Dave Kurlan
Snowstorm & Weather Apps Explain Why 75% of Sales Forecasts are Wrong
As a Nor'Easter barreled across Central Massachusetts today, a few interesting storm-related happenings were analogous to some sales-related occurrences. This article will explore two weather-related analogies: It's in 3D - Dinger the Dog and his choice of Doors The Magic of Weather Apps I've written…
Top 10 Keys to Determining and Improving Your Ideal Win Rate
What kind of car should you drive? Answering that question with anything other than, "It depends," is irresponsible because there are so many variables. Choosing a car depends on budget, family size, how much stuff you load into your car, the len...
What If Pay Equity Comes to Sales Teams?
Today's article is different from most of my other articles because there is no opening analogy, very little data, and a complete lack of humor. It's such a serious article I was ready to delete it before I clicked the publish button. If you don't…
4 Types of Sales Positions That Can Never Be Replaced by AI
I began debunking sales articles when the first ones predicting the death of selling appeared circa 2008. Back then, new digital marketing companies were telling everyone that salespeople would be replaced by inbound marketing. "Inbound is ...
These 6 Keys and New Data Help Your Sales Team Outperform The Rest
Four weeks ago, Marc Wayshak, Founder of Sales Insight Labs, an Allego company, emailed me a very insightful infographic. Returning from two weeks vacation, I was buried in work and filed the email until I had time to review it. Today, a client w...
The Difference Between Sales Competencies, Sales Capabilities and Sales Outcomes
If you watched Super Bowl 57, you observed two teams that simply refused to give up or give in. Sometimes, that's the feeling I get when I'm writing articles and I have solid data on my side, while dozens of competing authors just won't stop…
Made Up Sales Statistics and Their Contrast to Real Data
A sales consultant who knows that I geek out on sales data read that 84% of salespeople suck because they don't enjoy what they do. A huge percentage of salespeople do actually suck but the actual number is closer to 75%. Is it really becau...
Top Salespeople are 8600% Better at This Than Weak Salespeople
You're not supposed to mix alcohol and medication, which isn't an issue for me because I don't drink and I avoid medication. While my articles usually begin with an analogy, I am breaking the rule, incorporating 4 separate analogies, and then attemptin...
Can Malcom Gladwell Explain the Sales Hiring Problem?
CEOs, Sales Leaders, Sales Managers and HR Directors are under water when it comes to sales selection. They get it right about 50% of the time and that includes salespeople who stay but underperform. After reading Malcom Gladwell's book, Ta...
The Latest Perspective on My Most Popular Article on Selling
The lessons from my annual Nutcracker post have not changed at all in 12 years but my perspective changes. This year three new thoughts come to mind. For example, each year the music in the Nutcracker suite becomes more and more familiar to me, but…
The Connection Between Road Signs, Sales Data, Consultative Selling and Sales Recruiting
You're driving down the highway and you approach a road sign which says Chicago (South), Green Bay (North). Smart people know that taking the appropriate exit puts you on the road TO one of those cities and that you are NOT IN one of those…
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...