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The Sales Force with Over Achievers That Don’t
- March 26, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I heard about a CEO who told one of my colleagues that all of his salespeople over achieve. In the same phone conversation he mentioned that sales are down 20%. Can you imagine where sales would be if his salespeople under achieved?
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Sales Performance – We’re Not a Commodity, We’re Different
- April 24, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My grandfather sold cars during World War II and until he passed away in 1968. At one point he even owned an Edsel Dealership, which said more about his confidence in his selling ability than it did about his ability to make a good business decision. If you’re wondering, the selling gene skipped a generation and a half because my dad was an optometrist and I was an acute introvert for the first half of my life.
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Competitive Prices – Why Do Prospects Bring Them Up?
- April 17, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
A group of salespeople in today’s training revealed that their biggest challenge is dealing with prospects who tell them that they saw something similar for a lot less money. When asked how they handle it, they unanimously said that they justify (read defend) their price. They failed to realize was how weak their position is and that the prospects don’t really care.
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My Sales Manager Has Fallen and I Can’t Get Up
- March 29, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Never let an employee hold your growth hostage. Never sign anyone who has yet to prove themselves in a role to a long-term contract. Your employment agreements should specify that employees are employees at will. Stamp out mediocrity, surround your salespeople with great sales management talent and grow the company.
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Sales Best Practices – Not
- March 24, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the difference between company A and B. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to implement the process either. But it does take more than a 60 day commitment to the new process. When it’s been broken for a decade it doesn’t get fixed in a calendar quarter.
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Salespeople Who Can’t Perform Under Pressure
- March 22, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In his industry, his current revenue would be mediocre at best. But what if one of your salespeople was comfortable doing half of what you needed him to do? What if one of your salespeople reacted badly to increased expectations? What if he couldn’t work under pressure? What would you do? Would you:
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Seth Godin on Good vs. Great Salespeople
- March 14, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Seth Godin got it right again today. It’s not unusual for me to disagree with his posts on the subject of salespeople and sales forces but today I agree with his rant about salespeople who are good vs. salespeople who are great.
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Salespeople – The Difference Between Over Achievers and Under Achievers
- March 9, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I often post about overachieving and posted a comprehensive article on over achieving a few weeks back. I’ve also written about under achieving and, for the first time, want to draw some comparisons between over and under achieving.
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Salespeople – Can Their Work Ethic Be as Good as BB King’s?
- March 5, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
His skills have not eroded one bit. He is the King of the Blues.
Most of your salespeople are at least fifteen years younger than BB King. Can you say the same things about them?
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Top 10 Factors for Getting Salespeople to Overachieve
- February 4, 2007
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
There isn’t a single key to overachieving, so I’ll list my top 10 factors for helping salespeople overachieve. I’m sure I’ve written about each of these topics at some point in the past, but I’ll put them all together here.
