objective management group
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How Most Companies Get Sales Team Structure Wrong
- June 6, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Most companies overcomplicate sales team structure with too many roles and expensive BDR teams. Discover why simplifying to Hunters + Account Managers, fixing channel sales, and addressing weak management + infrastructure delivers far better results.
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Why Chasing Whales is Killing Your Sales Pipeline – The Bob Chronicles Part 9 (10 Brutal Truths)
- May 15, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Bob Chronicles, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Bob’s pipeline was loaded with whales again. Sound familiar? In this article I break down the 10 brutal truths about why chasing big deals is quietly killing most sales pipelines — from skewed forecasts and low margins to terrible closing rates. If you’re tired of hoping whales will save your quarter, this one’s for you.
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Bosch, Bounces and Why You Should Call Prospects Who Said No
- January 19, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Books, Movies, Theater and Television, Understanding the Sales Force
A surprising 30% of executive contacts turned over in the past year — meaning yesterday’s “no” often belongs to someone who’s no longer there. Using real email bounce data and lessons from shows like Bosch, this article shows why persistent prospecting is simple math, not heroic effort.
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From Practice Range to Sales Mastery: The 8 Requirements for Game-Changing Sales Training
- November 17, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
In sales, just like in sports, anyone can start playing—but mastery takes real effort. Drawing parallels from baseball sandlots to golf courses, this article explores why most salespeople plateau early and why companies must step up with proper training. Discover the 8 essential requirements for sales training that delivers measurable results, from clear expectations to proven content, and why skipping it keeps teams stuck in mediocrity.
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Wild Shifts in Sales Hiring Drive the Hire Rate From 3% to 0.5%
- July 21, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Data and Science, Understanding the Sales Force
Struggling to hire sales pros? Dive into real stats from a recent sales manager search: 169 candidates narrowed to 1 hire (0.5% rate). Uncover dramatic changes in response rates, drop-offs, and why a rigorous pipeline with tools like OMG is essential for nailing the right fit.
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Is Complacency to Blame for Missed Quotas? A Deep Dive into Sales Performance Challenges
- May 30, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Data and Science, Understanding the Sales Force
Is Complacency to Blame for Missed Quotas? A Deep Dive into Sales Performance Challenges
Is complacency why 57% of reps miss quota? Data from 2.5 million salespeople shows 64% of the bottom 50% lack the Will to Sell. From poor compensation to lack of motivation and discipline, here’s what’s holding them back—and how to fix it.
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New Data: The Top 10% of Salespeople are 619% Stronger Than the Bottom 10%
- May 24, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Data and Science, Understanding the Sales Force
New 2025 data reveals a staggering 619% performance gap between the top 10% and bottom 10% of salespeople. While top performers excel in competencies like Relationship Building and Consultative Selling, they’re slipping in areas like Hunting and Closing, influenced by COVID and economic challenges. Dive into the 21 Sales Core Competencies to understand why—and what to do about it.
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New Data: Will Salespeople Hit Quota When Sales Managers Coach and Sell?
- November 7, 2022
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Instead of spending their time on coaching, sales managers are spending too much of their time on personal sales. Sales managers with fewer than 5 salespeople may be required to carry a quota but generally speaking, sales managers are expected to spend no more than 5% of their time selling. OMG’s data shows that the percentage of time that sales managers sell is closer to 13%.
Why do they sell instead of having more coaching conversations? There are several reasons:
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How Closing a Tough Sale is Nearly Identical to Hitting a Home Run
- August 25, 2022
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
You’re watching a baseball game on television and the announcer says, “And here’s the pitch and there’s a long drive hit deep to left field and it’s deep, it’s up, it’s way back and GONE!!!!! Home Run Dave Kurlan!” OK, the announcer never said the Dave Kurlan part. Not even close. I was a singles hitter. And I never played at a level that had announcers. So there’s that. For entertainment sake, watch this classic 2-minute clip of Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs hitting the magical home run at the end of the movie, The Natural, one of my all-time favorite baseball movies right up there with The Sandlot and Field of Dreams.
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Which is Worse – The Boston Red Sox or Your Sales Team?
- August 23, 2022
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
The construction of the Red Sox roster is simply a Stupid as Shit Strategy or SaSS. Use of the word strategy means that it’s intentional and is a disservice to the word stupid!
Sales team construction usually lacks formal strategy and that suggests something accidental is at play. We tend to see the “we already had these salespeople” and then “these are the new salespeople who were willing to work for us.” New is a relative term as the newest 30% of the team continues to churn when and if they find candidates.
