sales strategy
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From the Vault – 130 Additional Articles on Sales and Sales Leadership
- June 26, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Politics and Sales, Sales Compensation, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
I discovered more than 125 articles that were published in various magazines over the years, many of them in Top Sales Magazine, where I have been a regular contributor for more than 15 years, as well as Selling Power, TED Magazine, Smart Selling and others. They are listed in no particular order, with links (as they become available) to each article. Most are shorter articles – 400 or 800 words – than those I write for Understanding the Sales Force and some go back to 20006. Come back often as more links are added every day!
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Worst to First: How Sales Teams and Salespeople Can Turn It Around
- April 23, 2026
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Discover how sales teams go from middle-of-the-pack to first place. Learn why leadership changes and culture shifts are the real keys to turning around veteran performance and hitting record revenue.
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How Half-Measures in Your Sales Process Can Kill Your Win Rate
- October 15, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Bible and Sales, Sales Process, 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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Top 5 Ways to Stop Striking Out on Your Sales Forecasts
- September 21, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Best Top 10 Lists, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, 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.
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Revolutionizing Sales Forecasting with a Baseball Twist
- September 12, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
Discover the “Power Alley,” a revolutionary sales forecasting strategy inspired by baseball. Learn how this KPI aligns pipeline, forecast, and revenue to boost accountability and solve CEOs’ biggest frustration.
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Unify Your Sales Message: Lessons from Politics and Balance of Nature
- September 2, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Politics and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Democrats flood the airwaves with one message, like their cringy 2025 Trump/Musk attack videos, while Republicans’ scattered talking points barely register. Sound like your sales team? Most operate like the GOP—95% of companies lack consistent messaging, per Objective Management Group data. Take Balance of Nature’s “fruits and veggies in a capsule” campaign: real customers, from moms to celebs, passionately amplify one message, driving huge growth. Imagine your salespeople delivering your value prop with that fire! At Kurlan & Associates, we analyze elevator pitches and value propositions to ensure consistency and impact. Sales leaders, review your messaging, make sure your team knows it cold, and enforce it like CRM compliance. Need help crafting a unified, authentic pitch? Read the full post for tips to make your sales messaging win.
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Eggs, Toast, and Bacon Aren’t Original—Neither Is Sloppy Sales Prep
- August 24, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
Dave’s cracking up over a restaurant’s “original” eggs, toast, and bacon combo—and calling out salespeople who skip their homework. Learn how AI like Grok can supercharge your prospect research in seconds.
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The 20-Year Legacy of Baseline Selling: Why Its Sales Process Still Wins in 2025
- July 1, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
Celebrating 20 years of Baseline Selling, this article dives into why its staged, buyer-focused sales process remains the most complete framework for predictable, repeatable sales success. From its baseball-inspired origins to its seamless CRM integration with Membrain, discover why Baseline Selling outshines other methodologies.
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Sell More by Understanding this God, Garden, and Baseball Analogy
- June 9, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
Discover how faith in God, weeding a garden, and the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry reveal powerful lessons for boosting your sales. Learn to trust your process, balance efficiency with precision, and leverage unique strengths to close more deals.
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Why Salespeople Skip the Sales Process (And How It’s Killing Your Revenue)
- May 19, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
Planting a fruit tree requires five simple steps in the right order—mess it up, and you’re left with dirt. Sales is no different, yet only 34% of salespeople follow a structured process. From mistaking methodologies for processes to winging it, discover why salespeople ditch the roadmap and how a proper sales process can boost revenue by 20%.
