Understanding the Sales Force

  • Squirrels Explain the Differences Between Top and Bottom Salespeople

    • October 28, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This morning I was watching 3 squirrels each doing their thing.

    Squirrel #1, who I named Ernest, was finding lots of nuts and burying them.  His nest was full and he will reap the benefits of his hard work over the winter.

    Squirrels #2 and #3, who I named MT and LayZ, were playing.  They were running up and down tree trunks, jumping from limb to limb, running in circles and generally chasing their tails.  They don’t yet have nests and unless they make a commitment, become disciplined, and get to work, they will starve to death this winter.

    Ernest, MT and LayZ are no different than their human counterparts who find themselves in sales roles.  The top salespeople are like Ernest and the bottom salespeople are like MT and LayZ.  For evidence of that claim, take a look at the table below with a sprinkling of data from Objective Management Group (OMG) which has evaluated 1,910,915 salespeople from  companies.

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  • How Sales Coaching Utilizes a Quid Pro Quo

    • October 24, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Quid pro quo is all the rage.  The news networks are pointing to and from quid pro quo and arguing whether it was or wasn’t implied.  Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you’re on, you’ve probably heard it plenty more than you need to. 

    Could there be a sales coaching lesson here?

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  • Sales Process and Why So Many Salespeople Lose Their Way

    • October 17, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Last night I was on Interstate 90, the MassPike, driving home from the airport in a wind-driven rainstorm.  It was so bad I couldn’t see the white lines that divide the three lanes nor could I see the Jersey barriers dividing the eastbound from the westbound traffic.  It was almost as scary as the plane’s rocky decent from 30,000 feet in gale-force winds last night or driving in a blizzard! 

    The inability to see where I was and where I was going is what most salespeople experience when they sell.  Most salespeople don’t have a formal, structured, milestone-centric sales process to follow so they can’t possibly know where they are, and where they need to go.  

    Consider the following alarming statistics from Objective Management Group’s evaluations and assessments of 1,908,143 salespeople with regard to sales process:

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  • What is the Sales Stack and Do You Need it?

    • October 2, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    You bought a really nice, new, laptop computer and you thought to yourself, “Now I’m all set!”  But are you?  You needed a case to carry it around, a thumb drive for quickly moving files from your laptop to another, and a printer and if you have a Mac notebook, a port that will serve as adapters to your various cables.  These are your accessories.

    You’ll also need cloud storage, a broadband connection, email, a browser and 20 or so software applications so your computer can help you do the things you purchased it to do.  This is your technology stack.

    But now there is a sales stack too.  What is the sales stack, and should you have one for your salespeople?

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  • Elements of an Effective Elevator Pitch

    • September 24, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Why is your favorite sports team better than my favorite team?

    Why do you like your political party instead of mine?

    Why are you so loyal to the make of car you drive instead of the make of car that I drive?

    I bet you can make a passionate pitch for all three, and probably have them come out better than an elevator pitch or your unique value proposition.

    At Objective Management Group (OMG), we ask salespeople to record their elevator pitches and value propositions as part of our sales force evaluation.  Some are OK, most are not, and for most companies, there are tremendous inconsistencies between each salesperson’s messages.

    Elevator pitches and UVP’s are usually so poorly constructed that it makes me wonder if anyone in sales leadership puts any time at all into formalizing these messages.

    That said, I thought it might be helpful to discuss the elements of a good elevator pitch and/or value proposition.

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  • New Data Shows That Top Salespeople are 2800% Better at Disrupting the Flow

    • September 18, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Fish, rafts, kayaks, canoes, sailboats and swimmers all find much more success when they are moving with the wind or the current rather than going against it.

    Unfortunately, the same isn’t necessarily true in sales.

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  • Using the Most Powerful Sales Tool to Get What You Want

    • September 16, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Leverage is the most powerful tool in your sales tool box because with leverage comes urgency and after you have urgency your prospect will qualify so easily you won’t believe it.  They’ll ask, “What do you need from me?”

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  • Change in Approach Leads to 304% Increase in Sales Effectiveness

    • September 9, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    You’re famished and someone suggests that you go on a 2-day fast!

    You’re late, it’s a two-hour ride by car to your destination and someone suggests that you walk!

    You’re exhausted and ready for a nap and someone suggests you should clean out your basement!

    You’ve decided to eat better and lay-off carbs, and someone suggests ordering pizza!

    These are all crazy opposites of what you were focused on and they cause you to ask, “whaaat?”

    So now you’ll understand how I responded when, during a two-day training program, I was asked about messaging for a talk track.

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  • You’re Normal and Your Sucky Salespeople are Probably Normal Too!

    • September 3, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Do salespeople report up to you?  Do you get frustrated with half to three quarters of them?  

    Is it a good day when a new opportunity is added to the pipeline?  Is it a better day when they close a new piece of business?  Do you wish you could double or triple the amount of activity, number of opportunities and deals that close?

    Are they generally good people and you feel like they don’t deserve to be terminated?  Do you like them too much to give them an ultimatum?  

    When you try to coach them, do you get frustrated because they say they understand but when they talk with a prospect or customer they don’t do what you coached them to do? 

    Do you think it’s you?

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  • Did You Know That The Beatles Taught us About Selling?

    • August 26, 2019
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    While this should be a fun, end of summer article I’m guessing that you don’t actually believe that the Beatles taught us about selling.

    The Beatles recorded 18 songs where the lyrics talked about selling plus I included two bonus titles by other artists to bring the total to 20!

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