Category Archives: Sales Coaching

Sales Coaching

Do You Coach Or Do You Compete? The 7 Most Destructive Styles of Coaching

Some managers do a rotten job of coaching. Are you one of them?

Most are not aware of it but they do a rotten job because they actually ‘compete’ with their sales reps rather than give constructive feedback that will help them change and modify their behavior to sell more.

Though well intentioned, “competitive” coaches do more harm than good. Apart from doing little to improve the sales behavior of the rep, they can inadvertently cause resentment, foster frustration and destroy confidence.

What is a Competitive Coach?

Put simply, the competitive coach is a manager whose feedback tends to elevate their own knowledge and expertise in selling while diminishing the effort or the skill of the sales rep. Often oblivious to this behavior, the competitive coach tends to belittle their sales rep by pointing how they (the manager) would have done things differently and of course, better.

Here are some typical examples of competitive coaching styles to illustrate the point.

Style #1: The Tell Style

The competitive coach tends to a have a ‘tell” approach to feedback. They are direct and often blunt in their remarks, “You didn’t close,” “You missed the buying signal,” “Next time, practice your presentation.” Certainly, there are times when the direct approach is effective but the problem with the ‘tell’ approach is that it rarely helps the sales rep alter their selling behavior. Instead, it reveals flaws which embarrass or annoy the rep.

Style # 2: Chide, De-ride and Kid Style

Some managers tend to coach their reps by chiding, kidding or de-riding. For instance, “Kelly, what the heck was THAT?” or “Cathy, are you kidding me? A seven year old could have closed that one?” The manager doesn’t necessarily mean to be harsh or demeaning but that’s the net result. Most reps get defensive, silently or otherwise.

Style #3: Nit Pick Style

Very competitive coaches often feel that they MUST give some sort of critical feedback even if the call was exceptionally good. They will find something – anything- that could be better or improved. Again, this approach tends to raise the perceived value, intelligence and savvy of the manager if only because it ‘lowers’ the skill or ability of the rep. Good coaches know that if there are no flaws, there is no need to make them up.

Style #4: Schizophrenic Style

Competitive coaches often use the ‘sandwich’ technique of feedback which has been taught for years but is really a discouraging model. This technique states that constructive feedback should be sandwiched between a couple of positive comments. For example, “Jen, that opening statement was really good… but I’m afraid the questioning and qualifying needs some work. You didn’t really get to the heart of the client’s needs… Mind you, you did attempt a close.”

The ‘but’ is the real killer. The poor rep is left confused. The beleaguered rep hears the positive remark but they are waiting for the other shoe to drop the moment the manager says “but.” In an instant, the positive is whipped out. Or, the rep hears the positive remarks, congratulates himself and doesn’t hear the negative. Rare is the rep who can emotionally separate the two types of feedback.

The non-competitive coach gives either constructive feedback or positive feedback and lets the call stand on those merits.

Style #5: The Rhetorical Style

Like sports coaches, competitive sales coaches sometimes use rhetorical questions as a means of pumping up reps and giving them feedback. “You want to be winner, don’t you?” “You want to close ’em, right?” “You don’t want to stay at the bottom of the heap, do you?”, “Why didn’t you ask for the referral?” The manager is not looking for answers, she is pointing out the mistake and trusting that it dramatically improve sales performance. The fact of the matter is most reps simply endure the rhetoric and do the same thing.

Good coaching is a two way street. A good manager/coach asks questions and waits for feedback. This interactive approach helps the rep understand and learn.

Style #6: Personal Anecdotes Style

Many sales managers are former sales reps and chances are they were good sales reps. Consequently, their coaching is spotted with all sorts of personal anecdotes such as, “When I was on the phone, I used the direct close…” or “I remember a similar customer I had and here’s what I did to close that $20K deal.” Sure, there are times when personal gems might have some value but mostly they are war stories that tell the rep how good the manager was…and, oh by the way, how good the rep could be if they only followed your advice.

Style #7: Heaping Style

The final coaching style is the manager who ‘heaps’ on the feedback to the extent that the information is too overwhelming for the rep. This often occurs with rookies where the entire call is weak and the manager provides feedback on everything from the planning, the opening, the questioning, the presentation, the objection handling and the close. The tele-sales rep is left lost and discouraged.

A good coach focuses on one, maybe two areas that require constructive feedback. Let the rep learn and master these areas before moving on to the rest of the call.

Summary

Competitive managers are not ‘bad’ people with a nefarious plan to sabotage their sales reps. Most competitive managers are not effective coaches simply because they have never been taught how to provide feedback that is effective in getting their reps to change their selling behavior. See the article below if you think your coaching style could use an overhaul.

For over 18 years Jim Domanski has been president of Teleconcepts Consulting and works with companies and individuals who struggle to use the telephone more effectively. Author of four highly regarded books on tele-selling, Jim has provided training, coaching and consulting to companies, audiences, universities, and clients and tele-sales reps throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Visit his website at http://www.teleconceptsconsulting.com and download your FREE Special Report, “The 9 Blunders That Tele-Sales Managers Make (And what you can do about them)”

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Sales Coaching

Sales Coaching – An Executive’s Guide

When Am I Coaching?

Corporate climate surveys and interviews repeatedly indicate that employees feel they are not coached enough, that they are not clear enough about expectations, that they get too little feedback. Consultants, academics, human resources professionals, some senior managers, and almost all corporate training departments press continually for managers to dedicate more time to coaching. Yet neither managers nor their direct reports can reliably tell you when “coaching” is taking place and whether anyone has been coached.

Why? There is no shared definition. Sales managers, sales people, and trainers describe coaching based on what they’ve experienced, in terms of activities, among them:

 

  • Expectation setting
  • Coaching disciplines
  • Feedback about results
  • Pushing for skills to improve
  • Lots of short interval feedback and management

 

The resulting gumbo mixes old athletic coach models with new-age mumbo jumbo, academic research, and training program models to produce frustration and confusion. Since business leaders and sales managers have precious little time for any task, we need definitions of “what’s a sales coach” and “what’s sales coaching” that experienced managers can use.

Define the Coaching Context

To begin, coaching is a process, not a thing, not an event, not a single type of discussion. The coaching process serves a purpose; you coach to reach an objective. The coaches we’ve met begin thinking about coaching by answering three questions:

 

  • Why am I coaching? What’s the objective?
  • What are the circumstances? How much damage is done if we don’t achieve the goal?
  • Who am I coaching? What do they need from me in order to fulfill the purpose?

 

Their answers to these three questions help them set priorities in terms of their commitment of time to coaching, the frequency and extent of coaching conversations, and their coaching focus.

Specify Your System

Successful sales coaches have developed “systems” that work and that they can teach so that other people can successfully reach meaningful goals. The primary responsibility of executive-level sales managers is to define (or have others define) the “success path” or “system” which will enable their reps to be successful.

Watch any successful team manager, from sales to symphonies to soccer fields, and you’ll see a system. Dig into any successful franchise operation; you’ll find a system that enables ordinary people to produce extraordinary results repeatedly. The system defines performance in detail:

 

  • The correct activities,
  • Done at the correct time,
  • At the correct frequency,
  • In the correct manner.

 

People who are serious about reaching a particular objective flock to good coaches because they know the coaches have systems to get the job done and that, if they use the coaches’ systems, they’ll be successful.

In sales, this means having a “pilot’s manual” that describes how your company and your team, and everybody on it, does business. The manual documents your business development and sales management process in detail – the correct activities, the correct timing, the proper frequency, and specific methods.

For example: When do you meet with your sales reps for coaching? What topics do you cover? What does an acceptable proposal look like, how many of them should someone submit in a year to be successful?

If you can’t define the optimal performance system for your sales team, you’re not well positioned to coach.

Work the System on Three Levels

When developing and implementing their systems, coaches work on three levels:

Strategic – the game plan. In sales, this includes establishing a mission for the team, profiling target customers, choosing products or services to emphasize, and deploying sales resources to customers.

Statistical – the relationships between activities and results. This means connecting data about sales process (i.e. steps activities) to sales results so you can prioritize activities and predict results.

Behavioral – what people do and how. This includes sales call behaviors, internal and external communications, and personal management.

The more senior the sales executives, the more attention they should pay to the “strategic” and “statistical” aspects of the system and implementation of sales team strategies.

When executive sales managers meet with their direct reports (regional, district, or sales team sales managers), they should coach at all three levels:

 

  • Observe performance at all three levels (strategic, statistical, behavioral).
  • Note gaps between what you see and what your system says you should see.
  • Communicate observations to sales managers.
  • Where necessary, instruct sales managers as to what to do, when to do, or how to do strategy implementation, activity management, or specific sales behaviors.

 

Executive sales managers’ expectations, coupled with feedback and consequences, change sales management behaviors. The changed sales management behaviors drive sales activities and sales results. Sales managers who are directly coaching individual sales people should work through the same three levels of coaching with their sales reps.

Do You Get Style Points

Style is important. As a coach, you have to connect with your team members to communicate. You have to enroll them in your vision of what is possible for the team and why it’s worth getting up in the morning.

At the same time, remember what they want from you. They want to know you can help them be successful. If you can demonstrate that your system works, you’ll tend to attract people who want to work for you… and the people who work for you already will be more willing to adapt their styles to yours because they know, in the end, they’ll reach their goals if they follow your coaching.

Nicholas T. Miller, president of Clarity Advantage, helps banks generate more profitable relationships faster with small and medium-sized companies, their owners, and employees. Clarity consulting, communications, sales tools and training help banks recruit and deploy sales team members, choose their best business and consumer prospects and clients, then approach, engage, sell, expand, and retain relationships. Clarity also assists banks with consumer sales and cash management sales. Clarity clients have posted increases in household penetration, cross-sells, deposit volume, and loan volume. Visit Clarity’s website at http://www.clarityadvantage.com where you can subscribe to “The Weekly Sales Thought,” a free eNewsletter and podcast focused on business-to-business selling and sales management.

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Sales Coaching

A Sales Coach Can Increase Performance

Are you running a sales company and would like to increase the income of the company? Would you like the staff to perform better on a daily basis? Then you might want to read this since you will be able to find all the necessary information about how to increase performance within your business.

Sales coaching are most likely exactly what you need in order to succeed with your business. You will get information about what you can do to increase performance and you will have someone who can guide you through the entire procedure.

An experienced sales coach will be able to give you great advice regarding systems that should be used for the business and which strategies you should use to reach the goal. You will find ways to reach success that you didn’t even know existed. It will be a great experience for you as a boss but also for all your employees since you will be able to help them become better at what they’re doing.

When you’re planning to try sales coaching you should make sure to choose a company with plenty of experience and a very good reputation. You will be much more satisfied with the results if you choose a really good sales coach.

A sales coach will increase performance as well as profit and he or she will use various techniques to help your business. You will learn how to motivate your employees and you will learn a lot about positive thinking.

Everyone who would like to become a successful salesman should learn how to use the body language and a lot of enthusiasm to increase profit and that’s exactly what you will learn from sales coaching. You will also learn how to act when you meet a price shopper and many other things.

If you would like to find out how successful you and your company can become you should definitely try sales coaching. Everyone has something left to learn and that goes for you as well. You can always have use for some great advice and that’s exactly what you will get from an experienced sales coach.

Start looking for the best sales coach today and start the way to a more successful business as soon as possible. You will soon discover that it’s worth every penny you spend on this and you will start earning a lot more money as soon as you’ve learned everything about the best strategies out there.

Are you looking for a sales coach for your team? Check out the best sales coaching online at http://www.paramounttraining.com.au/sales-training.

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Sales Coaching

Why Sales Coaching Is Essential For Your Business

One of the keys to increasing sales is to control and reduce the turnover of sales staff and management. It is not only very costly turnover in terms of recruitment, training and end costs, but also very counterproductive when growing sales revenue. Sales are most important for every business. Your business may be some small or some large, but you cannot think of amplifying it without getting a growing number or quality of sales. It is essential that your representatives are smart enough to deal your customers and make them purchase their products over other firms or companies. Competition among marketers is increasing day by day, so even if you have the right kind of products cannot be sold. The main thing to focus on to grow your business is to increase the number of sales you make. This is where the sales of coaching play a major role. A company that provides sales management coaching to its employees is able to attract more customers, and get better income. In a sales coaching program, an employee learns the right direction to interact with customers. They understand how to deal with sales objections, and persuade prospects to buy a product the company. A sales coaching makes an employee to answer the question why an important perspective to choose their products over others.

Without the ability to communicate effectively, not present products or services to your customers. When clients read or hear about the product and its advantages, this creates a positive effect on the client and provides a way in which to solve all your queries. A person can go for training sales to get a better job in the marketing industry, or a company can use this to help their employees improve enterprise growth. Choose a company which provides coaching in advanced sales proven methods is essential. Be Relevant creates sales optimization solutions that boost the efficiency & effectiveness of your sales force. A person who can answer customer questions without searching is able to create a lasting impression and thus increases the value of his product of company in their eyes. A company dedicated to teaching proper management techniques to help clients create success.

There are several courses offered by the sales coaching companies improve employee performance. It is important that the sales company you choose to get the coaching of sufficient experience in the same field. It should have certified personal trainers with degrees to teach essential sales skills for their students. Every company today has a service centre to resolve queries from new and existing customers. Call centre training for employees to greet and talk to their customers in a desired way help to improve their levels of company customer satisfaction. With higher levels of satisfaction, you will get more sales and will be able to generate more revenue from business. Market research carefully and choose the company that matches your needs the best with sufficient experience in the type of sales coaching you’re looking for you or your firm or company.

B-relevant programs can provide reporting and measurement of success for your business. If you are new to the B-relevant craze, rest assured that you are not walking a lonely road and there are many resources available to you now for using B-relevant coaching to growing sales revenue [http://www.berelevantgroup.com] in all type of business.

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Sales Coaching

Become Your Own Professional Sales Training Force

In a information based and online dealings you may miss the special touch of a regular sales job that was once either making you money or wasting your time.

If it was wasting your time, you may not have had the marketing and sales skills at the time of working the job, so you may have ultimately failed at the business. Your professional selling skills could have needed much improvement.

One reason I have always loved sales and marketing is that you can write your own paycheck, have no one employing you, and allow you to take time and days off whenever you need or want and get up from bed whenever it is reasonable.

The thing missing from my entrepreneur career was training from professionals in the industry. When you have to feed a family and make a solid living, you don’t have time to go over training that you cannot duplicate, which leads to less effective results.

The training is the crucial ingredient as experienced by many who are left wondering what they did wrong in sales.

If you were to take the basic marketing and sales skills you may know now and take those back with you in time to succeed at those jobs you will have improved or at least made it in the forgotten profession of sales.

I think that most persons jolt into sales not knowing the quantity of training and skill advancement that it takes to be victorious. It is not an overnight process. Education, being, and doing are very important factors in the success, which means failure is vital to experiencing the sport of professional sales. Your professional sales skills degree will determine your income.

I know when I was working with companies that offered opportunities for much better income possibility and development these companies did not bestow leadership, teaching, or even on occasion decent leads to work with.

With the information out there to work with now, you could take any sales and marketing opportunity and turn it into a safe return on time investment when you have good professional sales coaching.

I like to keep things simple in my articles so I’ll give some down to earth examples of this.

If you are in wireless carrier communication sales, could you not easily write highly converting capture pages and turn those into sales for your company? Absolutely.

If you require some form of written contract agreement to provide a service or product through your company, could you not share that with your local Facebook or other social network to people in your local area. Absolutely.

If you are self employed could you not realize specifically targeted customers in the home rehab and recuperation trade in your local area through ad campaigns that are deliberate to capture the attention of people looking at the home depot web site online and advertise in the penny saver. Certainly.

And lastly, if you are required for your job to be highly friendly, personal, and customer service oriented, could you not improve your offline marketing and closing skills to be one who is trusted and build relationships with potential customers and clients at these local locations. Absolutely.

The skills of attraction marketing, direct sales, and connecting, along with networking, outstanding buyer service, and being an expert in your niche field would give any ambitious human being more than an adequate amount of information to be highly successful in their existing occupation.

Not everyone has the constancy and discipline to be able to make these things work for them, but originality and alpha leadership mentality are the key points that will help you to accomplish particular goals for your revenue streams that can set you up a be rich in the current economic condition. Your own professional sales training force can be you. You can be self trained with a little suggested help and good resources.

There is a goldmine of prosperity in professional marketing and sales that can make any motivated individual with solid whys or reasons for their goals, eager to make more time and money, and a lifestyle for their efforts to become what they truly want to be as a marketing professional. See my article entitled 7 steps to becoming financially free for a larger picture when it comes to true wealth prosperity.

Get on the fast track with professional sales training [http://myonlineleadsystem.com] where the top leaders and closers in industries come together to make a mastermind dream team and learn to master the skills needed set up a system [http://www.mlmforthemasses.com/articles/become-your-own-professional-sales-training-force-9173/?c=29807], obtain quality leads, and profit for freedom from a current job.

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