Dave Kurlan
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How a Trip Back 50 Years Uncovered my Secret to Sales Success
- November 9, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Ever wonder how a nostalgic skim through 1972’s Top 40 hits could unlock a game-changing sales insight? I didn’t realize during my 40 years in the sales training business that pattern recognition is my ultimate secret weapon. From clashing tunes like The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music” vs. The Band’s “Don’t Do It,” to weather vibes, loneliness flips, and political nods, spotting patterns is like a BS detector for prospects. Dive into a real sales chat example where catching contradictions sparks urgency and closes deals. Capped by Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now”—talk about fate!
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How Salespeople Can Differentiate Themselves with Their Introduction
- November 4, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Discover how adopting a catchy moniker—like my new “Sales Analogy King”—can set you apart in sales intros. Inspired by Verne Harnish and a “Tree-Stump Guy” hire, this reflective piece explores personal branding, legacy, and uncovering hidden talent with assessments like OMG.
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The Golf to Sales Analogy: When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
- November 4, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Discover how a late start in golf taught me the ultimate sales lesson: “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.” From clueless reps sending premature proposals to managers without accountability, this post reveals the blind spots killing sales performance—and how a savvy CEO fixed it all.
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Sales Cholesterol Reveals If Your Sales Pipeline Is Clogged (And How to Fix It)
- October 31, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In this follow-up to my viral LinkedIn rant on pipeline blockages, I dive deeper into “sales cholesterol”—a new way to measure the health of your sales pipeline. Drawing from my quadruple bypass experience and inspired by comments from sales pros like Larry Levine, we map heart health metrics (HDL, LDL, ratios, and inflammation) to sales milestones using my Baseline Selling framework. Learn how to score opportunities, reps, and teams to spot clogs early, improve forecasts, and avoid those deadly stalls. No more unreliable probabilities—get objective diagnostics to tweak your lead gen “diet” or “medicate” with coaching.
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The Salesperson’s Survival Kit: 236 Sales Attributes, Traits, Competencies, and Behaviors to Crush Quotas
- October 24, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I dug through 20 years of blog posts to compile every sales trait, competency, attribute, characteristic, element, component and desirable skill I’ve ever written about. From the 21 Sales Core Competencies to Steve Jobs’ deal-making magic, this cheat sheet is your roadmap to elite selling—packed with data, humor, and no-BS advice to up your sales game.
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How to Differentiate with 4 Response Options and 10 Must-Have Traits for Sales Success
- October 17, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It happened again—a sales leadership candidate imploded over an automated job email, firing off snarky replies like demanding a call, calling me a “timid man,” and later slamming my business as a “sinking ship” seeking “submissive corporate slaves.” But that’s a win: It exposed his attitude early via predicted weaknesses like emotional blow-ups and rejection issues. Pivoting to sales pros, use a highway frustration analogy (stuck behind a 30 MPH slowpoke) to explore 4 response options: scream, pass, ram (yikes), or follow patiently. True differentiation? Nail option 2 with 10 must-have traits, from ditching fear to asking killer questions. Gauge your team’s fit and boost your sales game.
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How Half-Measures in Your Sales Process Can Kill Your Win Rate
- October 15, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Dr. Charles Stanley’s take on The Lord’s Prayer sparked a revelation: just like prayer, a sales process needs belief and intent to work. Too many companies compromise, settling for “good enough” results. Learn how a no-compromise approach with Baseline Selling doubled win rates for clients, including a $24M-to-$65M Oracle acquisition, and how it can boost your win rate by 30% or more—guaranteed.
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Sales Grit: Why Only 20% of Salespeople Have It (And How to Fix the Rest)
- October 12, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Discover how baseball’s evolving stats mirror the need for relentless sales grit. Drawing from real CEO and VP insights, explore why most salespeople fall short on commitment, perseverance, and more—and what it takes to elevate your team.
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How the MLB Playoffs Can Help You Rethink Your Sales Team
- September 29, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
What if your sales team was built like an MLB playoff roster? In this post, we explore how the high-stakes, cutthroat nature of the 2025 MLB playoffs can inspire you to rethink your sales team, keeping only the top performers who drive revenue growth and letting go of the rest.
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Top 5 Ways to Stop Striking Out on Your Sales Forecasts
- September 21, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The Boston Red Sox are whiffing 62% of their bases-loaded, no-outs chances—way worse than the MLB’s 15% fail rate. Sound like your sales pipeline? Discover why high-probability deals fizzle out and how to fix it with five key strategies, from robust qualifying to predictive scorecards.