Understanding the Sales Force

  • I Don’t Believe in This Stuff
    • June 23, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    The company president said, “I don’t believe in this stuff.” The stuff he referred to was evaluating and training the sales team, two of the staples of an effective sales development plan. When asked about his effectiveness growing a sales

    …
    read more

  • My Turnover’s Bigger Than Your Turnover
    • June 21, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Two companies, in similar industries, have similar sales forces. They both sell into the same marketplace with non-competing products. Both are top of the line, value added and easily differentiated in an otherwise commodity driven market. Comparison after comparison makes

    …
    read more

  • It’s a Misunderstanding
    • June 20, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I received a comment on a previous blog where a candidate that had been assessed for a sales management position wrote, “….Don’t you think your sales specific pre-employment assessments are inflexible and not a true indicator of future success? Such

    …
    read more

  • The Latest and Greatest
    • June 15, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Everyone loves new cars, new houses, new pets and new technology; all the latest and greatest. But new salespeople, as in people who have never sold before? I am not a lover of that group. I’m all for giving them

    …
    read more

  • When Enough Isn’t Enough
    • June 11, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    One client finally heeded some advice they hadn’t responded to for several years. They finally decided to replace 90% of their underperforming independent reps with direct salespeople. They certainly thought it through for a long enough time, considering the implications

    …
    read more

  • Rejected
    • June 8, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Here’s a good one. One large company rejected our sales candidate assessment because…..it’s too accurate. That’s right. It’s accuracy would eliminate a significant percentage of candidates and, with their faulty thinking, prevent sales managers from meeting their quota for sales

    …
    read more

  • Slump Busters
    • June 7, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    You’ve seen the t-shirts, haven’t you? Slumps Happen. Lack of consistency causes salespeople to slump and consistency prevents slumps. It’s that simple. But what is the true nature of a slump? More often than not it’s a lack of activity,

    …
    read more

  • Contingencies
    • June 7, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    It’s not unusual for a recruiter to work on a contingency – you pay them if you happen to hire one of the bodies they send your way. It’s also not unusual for companies in certain industries to recruit salespeople

    …
    read more

  • In Order to Form a More Perfect Union
    • June 4, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    After 15 years as the leading authority is sales force evaluations, what else was there to unearth? This is worse than mediocrity, more evil than a salesperson violating his non-compete, more horrible than complete failure, more disturbing than complacency, more

    …
    read more

  • The Crosswalk Law
    • June 3, 2005
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    In Massachusetts we have a 30-year old crosswalk law which basically states that a motorist must stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. In theory, the law is good, and promotes safety, eliminating doubt as to whether a motorist will

    …
    read more