The "Born Salesperson" Trap with Dave Kurlan

In this episode of Sales on Training, Kelly Riggs talks to Dave Kurlan, founder of Objective Management Group, about the traits that separate top salespeople from the rest and why sales training often fails. As Dave puts it, "closing is overrated." Instead, top salespeople focus on understanding the problems their clients face and provide value in their solutions. Dive into the secrets behind the success of the elite sales professionals as Dave shares, "They want to make sure that if they're going on a meeting, they know exactly who they're meeting with, why they're meeting with them, and that person wants to meet with them."

Dave Kurlan is a best selling author, top rated speaker and earned the Bronze Medal for Top Sales & Marketing Thought Leader for 2015.  He was inducted into the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame in 2012.  Dave is the founder and CEO of the Objective Management Group, Inc. (OMG), the leading developer of sales force evaluations and sales candidate assessments, headquartered in Westboro, Massachusetts. OMG was named the Top Sales Assessment Tool for 2011 - 2015. He is also the CEO of Kurlan & Associates, a global leader in sales force development. He is an expert in all facets of sales, sales leadership, sales strategy, sales process, sales recruiting, sales training, coaching and consulting.

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On this episode..

The Origin and Development of Objective Management Group's Sales Candidate Assessment (1:39): Dave talks about how he built the sales-specific assessment in 1990 and how it has evolved over time.

The Differences and Validity of Various Sales Assessments (8:02): Dave explains the different levels of validity in assessments, such as face validity, construct validity, and predictive validity. He highlights how the OMG Sales Candidate Assessment's predictive validity sets it apart from other assessments on the market.

Sales Training Challenges and Opportunities (9:39): Both Kelly and Dave discuss the importance of taking a consultative approach in sales training and how closing is often overrated.

Traits That Set Top Salespeople Apart (13:13): Dave shares insights into the specific competencies and traits that separate the top 5% of sales professionals from the rest, highlighting the importance of belief systems, sales DNA, and the ability to reach decision-makers.

The Elusive Sales "Unicorn" (21:07): Kelly and Dave explore the concept of the born salesperson or the "unicorn," discussing how rare it is to find such individuals and the importance of identifying and developing talent in-house.

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. 

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.