share with them when you use fewer words.  But prospects aren’t the only ones who don’t listen.  Salespeople don’t listen very well either.  As a matter of fact, my dog has better listening skills than most salespeople because my dog knows what to listen for. Don’t believe me?  I’ll prove it in the video below.

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  • How a Mug of Dunkin Can Help You More Effectively Sell Value
    • December 9, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is another Bob story. Bob was on a sales call and the prospect told him that they were looking for the lowest price.  I hope you hate it when that happens.  It’s a bad thing because while Bob was supposed to be selling value, a price-based conversation is transactional yet he’s supposed to be taking a consultative approach to support the value he provides.  Would you like to guess what Bob did instead?  Yup, he got them his best price.  Ugh!

    So what should Bob have done instead to turn this around and not waste everyone’s time?

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