sales force evaluations

  • Solitaire and Modern Sales Training – What Should it Cover and Include?

    • October 6, 2014
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I’ve been playing one of those Solitaire games on my iPad and I can routinely score in the neighborhood of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, with my best time being just under 2 minutes.  I thought I was doing pretty well until I realized that my wife routinely scores between 1 minute and 1:20 seconds with her best scores (not score) being under 1 minute.  She has scored as low as 48 seconds.

    If not for my wife, I would have thought I was a real pro at Solitaire!

    This is exactly how many CEO’s, Presidents and Sales VP’s view their sales forces.  Without anything or anyone with whom to compare, they form their judgements on sales effectiveness in a vacuum.  I routinely hear things like, “We have a custom sales process.”, and “We’ve been working on consultative selling.”  Yet, after a sales force evaluation has been completed, those same companies are routinely found to have been lagging, not leading, in those areas.

    When it comes to providing sales training for your sales force, what exactly, should modern training include?

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  • What Does it Take to Become a Sales Manager?

    • January 24, 2014
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    After his football career ended, Chatham went back to school and received an MBA from Babson in 2011.  With that in hand, he said that he would prefer a front office job and wishes to become a GM.  On the other hand, Fouria said that he would love to coach, but…

    There were a lot of buts:

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  • The Difference Between Sales Commitment and Desire

    • November 18, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    I was explaining this difference to a client and the two findings, which we were comparing, were striking in their contrast.

    The candidate in question scored 100 (off the charts) on Desire (how badly he wants to succeed in sales); yet, as low as he was high – 16 – on Commitment – his willingness to do what it takes to succeed in sales. So as you might expect, the client asked, “How can he score so high in Desire but so low in Commitment?”

    Great question.

    I’ll explain it in exactly the same fashion I explained it to him.

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  • Revealing Study of Salespeople Makes News at HBR

    • October 5, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    This article has my first reaction to the Challenger Sale after news of the book first appeared in HBR back in 2011.

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  • How Many Salespeople Should Report to a Sales Manager?

    • September 12, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    How many salespeople should report to a sales manager?

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  • What Are Sales Intangibles?

    • February 16, 2011
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Once in while an individual will fall outside the normal range of assessment results.  That usually means either one of two things;

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  • Top 10 Reasons Why Sales Commitment Has Become More Important

    • June 15, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    My recent analysis has shown that today, Commitment has overtaken Desire in importance and we will be reflecting that in assessments very shortly.  But Why?  What has caused this fundamental shift?

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  • Top 10 Tips for Hiring Salespeople for Your Sales Force

    • May 24, 2010
    • Posted by: Dave Kurlan
    • Category: Understanding the Sales Force

    Today, we will discuss hiring for the sales force but not so much the “how” of it as much as the importance of doing it for the right reasons, at the right time and in the right manner.

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