Sales Coaching

  • 10 Questions Every CEO Must Answer to Increase Revenue Today
    • April 17, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    A confident mid-50s CEO in a navy suit sits at a modern executive desk in a bright corner office, leaning forward with a focused, slightly skeptical expression as he looks directly at the viewer. On the desk are a laptop displaying sales pipeline charts and a notepad with handwritten notes including “Why 72% miss quota?”, creating a professional and thought-provoking business scene.

    Google Search Console revealed what CEOs are actually searching for. It’s not closing tricks or AI hype — it’s the foundational issues holding revenue back. Here are 10 questions every CEO must answer to drive real growth today.

    read more

  • Dave Kurlan’s 20 Keys to Sales Mastery: How to Become an Elite Salesperson
    • April 13, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Young man riding a green motorized clay tennis court roller early in the morning, repairing wet courts after a rainstorm – illustrating Dave Kurlan’s “do whatever it takes” mindset from his sales mastery story

    Discover Dave Kurlan’s 20 practical keys to sales mastery, drawn from decades of experience and OMG’s nearly 3 million assessments. Learn how the top 5% of salespeople think, practice, and outperform everyone else with consultative selling, disciplined habits, and a relentless “do whatever it takes” mindset. Start improving your win rate, deal size, and results today.

    read more

  • Why Your Sales Team Needs Veteran Story Hour: Lessons from the Red Sox
    • April 4, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    1986 Boston Red Sox players Bob Stanley, Bruce Hurst, and Spike Owen sharing stories on stage at a panel event

    At a recent event, my wife and I heard hilarious and meaningful stories from three members of the 1986 Boston Red Sox — pitchers Bob Stanley and Bruce Hurst, and shortstop Spike Owen. It was nostalgic, fun, and powerful.
    Why don’t more sales organizations do the same? Why not ask their best, most successful, veteran, and retired salespeople to spend an hour sharing meaningful, memorable, and even hilarious stories with the current team? It costs nothing, it’s not difficult or scary, and it delivers real results.

    read more

  • The Baseball Dad Lesson That Made Me a Better Sales Coach
    • April 1, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    My son's intense batting cage sessions that taught me what real deliberate practice looks like in sales coaching

    How my son’s intense baseball training taught me the real secret to becoming an elite real-time sales coach. From hardcore introvert to mastering live role plays and in-the-moment coaching — with practical first steps for sales leaders.

    read more

  • Coaching and The Truth About AI in Sales: Great at “Or,” Terrible at “And”
    • March 19, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Futuristic AI robot holding smartphone with neural network data and code in background, symbolizing strengths and limitations of AI in sales prospecting
    read more

  • Attention C-Suite! Revenue by Salesperson is Faulty Data
    • March 16, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    C-suite executives in boardroom analyzing faulty revenue by salesperson data with charts and trimmed mean insights to uncover hidden sales performance problems

    Attention C-Suite: Raw revenue by salesperson is often faulty data—like ignoring outliers in judging. Apply a trimmed mean lens to uncover hidden truths (inherited accounts, one-off deals), diagnose real effectiveness, and unlock 33% revenue growth via smart training & coaching.

    read more

  • Why Only 27% of Salespeople Hear the Voice That Matters
    • March 12, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Salesperson hearing the prospect’s voice on a sales call – silencing distractions for better discovery

    Whose voice are you hearing when you’re on a sales call—yours, your coach’s, God’s… or your prospect’s? Most reps never hear the one that actually matters. Here’s why that’s killing their discovery, how the top 10% do it differently, and the simple move that turns you into the person who finally gets the buyer.

    read more

  • Sound Check for Sales: 3 Best Practices That Need a 2026 Overhaul
    • March 12, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Dave Kurlan at a podium microphone doing a sound check for sales best practices, with speech bubble saying 'check, check, testing 123' – 2026 sales overhaul article header

    Sales closing is dead—time for a 2026 overhaul. Dave Kurlan shares why ‘finalizing’ replaces outdated closing, how fluid scoring and proper staging fix broken pipelines, and why buyer journeys need real discovery, not facilitation. No-BS tips to boost forecasts, shorten cycles, and win more.

    read more

  • Scarred for Life: Sales Lessons That Make Your Company Unstoppable
    • February 23, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force
    Scarred for Life in Sales – sales lessons from Steely Dan, George Benson and a quadruple bypass

    When a Steely Dan tune came on the radio, it got me thinking about how they tried to be all things to all people — jazz chords, pure rock, easy listening — and ended up respected by no one. Same fate hit George Benson and Al Jarreau when they crossed over.
    One year after my quadruple bypass left me scarred for life, I realized sales has the exact same scars: chasing the wrong-size deals out of ego, staring at an empty pipeline, over-facilitating prospects, and misalignment with the real decision maker.
    Get properly scarred for life and those painful mistakes will never happen again.

    read more

  • Top Sales Article of 2025
    • January 6, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: News

    Dave Kurlan’s article, Deadly Negotiation Strategies – The Bob Chronicles Part 8 – earned the Gold Medal for Top Sales Article of 2025.

    read more