sales training
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Top 12 Questions to Ask Yourself About Sales Process
- June 14, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Most people don’t understand the difference between sales process and sales methodology.
A customized, optimized, formal sales process includes the sequence of steps, to-do’s, milestones and goals that must be achieved during a sales cycle.
A sales methodology is the approach one takes to execute those steps.
For instance, using a few well-known companies and brands:
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Top 5 Reasons Why Salespeople Don’t Make Quota
- June 8, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I received the IDC Sales Advisor Newsletter in my email today and while it was about the importance of cross-selling, they said it is important because 50% of reps aren’t making quota.
Forget cross-selling! If 50% of your reps aren’t making quota you have bigger problems than whether or not they are cross-selling!
There are only five possible reasons why reps are not making quota:
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Are Your Salespeople Jerks or Just Different From You?
- June 1, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week I conducted a 3-day Sales Leadership Intensive for a very small group. Working with a small group has advantages because everyone receives more individual attention, we can go at their pace, and spend as much time as we need to on their issues. Working with a small group also has disadvantages because their diverse learning styles tend to stand-out and can be a distraction.
For example, in last week’s group, I had:
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Sales Effectiveness – IDC and CEB Draw Conflicting Conclusions
- February 24, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The latest IDC Study says that of the customers who changed vendors last year, 65% did so because they either had a poor relationship with their vendor or a better relationship with the new vendor. One of their conclusions is that companies need to do a better job teaching their salespeople how to develop relationship building skills, especially in the C-Level.
The latest Corporate Executive Board study starts out with this headline: “Most companies are betting that reps who focus on building stronger customer relationships will rebuild sales. They’re wrong—here’s why.”
So why are these two studies coming to two different conclusions?
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How Many Salespeople Made Quota in 2010?
- February 21, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This study is basically saying that during one of the worst recessions ever, an all-time high percentage of salespeople hit their numbers. I don’t buy it and here’s why.
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Can Music Make Your Sales Force More Effective?
- February 14, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Some of these tunes go back more than 45 years! Some of them are not even favorites, yet they all have Time Machine capabilities. Does this happen to you too?
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What Meteorologists Have in Common with Salespeople
- January 19, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Wow! A plowable snow event. No hype, no accumulation predictions, no mystery about the ever-moving rain/snow line, no warnings about treacherous travel, no details about the track of the storm and where it might go, just a “plowable snow event”. The excitement and exhaustion from the previous 3 storms had surely numbed her senses.
How does this apply to your sales force?
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Top 10 Steps to Initiate Salespeople to Their Roles
- January 4, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
This is exactly how to initiate salespeople, whether they are new to your company, new to their role, or new to sales. Don’t vary at all from the steps above. More importantly, don’t assume that because they have sold for 10 years they’ll know what to do or be able to do it effectively. Follow the steps!
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Top 3 Sales Lessons from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”
- December 20, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
During a first sales call, suppose your salespeople hear one prospect say, “This has been a very interesting and productive conversation and we might have some interest in this.” And imagine another prospect at the same meeting says, “We’ll get back to you next month and let you know what kind of progress we’ve made.” And still a third might say, “In the meantime, please send us a proposal with references and timeline.”
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Prediction for Your Company’s Sales Force in 2011
- December 17, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
10 Sales Experts were inducted into the Top Sales Hall of Fame at yesterday’s Top Sales Awards event. They include legends, both living and deceased, like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracey and Earl Nightingale. Current legends like Gerhard Gschwandter and Jeffrey Gitomer were honored. Others who were inducted include Keith Rosen, Bill Brooks, Linda Richardson, Neil Rackham and Dr. Tony Allasandra.