sales training

  • What CEOs Need to Know About Their Sales Teams
    • June 16, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Baseball and Sales, Best Top 10 Lists, Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Sales Process, 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.

    When it comes to sales, CEOs don’t know what they don’t know. This is the article where you can understand what to expect from your sales team.

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  • Top 20 Reasons Salespeople Miss Quota and How to Fix it
    • June 12, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Baseball and Sales, Best Top 10 Lists, Sales Process, Understanding the Sales Force
    70% of Quota: Win for the Salesperson celebrating a good year vs Epic Fail for the CEO and company revenue goals on a baseball diamond illustrating lowered quotas versus real sales leadership

    People have been babying me since my bypass — and sales leaders are babying their teams the same way by lowering quotas. Here are the Top 20 Reasons Salespeople Miss Quota and exactly how to fix it instead of making excuses. No more false wins. Time to run the bases the right way.

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  • How Sales Management Mirrors Little League Baseball
    • May 29, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
    Little League baseball dad coach passionately coaching a team of adult salespeople in business suits on a baseball field, humorously illustrating poor sales management and development

    Most sales organizations operate just like Little League Baseball — cheap, convenient, and great for the top performers while everyone else stays stuck. Here’s why promoting your best salesperson to manager is usually a costly mistake.

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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
    Frustrated fisherman in a tiny rowboat holding up a comically small fishing net full of holes, completely overwhelmed as a massive whale breaches right beside him — the perfect visual for chasing whales with the wrong tools.

    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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  • CEO/Sales Leadership Reality Check: Are You Investing in What Makes You Look Good… or What Actually Drives Revenue?
    • April 30, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
    Sales Leadership Reality Check: Companies eagerly approve big AI budgets but hesitate or reject investments in sales training and coaching

    Companies rubber-stamp massive AI budgets but do a complete about-face when asked to invest in sales training or coaching. Discover why this happens and a low-risk way to turn your worst salespeople into producers — including real math and a built-in pilot test.

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  • Growing New Sales Meetings/Pipeline: What Works and What Doesn’t
    • April 27, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Sales Pipeline and Forecast, Understanding the Sales Force
    Professional illustration showing why cold emails fail and phone calls succeed for growing sales meetings and pipeline.

    Struggling with inconsistent sales meetings? See why cold emails from lead-gen companies fail (with real examples) and discover the proven method that actually grows your B2B sales pipeline — picking up the phone. Learn what works and what doesn’t in 2026.

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  • Dave Kurlan’s 20 Keys to Sales Mastery: How to Become an Elite Salesperson
    • April 13, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Best Top 10 Lists, Music and Sales, 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.

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  • The Baseball Dad Lesson That Made Me a Better Sales Coach
    • April 1, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Baseball and Sales, 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.

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  • Attention C-Suite! Revenue by Salesperson is Faulty Data
    • March 16, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, 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.

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  • Vultures or the Trusted Name in Sales Training?
    • March 2, 2026
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
    Cartoon vulture flying like an advertising blimp with a large banner across its side reading "Sales Training Options"

    Tired of Sandler, Challenger, SPIN, or Value Selling not delivering? Discover why companies turn to Baseline Selling after those methodologies fall short—and why it’s not vulturing, it’s expertise.

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