Search Results

  • How Building a Stone Walkway Makes the Case for Sales Process
    • August 16, 2023
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    installing a stone walkway

    We can learn a lot about what happens when you skip steps in a sales process by looking at the work this stone crew is doing.

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  • My New Perspective on Sales Process and Methodology
    • August 8, 2023
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    monkey sitting on a basketball

    We were at the Zoo when we came upon the monkey in the picture.  He was holding on to the chainlink fence with both hands and both feet – probably not very unusual for a monkey –  but he was sitting on a basketball!

    The monkey is following a traditional monkey methodology for hanging on, while being authentic, allowing his silly personality to come through, and getting people who were interacting with him to laugh.

    We can even apply that approach to sales process and methodology!

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  • Sitcoms, Sales Process, Sales Assessments and Sales Competencies
    • January 11, 2023
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Hubspot, an inbound marketing company published a list of 18 Sales Core Competencies which include non-sales competencies like customer service and data analysis.  Job site Indeed published a list of 18 Sales Core Competencies which include non-sales competencies like leadership and change management.  I’m not suggesting that these capabilities aren’t important, but in no way, shape or form should they be considered core sales competencies.  Why would people turn to any of these lists of opinions when there is a widely accepted, definitive list of 21 Sales Core Competencies backed by science and data on more than 2.3 million salespeople? 

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  • Most Sales Processes, Funnels and Pipelines are How Old?
    • September 29, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was looking for an image of a sales funnel and couldn’t believe what I found!  My search results can be found here.  Can you believe all of those images of sales funnels?  Look them over and see if you can recognize the  problem with all of them.

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  • A Properly Constructed Sales Process Can Help You Experience the Euphoria of a Walk-Off Win
    • June 15, 2021
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The walk-off win in baseball, the buzzer beater in basketball and the field goal with no time on the clock in football are all terrific metaphors for certain types of wins in sales.  Some deals are sure things from the get go and others stand no chance of going your way.  However, some huge opportunities are truly nail-biters and could go either way.  When those opportunities are finally decided and you win, they too are euphoric.

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  • The Correlation Between Milestones, Sales Process and Sales Success
    • October 26, 2020
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Back in the early 90’s, in the very early days of OMG, only 9% of all salespeople had and/or followed a sales process.  While that has improved dramatically in the last 30 years, to 45%, it is still way too low.  Check out these findings.

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  • Sales Process and Why So Many Salespeople Lose Their Way
    • October 17, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last night I was on Interstate 90, the MassPike, driving home from the airport in a wind-driven rainstorm.  It was so bad I couldn’t see the white lines that divide the three lanes nor could I see the Jersey barriers dividing the eastbound from the westbound traffic.  It was almost as scary as the plane’s rocky decent from 30,000 feet in gale-force winds last night or driving in a blizzard! 

    The inability to see where I was and where I was going is what most salespeople experience when they sell.  Most salespeople don’t have a formal, structured, milestone-centric sales process to follow so they can’t possibly know where they are, and where they need to go.  

    Consider the following alarming statistics from Objective Management Group’s evaluations and assessments of 1,908,143 salespeople with regard to sales process:

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  • I’m Sorry But Your Sales Process Sucks
    • February 1, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Perhaps you saw this too.  Yesterday, a post appeared in my LinkedIn feed that talked about the power of sales process.  The article was clearly written to support the author’s technology application, which helps track sales KPI’s; so they should know a little about the topic of sales process.

    Towards the end of the article, they provided a sample of what an effective sales process should look like.  The following text is exactly what they wrote:

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  • Kurlan Associates and Membrain Release Unprecedented Sales Process Plugin for CRM
    • May 4, 2017
    • Posted by: Kurlan & Associates, Inc.
    • Category: News

    Westborough, Massachusetts USA – May 4, 2017 – US-based Kurlan Associates, global leaders in sales process development and sales training, announced today, a joint initiative with Membrain, makers of the global sales effectiveness platform. This innovative platform incorporates top-rated Baseline Selling®, including its innovative best practice sales process and methodology, as well as its integrated sales enablement materials to guide salespeople to higher levels of performance. The framework is now available inside CRMs through Membrain’s plug-in, or directly through Membrain’s stand-alone platform.

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