sales process

  • Top 10 Rules for Getting Salespeople to Follow Your Sales Process

    • March 8, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    A lady approached the priest after the service and felt terrible because she had been leaving early to tend to her sick husband.  The priest said that this didn’t apply to her; she was already making a sacrifice by attending, and should care for her husband.  She paused and finally said, “But he passed away three years ago!”

    This story got me wondering about the widespread misuse of the sales process. 

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  • What Makes You Think You Have a Sales or Recruiting Process?

    • January 22, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    It’s true.  Executives brag about their processes.  “Oh, yes, we spent the last 15 years developing our process and it’s wonderful – wait until you see it!”  It never matters whether they’re talking about a recruiting process or a sales process, the common denominator is the pride they take in what they created.

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  • The Defining Moments in your Sales Cycle

    • January 13, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    What are some of the more subtle, but important, key moments in your sales process that affect every sales outcome?

    If I were to review some recent conversations with clients and their salespeople, crucial accomplishments included:

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  • Are Sales Cycles Really Getting Shorter?

    • December 11, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I read an article that claimed that winning sales cycles are getting shorter. 

    While I agree with everything else in the article, I questioned the 23% shorter because our substantial data does not support this claim.  So where could the discrepancy be?

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  • Sales Systems and Processes – 8th of the 10 Kurlan Sales Management Functions

    • December 1, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    the 8th in my series of the Top 10 Sales Management Functions but it is #10 on my list.  Why am I going out of order? 

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  • Sales Velocity – 6th of the 10 Kurlan Sales Competencies That are Key to Building a Sales Culture

    • October 20, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is the 6th is my series of articles on the 10 Kurlan Sales Competencies That Are Key to Building a Sales Culture.

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  • Sales Process – 5th of the 10 Kurlan Sales Competencies for Buildling a Sales Culture

    • October 18, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This is the 5th in my series of The 10 Kurlan Sales Competencies That are Key to Building a Sales Culture.

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  • Putting for Eagle – Going for the Unlikely Close

    • September 29, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last year around this time, I wrote this article about how easy it is to get away from the sales process and other things you must do to achieve consistent results.  In these difficult times, the one thing you can’t do is attempt to do it without systems and processes because they are about the only things you can rely on.

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  • Top 6 Reasons Why Most Sales Training Doesn’t Work

    • June 25, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    If you invest in sales training, especially now, you also need it to work now, not in 12 months.  Why does it take so long for most sales training to make a difference and why does most sales training fail to make the difference you expect? There are a lot of possible reasons and I’ll attempt to explain them here.

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  • Top 14 Requirements to Perform a Sales Force Makeover

    • April 16, 2009
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    For kicks, let’s take a look at this week’s Baseline Selling mail bag.

    One reader emailed that he just inherited a radio station in Honduras, has never sold before, and he and his salespeople aren’t able to book appointments.

    Another reader is the Sales Director for several well-known magazines and said that her top producing team is down 50% from last year.

    Yet another reader wrote and wanted to know how to chop her 2-3 year sales cycle down to 2-3 months.

    And one President fired all of his salespeople, is back on the road selling and wonders what he can do to thrive.

    What do all four of these scenarios have in common?

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