Would a NFL Quarterback make a good MLB pitcher? Would a star MLB hitter be a great Pro Golfer? Would an all-star NBA Center be an effective Lacrosse player? MORE
It was like losing my favorite pair of gym shorts, forgetting where I parked my car, or not being able to get my computer to restart. The past week presented me with its share of technology challenges. MORE
Last week I received a call from a young, motivated salesperson - we'll call him Jim - who desperately wanted to be one of the elite 7% of all salespeople. Despite being just 26 years old, he believed that he was already in the top 7%. During our call, he asked me a great question. MORE
Humans have been waiting for thousands of years to discover the secrets of life. Why are we here? Why do bad things happen? What happens after we die? Is Heaven real? What is God's plan for us? While many experts have attempted to answer all of these questions, most of us lack proof. There's no data. MORE
Last week I wrote a revealing article which showed that Sales Managers are even worse than I thought when it comes to coaching their salespeople. That article stimulated this great conversation on LinkedIn. Following that article I dug further into the same 9,000 rows of data to look at the role that tenure and experience have on sales management effectiveness. Who do you think are more effective - newer or more experienced sales managers? MORE
I received an email asking me to check out an article on the Salesforce.com blog that features an infographic they hoped I would promote. The article focuses on the middle of the funnel and the handoff between marketing and sales. MORE
I still conduct a limited amount of training with some of my personal clients. We work with companies in more than 200 industries, from startups to multi-billion dollar corporations, that call on every possible vertical and decision maker, in nearly every geography across the globe. MORE
Consider how frustrating it is to approach a traffic circle, or as we call them in Massachusetts, a rotary, during rush hour. MORE
Image Copyright iStock Photos. Dave Kurlan Consultative Selling asking questions accurate sales assessment active listening MORE
I mined Objective Management Group (OMG) data and compared salespeople who have been with their company for 10 years or more, with salespeople who have been with their company for five years or less. Theoretically, the veteran salespeople should be better and stronger in every way. But are they? MORE
If you happened to read the article about most salespeople being fired or arrested if they worked in accounting then this is the sequel - Arrested 2! Dave Kurlan sales pipeline omg sales data MORE
Whichever way you turn, wherever you look, and whatever you listen to there is data. Polls, surveys, metrics, analytics, analyses, white papers, graphs, charts, infographics, tables, spreadsheets and more. There is data everywhere. MORE
I don't know about you but for every benefit I get from LinkedIn, I get an equal amount of frustration. Some people, like me, have criteria for who they will invite and whose invitation they will accept on LinkedIn. How many times has this happened to you? MORE
In his book, The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki said, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy.". That advice suggested that companies just get their early versions of software and tech products out there and they could make them better later. MORE
Image Copyright iStock Photos. Several of my recent conversations with sales leaders have focused on how to quickly and effectively and efficiently get new salespeople up to speed and help them to have an immediate impact. MORE
Image Copyright ColorCarnival. We just completed a two-day Sales Leadership Intensive and that's always a great experience for the sales leaders who attend. MORE
I have written extensively about Sales DNA over the years and today we will view Sales DNA from the perspective of sitting inside of a chemistry lab. Sales DNA is the combination of strengths (or weaknesses) that support (or sabotage) the execution of sales process, sales strategy and sales tactics. Objective Management Group (OMG) measures and includes the 6 most powerful of those strands of Sales DNA in its 21 Sales Core Competencies. MORE
Toddlers watch Sesame Street, play with blocks, take baby steps, constantly ask 'why', eat food that has been cut into tiny bite size pieces, love to start with dessert, and love to have fun. MORE
Recently, I published an article that introduced a way to measure sales progress by means other than conventional numbers and metrics. Today, I received an email from a property leasing salesperson who had his own question about sales effectiveness. MORE
Image Copyright Gustavofrazao. I am amazed by the sheer number of salespeople who believe they must respond to an RFP, RFQ or RFI. The resources, including people, time and money, required to respond to the specs from just one of these requests is daunting. MORE
It's summer so they're digging up streets, repaving roads, and repairing bridges. That leads to epic traffic jams, long commutes and tremendous amounts of frustration. And you're late! I've been doing my best impression of the digging, without the paving and repairing. Ten of my last fourteen articles have been based on Objective Management Group's (OMG) data from the evaluations of 1.8 million sales professionals and like the road work, we're gonna dig some more today! MORE
In my most recent article, I shared data that showed a chain reaction would occur when salespeople have more than one major weakness in their Sales DNA and the second major weakness is their tendency to become emotional. As a trigger, the first major weakness causes the salesperson to become emotional, at which time their listening skills become compromised. MORE
Image Copyright BrianAJackson. Over the years I've debunked a number of articles that cited nothing but junk science. MORE
Recently, I installed vented plastic garage floor tiles like those in the picture above to improve the look of our garage. It's the same garage, but now it looks awesome. MORE
We want to get better at selling and as sales leaders we want our salespeople to improve. We need them to improve. We hope that training and coaching and sales ennoblement tools will get us there. MORE
I was sitting next to a guy who knows that our son is one of the best ball players in his age group in New England. He is from the former Soviet Union and when he told me that he tought his son to play catch I was confused. MORE
I was on the way to a meeting and the traffic was stop and go - not moving for a minute, then back up to 30 MPH, and then back to a dead stop. I've been driving since 1972 and have driven in all kinds of conditions. MORE
A long time ago I realized that in the suburbs outside of Boston, new leaves reach full size each Spring on May 11. This year, with the cold April we endured, May 11 came and went and the leaves were delayed. MORE
When you watch the news these days, it seems like all you hear is Russia, Immigration, North Korea, FBI, DOJ, liars and leakers, and the latest celebrities to be disgraced by their behavior. You would think there wasn't anything else going on! You might be having a similar experience with my recent articles as I have been sharing lots of data about salespeople - to the degree where you might think that nothing else matters. MORE
Image Copyright iStock. Everyone has had this happen.probably more than once. You worked hard and smart, thought you did a great job, expected to win the business, but didn't. Later, you learned that the prospect "Didn't really like your style.". MORE
If you follow American football even a little, then you were paying attention this week when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl VII. MORE
Last week I wrote about the deep freeze, why prospects suddenly go cold , and how you can prevent that from happening. That article was instantly as popular as any I have ever written. MORE
I can't remember a spring where the pollen was worse than in 2018. You go to the car wash and an hour later your beautiful car is covered in yellow crud and you're out $20. A waste. Perhaps you have an irrigation system with a rain sensor that tells the controller that your lawn and flower beds don't need to be watered today because it is pouring outside. Yet, when you look out the window you see that the sprinklers are running despite the existence of a rain sensor. A waste. MORE
Several recent LinkedIn posts have urged readers to pick up the phone instead of trying to find new opportunities by using social media. I wrote a very popular article about using the phone 3 years ago called, The Next Can't Miss Game Changer for Sales. MORE
I was in the right-hand lane of very slow moving traffic because of a lane closure ahead, marked by orange cones. I was along side the cones in the lane where traffic was merging left. All of a sudden, a police siren and flashing lights were upon me but I had nowhere to go. MORE
Understanding the Sales Force
APRIL 2, 2018
Several recent LinkedIn posts have urged readers to pick up the phone instead of trying to find new opportunities by using social media. I wrote a very popular article about using the phone 3 years ago called, The Next Can't Miss Game Changer for Sales.
Understanding the Sales Force
APRIL 24, 2018
Would a NFL Quarterback make a good MLB pitcher? Would a star MLB hitter be a great Pro Golfer? Would an all-star NBA Center be an effective Lacrosse player?
Understanding the Sales Force
APRIL 26, 2018
I received an email asking me to check out an article on the Salesforce.com blog that features an infographic they hoped I would promote. The article focuses on the middle of the funnel and the handoff between marketing and sales.
Understanding the Sales Force
JANUARY 17, 2018
I was on the way to a meeting and the traffic was stop and go - not moving for a minute, then back up to 30 MPH, and then back to a dead stop. I've been driving since 1972 and have driven in all kinds of conditions.
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A blueprint for turning average performers into top reps.
Understanding the Sales Force
JUNE 25, 2018
Last week I wrote a revealing article which showed that Sales Managers are even worse than I thought when it comes to coaching their salespeople. That article stimulated this great conversation on LinkedIn. Following that article I dug further into the same 9,000 rows of data to look at the role that tenure and experience have on sales management effectiveness. Who do you think are more effective - newer or more experienced sales managers?
Understanding the Sales Force
JUNE 18, 2018
When you watch the news these days, it seems like all you hear is Russia, Immigration, North Korea, FBI, DOJ, liars and leakers, and the latest celebrities to be disgraced by their behavior. You would think there wasn't anything else going on! You might be having a similar experience with my recent articles as I have been sharing lots of data about salespeople - to the degree where you might think that nothing else matters.
Understanding the Sales Force
APRIL 4, 2017
Image Copyright BrianAJackson. Over the years I've debunked a number of articles that cited nothing but junk science.
Understanding the Sales Force
JULY 11, 2018
If you happened to read the article about most salespeople being fired or arrested if they worked in accounting then this is the sequel - Arrested 2! Dave Kurlan sales pipeline omg sales data
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Sales enablement is not really a new concept; it has been around for over 10 years. However, understanding the full application of sales enablement is a very different thing.
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 30, 2018
I have written extensively about Sales DNA over the years and today we will view Sales DNA from the perspective of sitting inside of a chemistry lab. Sales DNA is the combination of strengths (or weaknesses) that support (or sabotage) the execution of sales process, sales strategy and sales tactics. Objective Management Group (OMG) measures and includes the 6 most powerful of those strands of Sales DNA in its 21 Sales Core Competencies.
Understanding the Sales Force
JUNE 4, 2018
In my most recent article, I shared data that showed a chain reaction would occur when salespeople have more than one major weakness in their Sales DNA and the second major weakness is their tendency to become emotional. As a trigger, the first major weakness causes the salesperson to become emotional, at which time their listening skills become compromised.
Understanding the Sales Force
JANUARY 15, 2018
Last week I wrote about the deep freeze, why prospects suddenly go cold , and how you can prevent that from happening. That article was instantly as popular as any I have ever written.
Understanding the Sales Force
MARCH 19, 2018
Consider how frustrating it is to approach a traffic circle, or as we call them in Massachusetts, a rotary, during rush hour.
Understanding the Sales Force
APRIL 16, 2018
I mined Objective Management Group (OMG) data and compared salespeople who have been with their company for 10 years or more, with salespeople who have been with their company for five years or less. Theoretically, the veteran salespeople should be better and stronger in every way. But are they?
Speaker: Steven Rosen MBA, Author, Executive Coach, Speaker and Top 50 Sales Influencer
It is well recognised that the frontline sales managers are the key to driving performance in sales organizations. If you had to choose between investing in sales manager training vs sales rep training what would you do?
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 24, 2018
Toddlers watch Sesame Street, play with blocks, take baby steps, constantly ask 'why', eat food that has been cut into tiny bite size pieces, love to start with dessert, and love to have fun.
Understanding the Sales Force
DECEMBER 5, 2017
In his book, The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki said, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy.". That advice suggested that companies just get their early versions of software and tech products out there and they could make them better later.
Understanding the Sales Force
FEBRUARY 2, 2018
We want to get better at selling and as sales leaders we want our salespeople to improve. We need them to improve. We hope that training and coaching and sales ennoblement tools will get us there.
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 7, 2018
Whichever way you turn, wherever you look, and whatever you listen to there is data. Polls, surveys, metrics, analytics, analyses, white papers, graphs, charts, infographics, tables, spreadsheets and more. There is data everywhere.
Speaker: Matt McDarby & Dan Smaida, Managing Directors, Specialized Sales Systems
World-class sales managers have long used creative means to solve for time and distance. In this webinar, you’ll learn how modern sales managers are using new technology plus old-school sales management to develop their people without burning out.
Understanding the Sales Force
JUNE 19, 2017
Image Copyright Gustavofrazao. I am amazed by the sheer number of salespeople who believe they must respond to an RFP, RFQ or RFI. The resources, including people, time and money, required to respond to the specs from just one of these requests is daunting.
Understanding the Sales Force
DECEMBER 18, 2017
It's a family tradition that each December we attend the Boston Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker. It's truly a magical show and even though the primary dancers change from year to year, the execution of the show's script and musical score is flawless.
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 14, 2018
A long time ago I realized that in the suburbs outside of Boston, new leaves reach full size each Spring on May 11. This year, with the cold April we endured, May 11 came and went and the leaves were delayed.
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 16, 2018
I don't know about you but for every benefit I get from LinkedIn, I get an equal amount of frustration. Some people, like me, have criteria for who they will invite and whose invitation they will accept on LinkedIn. How many times has this happened to you?
Speaker: Ray Makela, CEO Sales Readiness Group
Companies spend about $20 billion a year on various forms of sales training. Still, many sales leaders report low ROIs from their sales training initiatives. So how can you ensure that your investment in sales training is producing excellent results? Join us for this complimentary webinar as Ray Makela, CEO at the Sales Readiness Group, discusses five essential factors to achieve sustainable success from your sales training investment, and how to leverage eLearning to maximize results.
Understanding the Sales Force
OCTOBER 11, 2016
Last week I received a call from a young, motivated salesperson - we'll call him Jim - who desperately wanted to be one of the elite 7% of all salespeople. Despite being just 26 years old, he believed that he was already in the top 7%. During our call, he asked me a great question.
Understanding the Sales Force
JULY 5, 2017
I was sitting next to a guy who knows that our son is one of the best ball players in his age group in New England. He is from the former Soviet Union and when he told me that he tought his son to play catch I was confused.
Understanding the Sales Force
FEBRUARY 7, 2018
Recently, I installed vented plastic garage floor tiles like those in the picture above to improve the look of our garage. It's the same garage, but now it looks awesome.
Understanding the Sales Force
SEPTEMBER 7, 2017
Image Copyright iStock Photos. Several of my recent conversations with sales leaders have focused on how to quickly and effectively and efficiently get new salespeople up to speed and help them to have an immediate impact.
Speaker: Joe DiDonato, Chief of Staff, Baker Communcations, Inc
Finding the right learning approach for each topic you have to deliver to your learners can seem like a “problem of endless choices.” In this webinar, corporate learning expert, Joe DiDonato, shares how his teams solved these problems, as well as how new educational technology (EdTech) is changing the sales landscape for all of us. He will also tell you what he shared with the Venture Capitalist community on how to pick which EdTech technologies will likely succeed based on educational research. Joe is an engaging storyteller that uses easy-to-understand language, who promises to share what methods succeeded and which methods failed over his long career.
Understanding the Sales Force
FEBRUARY 13, 2018
Recently, I published an article that introduced a way to measure sales progress by means other than conventional numbers and metrics. Today, I received an email from a property leasing salesperson who had his own question about sales effectiveness.
Understanding the Sales Force
JULY 28, 2017
Image Copyright iStock. Everyone has had this happen.probably more than once. You worked hard and smart, thought you did a great job, expected to win the business, but didn't. Later, you learned that the prospect "Didn't really like your style.".
Understanding the Sales Force
FEBRUARY 9, 2018
If you follow American football even a little, then you were paying attention this week when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl VII.
Understanding the Sales Force
MAY 19, 2017
Image Copyright ColorCarnival. We just completed a two-day Sales Leadership Intensive and that's always a great experience for the sales leaders who attend.
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Find out why waiting for perfection is costing you money.
Understanding the Sales Force
FEBRUARY 26, 2018
I still conduct a limited amount of training with some of my personal clients. We work with companies in more than 200 industries, from startups to multi-billion dollar corporations, that call on every possible vertical and decision maker, in nearly every geography across the globe.
Understanding the Sales Force
JULY 2, 2018
It's summer so they're digging up streets, repaving roads, and repairing bridges. That leads to epic traffic jams, long commutes and tremendous amounts of frustration. And you're late! I've been doing my best impression of the digging, without the paving and repairing. Ten of my last fourteen articles have been based on Objective Management Group's (OMG) data from the evaluations of 1.8 million sales professionals and like the road work, we're gonna dig some more today!
Understanding the Sales Force
SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
Image Copyright iStock Photos. Dave Kurlan Consultative Selling asking questions accurate sales assessment active listening
Understanding the Sales Force
SEPTEMBER 25, 2017
I was in the right-hand lane of very slow moving traffic because of a lane closure ahead, marked by orange cones. I was along side the cones in the lane where traffic was merging left. All of a sudden, a police siren and flashing lights were upon me but I had nowhere to go.
Speaker: Mike Kunkle, Vice President, Sales Transformation Services, Fast Lane Digital
More than 8 analyst firms, the Association for Talent Development, and the Sales Enablement Society have all defined “sales enablement” – each slightly differently. In hundreds of organizations, the sales enablement function is run differently, with a different focus, responsibilities, and initiatives. To make matters worse, according to a 2017 study by CSO Insights, “Sales enablement is a growing trend, but sales performance is not improving. Clearly, something is missing.” What’s missing is a clear focus on driving measurable improvement in sales performance and the expertise required to truly move the needle on the metrics that matter. Want to step up, separate yourself from the pack, and maximize your company’s investment in Sales Enablement? Then join sales transformation expert Mike Kunkle for this webinar (where your questions are welcomed and expected!)
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