Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









New Metrics for the Sales Force - Unusual Thoughts for Unusual Times

Guest post by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: More is less - you will close more sales if your salespeople book fewer appointments but concentrate on more quality appointments. Quality is not how well your salespeople are received, it's the fit and need of the opportunity.

Free Download - Sales Courage and Resilience By Dave Kurlan
Name: Email:

New Metrics for the Sales Force - Unusual Thoughts for Unusual Times

Some unusual thoughts for some unusual times:

Less is more - you will get an increase in sales with fewer salespeople if you choose the right ones to go - and stay - and give them more attention. The right ones may not be your "best salespeople".

More is less - you will close more sales if your salespeople book fewer appointments but concentrate on more quality appointments. Quality is not how well your salespeople are received, it's the fit and need of the opportunity.

More is more - you will have more revenue if your salespeople book appointments with opportunities with more potential. Potential is not the number of 0's in the opportunity, it's the long-term potential of the account.

Lower is higher - you will have a lower percentage of lost opportunities if your salespeople call higher in the company. Higher is not the tallest person they can get to.

Fewer is greater - you will find yourselves in fewer price-sensitive battles if you force a greater number of your salespeople to learn how to really sell value. Selling value is not teaching them to recite your value proposition!

Bigger is smaller - you will close a bigger percentage of opportunities if your salespeople give proposals to a smaller percentage of prospects. Proposals don't win sales, good questions do.

Would you like to contribute some sizable competencies of your own?

Related Articles
  Quote 85% Less - Close 300% More
  An Unusual Man
  Writing Articles When You Cant Write Anymore How To Get Just One More Article Written
  Do You Have a Bad Technology Habit?
  The Trouble with \"Out of the Box\" Thinking

Home > Sales > Dave Kurlan > New Metrics for the Sales Force Unusual Thoughts for Unusual Times
Article Tags: book appointments, competencies, proposals, prospects, salespeople, tallest person, value proposition

About the Author: Dave Kurlan
RSS for Dave's articles - Visit Dave's website

Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development.  He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling (Dan Seidman), Stepping Stones (Deepak Chopra and Brian Tracey) and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (David Riklan).

Click here to visit Dave's website
Dashed Line

Understanding the Sales Force
More from Dave Kurlan
Predict Sales Turnover
Visual Pipeline
Salesperson Selection


Related Forum Posts
Re: Branding Your Business On Facebook: Be Creative Re: Branding Your Business On Facebook: Be Creative - Interesting! Yes, I agree the line between business and personal can become blurred when using Facebook. Your Aunt Martha might not want to read your business links. It can be a great tool for some...I know a popular male model who uses facebook to keep in touch with fans, post new photos/links to commercials. It's a fun way to show what he's been up to, and it allows a visual medium for showcasing his work, while building his fan base. People like to comment on his page, because it makes them feel that they know a celebrity. But for an auto shop? Maybe not. If the business is in the pop culture, or it's something people want to talk about, or feel connected to, then great! But for more regular businesses, maybe not. Unusual businesses, otherwise hard-to-find items, or businesses that people feel an emotional connection to might work though! The sorts of things people want to tell their friends about.
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: Info for would be franchisers... Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?


Recommended Article for You close

  Quote 85% Less - Close 300% More

Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

The Substance Abusing Employee

How to Write Your Articles for Better SEO

Bootstrapping Your Start Up Business.

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.