Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

After I moved all of the legitimate and very illegitimate emails into trash, I identified 26 emails – all from yesterday – that were cold solicitations from BDRs, account managers, customer service reps, marketing reps, and even CEOs.

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Meeting Cold Calling Outbound Inbound 193

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Today I learned that an article I wrote back in November of 2013, Increase in Social Selling Yields No Increase in KPI''s , was named Top Sales Article of the Month for October 2014 by Top Sales World. sales competencies Dave Kurlan Inbound Marketing sales effectiveness study social selling' We discovered that.

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Social Selling Revenue Inbound Face-to-face 256

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 18, 2013

After you have read the article, please contribute your comments, suggestions, visions, rebuttals and opinions which are all welcome right here. This issue also features the 2013 Award Winners of the Top Sales & Marketing Awards in 18 Categories. I''ll publish the winning article before we break for the holiday.

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Sales Talent Video Course Up-Sell 235

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 2, 2017

Tony Cole, CEO of Anthony Cole Training and one of OMG's great partners, forwarded me an article that appeared in the October 2014 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research. The 19 page article, by Kumar, Sander and Leone , was much more intelligent than anything I have ever written or developed.

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Research Journal Training Sales 159

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

I wrote this article for SoldLab and it was posted there today. One more thing - I''m a finalist for 3 awards at this year''s Top Sales & Marketing Awards event. Please vote for Top Sales & Marketing Thought Leader , Top Sales & Marketing Blog , and Top Sales & Marketing Article.

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Decision Maker Proposal Sales Cycle Exact 313

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 2, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Yesterday, I read an article that was very consistent with what I was complaining about last week when I wrote The One Thing Missing From the New Way of Selling. I have tremendous respect for the article''s author, Mark Roberge , who has built a great sales force over at Hubspot.

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Airlines Hubspot Inbound Top of Funnel 196

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

When I read the article I noted a couple of things I really liked: They learn very little about sales in the first 30 days. Mark said, " Instead, they start a blog, create a website, open a Twitter account and begin email marketing campaigns. A steady flow of inbound leads. That sure helps new salespeople get started, doesn''t it?

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Lead Rank Lead Scoring Hiring Hubspot 283

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 11, 2013

Along with the holiday traditions celebrated by you, your family and friends, my Blog has three traditions in December: I ask readers to vote for their favorite article from the past 12 months (coming next week). Top Sales & Marketing Thought Leader - Dave Kurlan. Top Sales & Marketing Article - Sales Management Best Practices.

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Inside Sales Groups Objections Benefit 193

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

It''s being perpetuated by extremist marketers who are claiming that inbound will become the be-all end-all. The latest proof can be found in this July 2013 USA Today article. I''ll give you the important facts, but you should shoot over there and read the entire article. It''s simply not true. million."

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Hiring Inbound Trends Positioning 246

Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 21, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Last week I wrote an article, Now That You Have a Sales Process, Never Mind , that was very critical of an article that appeared in Harvard Business Review. He has written a few articles which, at minimum, embarrass me and, at worst, reflect badly on him.

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Lead Rank Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 250

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Recently, a number of readers asked me to review two articles which they thought were right up my alley. Apparently they thirst for one of my specialties - poking holes in articles that are just plain wrong about hiring salespeople. Shall we dig in?

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Hiring Industry Examples Marketing 120

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 17, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan A recent article in Columbus Business First discussed background checks and use of personality tests. The most important line in the article read, " Personality often is the best insight into whether a person is a good cultural fit for a specific company.".

Hiring 228

Hiring Construction Exact Groups 228

Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 13, 2016

They want to optimize my website, sell me SEO services, provide me with online marketing tools, sell me the latest SaaS program, provide a guest article for my Blog, buy advertising on my Blog, sell me leads, book appointments for us with prospects, or show me the latest sales enablement tools.

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Selling Skills Advertising Advertising Sales Enablement 120

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Until such time, salespeople must be trained to become more effective while marketers must be trained to develop stronger leads. Marketers must be trained to develop stronger leads by developing better ad placement , improving their targeting, with stronger calls to action, audience specific landing pages, resulting in more qualified leads.

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Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

In addition to my Blog , this article appeared on at least 5 other Web Sites leading to many interesting comments and very strong opinions. The rise of inbound marketing - yes it''s happening, and yes it helps generate leads; but it''s not the be-all, end-all that inbound marketing folks make it out to be. 700,000 salespeople!

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Inbound Survey Lead Rank Lead Scoring 209

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 18, 2015

Sales Process isn't even the only thing that inbound marketers say is dead. That search turned up these articles on the first page of results: So who wrote all of these articles? One article was written by a sales expert discussing the concept of following the buyer's purchasing process. Are Top Salespeople Challengers?

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Inbound Inside Sales Sales Process Top of Funnel 120

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 15, 2014

I was following a discussion in the Hubspot VAR Group on LinkedIn , where the question posed to the group was whether or not the first sales hire should be a sales or a marketing person. Hubspot''s VAR''s are all marketing agencies specializing in inbound marketing. You are Not the Market Leader. Should I back out?

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Inbound Hiring Hubspot Lead Gen 264

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 2, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Last week I wrote this article and talked about how much selling has changed. But in that article, I only mentioned the need to differentiate and sell consultatively. The articles I wrote and mentioned here talk about it greater detail.

Inbound 186

Inbound Social Selling Sales Leadership LinkedIn 186

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Trust me when I say that this is a great article, but before we get to it, I have a few post-vacation links for you. The September issue of Top Sales World was published last week and my article about the Top Mistakes Salespeople Make on the Phone was named Top Blog Post for August. Now for the article. This is important!

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Motivation Hiring Face-to-face Decision Maker 252

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 20, 2016

The judges awarded my Blog, Understanding the Sales Force , with a Bronze medal for Top Sales & Marketing Blog of 2016. In addition, this article won the Bronze for Top Sales & Marketing Blog Post. Finally, a Webinar I did earlier in the year on How to Sell value won a Gold Medal for Top Sales & Marketing Webinar.

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Webinar Metrics Groups Objections Tools 120

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

My Blog has been nominated for best Sales & Marketing Blog. One of my articles has been nominated for Best Sales & Marketing Article. If you like my articles, please vote for that here. I''ve also been nominated for Top Sales & Marketing Thought Leader. If you''ve been inspired vote here.

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Travel Decision Maker Insurance Insurance 251

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 3, 2016

I've been trying very hard to find the time to write this article. I always have plenty of material but I just couldn't wait to write this particular article, and I've been waiting for nearly 24 hours since the idea was triggered by an email. We are so proud! All three of us are committed to being the best at what we do.

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Data Training Report Promotion 120

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 8, 2013

Magazine ran an article on its website that I just can''t ignore. The article''s author, Geoffrey James, says that consultative sellers strive to become trusted advisors and companies don''t need " some smart**s who kibbitzes from the sidelines.". Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. It''s making my blood boil.

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Consultative Selling Outsourcing Services Telecommunications Real Estate 205

Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 16, 2013

My post marks the 6th time I have strongly felt the need to question an article appearing on their pages. The November 2013 issue featured an article titled Dismantling the Sales Machine. Their member companies are big companies - most of what happens when they sell stuff doesn''t apply to small and mid-market companies.

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Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 28, 2014

This is the 10th article in a January series on the Architecture of the Sales Force. Marketing and Sales Feedback Loop Can Help You Grow. Earlier this month, I wrote this article about Sales Methodology and today''s article focuses on successful Sales Models. I previously wrote this article about sales models in 2011.

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Lead Rank Sales Methodology Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead 240

Understanding the Sales Force

MARCH 13, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Last week I posted an article that linked to two additional articles I wrote for EcSell Institute and Top Sales World. Apparently there were issues with those links last week because I got dozens of emails letting me know that you couldn't get to those two articles.

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Coaching Sales Management Decision Maker Competition 264

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 9, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan I read an article last month that actually had as its title, The Death of SPIN Selling. Although the author tried, the article did little to convince ME that SPIN was dead. Say what you will about SPIN, it was the most comprehensive questioning methodology of its day.

Proposal 249

Proposal Up-Sell Lead Rank Lead Scoring 249

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 30, 2015

In this article for Middle Market Executive ,Tom Searcy insists that Consultative Selling is dead. He says that consultative sellers end up with buyers who can only make small decisions, experts end up in purchasing and only industry authorities can reach executive decision-makers. experts say, "Here is your pain.",

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Consultative Selling Decision Maker Industry Up-Sell 120

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 14, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Last week I wrote this article questioning the Death of SPIN Selling. Some of them are marketers who, in order to push their applications, must convince you that marketing can handle both finding and closing sales - all via the internet. It''s really that simple.

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Top of Funnel Inside Sales Conference Webinar Metrics 250

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan A very interesting article caught my attention on Inc. You must read the article in order to understand the following questions. Magazine''s website. c) Copyright 2013 Dave Kurlan'

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Study Sales Cycle Follow-up Account 243

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 31, 2013

Overall, the article was quite good with valid sources and statistics. On the other hand, it was flawed in that, as usual with articles like this, it cited examples from only large companies (Astra Zeneca, IBM and SAP) leading most readers to come to one of two conclusions: "This does not apply to us." By product or service.

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Inside Sales SAP Sales Talent Lead Rank 211

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 2, 2016

There are free articles - like this one - where you could be inspired, might have to think a bit, might learn of an approach you weren't aware of, or might be privy to some statistics or science you hadn't read about. On the Web, there are three kinds of free sales content available.

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Hubspot Sales Methodology Inside Sales Advertising 120

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 10, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan If you have no desire to find a lot of new business from new accounts, you don't need telemarketing (and you can stop reading this article). Inbound and outbound marketing include your public relations and social media efforts too.

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Telemarketing Hiring Outbound Inbound 201

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 16, 2013

For me, it began two months ago when I posted, Now That You Have a Sales Process, Never Mind, in rebuttal to a stupid article about sales process being the cause of long sales cycles and low closing ratios. I also think the sales world is going a bit crazy too. Continued. **. Tuesday, December 18 at 1PM ET. Register here. **.

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Sales Process Sales Cycle Sales Leadership LinkedIn 205

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

We know how important qualifying is and Pete Caputa , Sales & Marketing VP at Hubspot , proves that qualifying improves closing percentages with the metrics data he included in this recent post. I didn''t send you to that article to modify your sales process; only to embrace the power of qualification.

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Sales Qualified Lead Hotels Hubspot Decision Maker 275

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 14, 2014

The following article first appeared in the July Issue of TopSales Magazine. He thought it would make for a great article discussion, so let’s attempt to answer that question by starting with a few questions of my own. The trainer understands your goto market strategy. Is it the sales process that makes it so powerful?

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Sales Process Sales Up-Sell Follow-up 243

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 1, 2014

If you were to read through each of the 1,150 articles I have posted on this blog since 2006, and organize, sort, create a flow and edit it all into a Sales Management Bible, we would have one enormous how-to guide. Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan It''s a big problem with many of the sales blogs you read.

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Hiring Webinar Metrics Channels Policies 218