Tag Archives: business development

Sales Coaching

Sales Coaching

All outstanding sales managers engage in coaching on a daily basis and counseling on an as needed basis. Sales coaching is the proactive manner to help support the mentoring provided for sales professionals to improve their performance and to help them when having difficulties. It is mainly focused on maintaining existing, strong performance and moving it further. Counseling on the other hand is a reactive fractured approach implemented when an employee is performing below expectations due to either a skill deficiency or an attitude deficiency. It is mainly focused on restoring performance to a minimal acceptable level or failing that, removing the employee from that job.

I remember the first time that I was managing a full sales force of individuals and I was asked to evaluate the sales performance of a young woman by the name of Ivy. Unfortunately I was predisposed because I had discovered that Ivy had very poor selling skills, was typically late and was not meeting the quota goals assigned to her. It was up to me to decide whether or not she was worth keeping or terminating her employment. So, with both solutions open to for either coaching or counseling I used both to help increase her performance and reverse many of the poor things people were saying. In the next few moments I will provide you some information on coaching and how to use it to help those with weak into personal skills.

My belief is that all sales representatives should be coached on an ongoing basis. It is a form of mentoring that enables ongoing dialogue between the manager and the subordinate so that feedback on performance doesn’t occur only when there is a problem. Nor should it occur and only one time of the year-the performance review. Moreover it allows for excellent sales work and customer service to be recognized, supported, exploited and then finally conveyed to others.

Unfortunately many sales managers spend 10 times more of their effort and energy counseling. Managers often confuse the two and don’t understand the difference and usually respond only to problems, meaning that the preponderance of their time is spent on correcting weak efforts rather than supporting strength.

The most important attributes of a sales coaching relationship includes:

 

    1. That the dialogue is constant and ongoing it’s not situated around the periodic review.
    1. The feedback must be timely and it has to be offered at a point where an issue or a problem arises.
    1. It is important to understand that the manager simply coaches and mentors but the employee ultimately performs.
    1. In order for a good mentoring process to occur there must be a good relationship. In other words both sides must be approachable whenever and wherever.
  1. The employee must be able to be coached. Some people simply do not like the told by others how to improve performance therefore is how will to have someone who really wants the assistance to improve.

 

Counseling on the other hand is a short-term sequence of interactions with sales professionals that results in either restored or acceptable performance or unfortunately and when necessary the employee leaves the job where they can perform better. Counseling is essential to improving sales performance yet few sales managers ever engage systematically and most don’t effectively engage in it at all. The reason being is that many sales managers might believe that counseling requires too much time and effort of which they don’t have and that the employee might actually engage them in too much conflict.

The following is a checklist when you need to use sales counseling:

 

    1. Determine if the poor performance is caused by a lack of skills or simply a poor attitude.
    1. Focus on the behavior of the individual.
    1. Get agreement on the standard and the actual performance.
    1. Discuss the impact of the performance on others in the organization. Remember here to keep things objective never personal.
    1. Discuss the alternatives and consequences and actually have the employee, suggest some solutions.
    1. Establish action plans and dates so that the employee can be held to accountability standards.
  1. Constantly review and monitor the process.

 

©2011. Drew Stevens PhD All rights reserved.

Uncertain about business development? Take the on Business Development Scorecard, Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on Effective Sales Management, Business Development & Sales Consulting. Drew is the author of the successful sales process books – Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Program one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Acceleration. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization visit his marketing and sales consulting website – stevensconsultinggroup.com.

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Sales Coaching

Sales Coaching… Fact or Fiction?

The old adage in selling has always been, “Find out what they want, then, give it to them.” The fundamentals of selling are clearly that elemental. The application thereof, however, continues to be the litmus test that quickly separates the skilled from the rest.

In the past, the selling profession relied upon its own bullpens crowded with accomplished journeymen to assume the role of mentor or coach to guide the up-and-coming. But sadly, those days are gone.

Statistics show the average tenure in today’s typical sales force is only two to three years. For many reasons like downsizing, smaller margins, and fewer incentives, experienced salespeople now find it necessary [easy] to move on. Some get entrepreneurial and open small companies of their own. In their wake, younger and far less tenured people fill the ranks – quickly becoming the less experienced mainstay of frontline selling.

There is still another challenge. Due to the evolution and ever-changing complexities of products and solutions, heavy employment emphasis over the last decade in particular has and continues to be, placed on technical skills over selling skills. No one will argue the importance of knowing one’s products inside and out – especially when they are complex. Nevertheless, without experience, training and a natural aptitude for selling, any sales person is more a “Teller, not a Seller.”

That is to say, a salesrep today can be quite adept at providing correct technical answers for customers but can often lack the sales aptitude and education to do what they need to do – ‘Close Deals’. In practice, now armed with the right solution, customers are free to shop it to other “Tellers” for price. The result? Dwindling margins, unhappy salespeople and high turnover… Huge Costs for the Corporation!

So what’s the answer? In a word, “Coaching.”

At a time when companies outsource for strategic expertise like legal, accounting and payroll services, professional speakers / trainers / consultants – most of whom with decades of distinguished sales and marketing experience – are in demand to meet the need for coaching, mentoring and training

The sad reality is today’s overworked executives and small business owners often find themselves engaged in a delicate balancing act between the needs of their inexperienced sales force and the demands of fundamental day-to-day business survival. Something inevitably has to give and it usually does. For this reason, outsourcing for needed coaching [not available in-house] makes so much sense.

Professional Coaches with ‘proven’ experience work directly with companies and individuals to put ‘proven’ programs into place expressly focused on sales/motivation and success-strategies integral to personal and corporate long-term goals in today’s more Unique Value-Driven marketplace.

Successful companies know:

  • Coaching programs work.
  • Coaches drive greater sales and profitability.
  • Coaches are an Investment – Not a Cost. and,
  • Coaches are far less expensive than the status quo.

 

Fact: Government sources purported the cost of recruiting, hiring, benefits/salary and training the average sales rep is approximately $50,000.00. “No small investment for even a large corporation.”

Fact: “Without proper training and attention, sales aren’t made, reps move on and – the Investment Cost Doubles!”

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Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590.

www.success150.com or paul@success150.com

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