Dave Kurlan
5 Reasons Sales Teams Underperform Like My Old Wiper Blades
My windshield wipers were no longer getting the job done. They were underperforming (leaving streaks and smudges), not clearing water from the windshield (failing to meet expectations) and I couldn't see the road properly when it was raining.&nbs...
The Wall Street Journal Shares News About What it Takes to Succeed in Sales
Brad Bolino emailed me a link from a recent Wall Street Journal article titled, "Millennials are Changing What it Means to be Successful in Sales." I read the article three times to make sure I wasn't rushing to judgement, didn't experience...
Can a New Sales Manager Be a Difference Maker?
For the longest time, my local Panera in Westboro Massachusetts was awful. Like phone company awful. And cable company awful. The problem was chronic. The half and half was always empty. The supplies of cup insulators and trays were n...
New Data: Will Salespeople Hit Quota When Sales Managers Coach and Sell?
I was reviewing stats from the 2022 World Series between the World-Champion Houston Astros and the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies might have had a two-man wrecking crew in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper but it wasn't near...
New Data: Is Sales Compensation Aligned With Changing Motivational Needs?
My MacBook Pro is running Monterey version 12.6 and it has been charging to only 80%. This was driving me crazy so I did some digging and found that the default battery setting is "Optimized" where it says the following: "To reduce battery ...
10 Sales Attributes That Don’t Differentiate Top Salespeople from Bottom Salespeople
Here in the US, this Sunday marked the first Sunday of NFL Football. It's the same (as always) but different (new games). In their season debut, my New England Patriots did their best impression of my Boston Red Sox and lost 20-7. Clo...
The Many Different Selling Roles and How They Differ – Part 1
When you think about cars, you know there are coupes, sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and sports cars. You also know there are luxury cars, mid-range cars and economy cars. You also know there are fast cars and slow cars, flashy cars and vanilla ...
Big Company Strategies That SMB Sales Teams Can Emulate
On a recent Saturday I was running errands which took me through 3 local towns and a nearby city. Even though I have traveled this route more than 5,000 times, it was the first time I noticed the difference in the various business signs along…
You Can’t Lose Customers or Salespeople – 2 Secrets to Their Retention
As we wade deeper into recession, you will certainly agree that there are two things you must not lose: Customers/Clients Good/Great Salespeople I conducted a Google search for "why salespeople quit their jobs" and was surprised to find more than 6 m...
Selling and the Need for Speed
We had Chinese for dinner and my fortune said, "Speed is not as important as accuracy." When you think of speed what are the first things that come to mind? Fighter Jets? The 10 fastest in the world reach speeds of up to Mach 6.70…
The Recession is Here – How to Take Advantage and Prepare Your Sales Team
You boarded your plane, got seated, the plane pulled away from the gate and you fell asleep. Later, a hard landing woke you and you wondered, "Are we already there?" Yes you are and you slept through the entire flight. The same thing is hap...
5 Steps to Grow Sales by 33% in 12 Months
I'm a baseball guy and a die hard Boston Red Sox fan but I can't bear to watch them right now. They are playing the worst baseball since I was 10 years old so that's going back 55 years! It's not hard to understand why…
The Cold Email I Read Through to the End – Is There Hope for...
I bought my first cell phone in 1985. The enormous device was hard wired to the car, connected to a heavy metal box, and cost $2,000 to install. All calls in and out were billed by the minute and my bill averaged around $1,500 per…
10 Steps to Crushing Your Sales Forecasts
One hundred years ago, most men and women wore hats and dressed up to go everywhere. Sixty years later, Dress for Success was founded and at the same time became somewhat of a thing where if you wanted to be successful, you needed to dress…
When Salespeople Can’t Close Closable Business – The Bob Chronicles Part 7
I heard from Bob last week and whenever I hear from him it usually means he got himself into a jam with another sales opportunity. Regular readers are familiar with Bob, one of the worst salespeople on the planet. New readers might want to ...
Has Buying Changed and Has B2B Selling Adapted?
My articles begin with analogies so we'll start by asking, has baseball changed? Games take longer, there is role specialization, starting pitchers rarely complete games, hitters are stronger, pitchers routinely throw in the mid 90's and th...
Can You Find The Perfect Sales Candidates for Your Sales Team?
Have you tried recruiting salespeople lately? It's a lot like it was in 2019, pre-pandemic, only different. From time to time, I help clients recruit for key roles. Unlike recruiters, I don't work on a contingency because I take responsibility fo...
Salesenomics – Many Sales Organizations Are Stuck in the 1980’s
Today is moving day for Objective Management Group. When we first toured our new space, John Pattison, OMG's COO said, "It looks like something the 1980's barfed up!" I'm happy to report that thanks to big-time help from PENTA Marketing CEO...
2 Questions That Will End Every Request for a Better Price
I was thinking about all the things we pay for that used to be free and are still free, yet we pay for them anyway. How many can you think of? I came up with the following: Water - you can get an unlimited amount…
Sales Forecasts Do Not Have to Be as Wrong as Fortune Cookies
There has been much talk in the news about forecasts - and while most have been wrong they are still more accurate than Fortune Cookies! Thanks to satellites, computer modeling and doppler radar, weather forecasts are more reliable than ever before.&nb...