Tag Archives: Business

Sales Coaching

Sales Coaching – How to Successfully Follow Up

When I accompany sales people on their appointments in my capacity as a sales coach, I very rarely see the follow up used as a sales tool. However, I have witnessed two extremes of sales follow up technique that left me cold.

The first was immediately after the sales person had finished the presentation of the price and received a polite, “We’ll have to think about that, it is more than we anticipated paying.” The negotiation was based on discount which still was not bringing the price down to the customer’s expected price level.

The sales person then packed his things and stated that he had to call his manager to tell him how the appointment had finished. You can see it coming … the manager then wanted to talk to the customer and, blow me down with a feather, more discount was offered to close the sale. This technique actually turned the customer off so much that I could see the anger in their face. Something the sales person missed!

What a shame that the only selling skills available was based on discount rather than understanding the customer’s perceived idea of value for this particular product.

The other extreme of follow up was used by a sales person selling kitchens and, at the end of the fruitless presentation, told the customer that he would call in a few days having given them time for thought about the purchase.

What made it worse was the statement, “I have to follow up every call or my manager has a go at me and after a certain period the system takes the lead back and I get nothing.” I don’t know if this was the “sympathy sale” close technique!

The follow up call was made a few days later with this, less than effective, telephone call. “Hello, this is … from … (names withdraw). Have you thought about the price any further, or what other thoughts have you had.” I’m not sure I need to comment on the quality and substance of this follow up call because it is so similar to many I have witnessed in the past.

Here are some tips on how to make sales follow up calls more effective.

 

  • Make an appointment with the customer for the follow up; what day, morning or afternoon, what phone number.
  • Agree what the subject of the call will be about; not just asking about if the customer has thought more about the purchase.
  • Have another reason for the customer to buy; but ensure this reason has a customer based benefit, not just the offer of another discount.
  • Have a progression plan for what happens after the follow up call; many sales people just continually use follow up calls as their method of keeping a sales prospect “live”.

During my Follow Up Workshops the delegates discover different ideas on how to make their calls more effective. Many find that creating a rough script helps to put some structure to the calls. Delegates also coach each other in how the call sounds from a customer’s point of view. Many have reported an up-lift in conversion ratios after implementing a properly thought through sales follow up process. 

Telephone communication for follow up and sales prospecting is a science and I am amazed at how many call centre and sales operations get it so badly wrong. Many subtle messages can be delivered through a well planned, non-visual conversation but this needs to be set up well in advance – even at the point of first contact with the prospective customer.

Ian D Ludlow helps sales and customer service people and organisations in the business-to-business, direct sales and retail environments to improve their current performance.

As a Master Practitioner of NLP and Accredited LVT Practitioner, he uses fun and creative techniques to change unproductive behaviours and to help individuals and teams THINK FASTER and REACT QUICKER to ever changing market conditions.

He states, “If you carry on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Ian’s specialism is knowing what to change and how to change it with minimum effort and maximum return.

Ian helped improve the average sales value for a retail business by 14% which added £34M in sales revenue over one year from 320 stores. He also helped increase the sales conversion ratio by 7% through quality sales training and lead generation programmes for a kitchen and bathroom installer; increasing sales by £24M over one year.

Ian D Ludlow can be contacted on +44 (0)1795 55 56 83 whilst his website is under construction.

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Sales Coaching

Training vs. Coaching – There Is A Difference

The terms “Sales Training” and “Sales Coaching” are often used interchangeably. However, I view them as two totally distinct methodologies. It’s critical that both managers/trainers, as well as employees/students, understand the distinct difference between them. It is in understanding that difference which will provide the explanation as to why so much conventional sales training, even very high-priced training, fails to deliver positive and sustained changes in most salespeople’s behaviors or selling results.

Sales Training is providing new conditioning or is attempting to recondition the student. It is the process of teaching various sales methods, sales tracks, selling tools, tips, theories or strategies.

Teaching, by its very nature, is the imposition of concepts or ideas from the teacher who is an outside source of knowledge, onto the student. We understand that while conventional teaching is very traditional, it’s not necessarily always the best method to get the desired results.

Why? The answer is simple. Most of us, by our nature, definitely do not want to be controlled by someone else or by someone else’s ideas. Our ego often gets in the way of accepting someone else’s suggestions or rules. It violates our sense of personal freedom, doesn’t it? Regularly, the well-meaning and much-needed knowledge meets some considerable level of resistance from the student as a result of their defensive ego. This often means that much of what the teacher tries to download onto the student will be rejected, either at a conscious or subconscious level. This minimizes the effectiveness of the traditional teaching process.

Sales Coaching, by contrast, takes the position that while the instructor is important in the learning process, the individual needing the skills or knowledge is the most important element and must assume complete personal responsibility for both his or her life and career. Coaching is a process of helping the student on a journey of discovering effective methodologies.

Salespeople are encouraged to examine their personal core values and then they are coached to make the adjustments to their behaviors which will create improved outcomes in both their selling results and their personal lives.

Training, a.k.a. teaching, imposes. Coaching, by contrast, creates a learning experience that seeks to draw solutions out of the student. It continually poses the critical question, “Does it work or doesn’t it work?”. Thus, the student is invited and, most importantly, empowered to make mindful choices from the available knowledge.

Because students makes choices personally, based on their core values, there tends to be little or no resistance at all. Therefore results do become positive and most importantly, they are sustained.

Sales coaching is an interactive process that provides guidance and encourages the salesperson to make productive decisions while taking personal ownership of those decisions. This technique will encourage the development and expansion of his or her own mind, resulting in not only increased levels of self-confidence but also higher self-esteem.

Sales training along with effective sales coaching provide the best results for growth and sustainability. This personal growth motivates the sales team member to seek out and create more successes in both his or her selling career and personal life. These successes and positive, adjusted behaviors are sure to put more money into the salesperson’s pocket and onto your bottom line.

Jim Masson is an accomplished sales trainer, business consultant and author. Jim has published 3 powerful new “at Mastery” e-books to help you earn more, more often. “An Introduction to Selling at Mastery”, “Selling at Mastery” and Manage Your Sales Floor at Mastery” are ready to turbo charge your selling or serving career.

If earning more money is on the top of your to do list, please visit http://www.sellingatmastery.com/ for a complimentary download of “An Introduction to Selling at Mastery”. No charge and no obligation. Free is a very good price. Decide to sell and serve at Mastery, starting right now!

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Sales Coaching

Do You Have A Sales Coach?

Over 35 years ago, I made what I feel is one of the significant decisions of my life. I decided that for the rest of my life I would invest 10% of my time in personal growth. In order to make this time of value I knew I needed a personal coach, a mentor and I needed to belong to a mastermind group. Of the three, the use of personal coaches has done more for my career and life success than any other career decision I have ever made.

During my speaking career I have known hundreds of people and spoken to thousands of salespeople who have said they want a better lifestyle, increased income and greater satisfaction from their career and life. Many of these same people have turned over the responsibility of their personal development to someone else. Unfortunately this is not the most effective way to ensure a life filled with success and personal freedom.

Over the years, one common denominator I have observed in successful salespeople is their willingness to invest in the continued improvement of their skills, attitudes and philosophy regardless of how they did it – books, seminars, audio products and so on. What I have also learned is that the most successful of these, had a personal coach helping them learn new skills as well as the value of discarding unnecessary habits and attitudes.

There are different coaching relationships and I am distinguishing here between a coach and a mentor. I have a lot of mentors who are no longer with us. I can think of people like; Mark Twain, Winston Churchill and Will Rogers as three very important ones. I can learn from them through the written words they left behind but learning from a coach is different. A coach is in your life to help you; self-discover, think, create, unload old baggage, re-invent yourself, learn new skills, improve your powers of imagination and much more.

Do you have a personal coach? Have you ever had one? Every professional athlete from Olympic champions to the tennis and golf greats of the past and present have or have had personal coaches. Why? Because a good coach doesn’t have to have the ability to be better than you on the court or course. Their role is to help you get more out of you.

I am a personal coach to a number of salespeople, speakers, authors and CEO’s. Each month we talk about their objectives, goals, challenges, decisions etc. My role is not to tell them how they should be or what they should do. I don’t have that right. One of my coaching clients runs a $300 million dollar company. I have never run even a $10 million dollar company. I do not have the right or the ability to tell him what he should do different or better. My only role is to help him become a better CEO by asking good questions, holding him accountable, listening between the lines and helping him get in touch with his real intent.

Life is an interesting relationship between paying the price and winning the prize. Between self-investment and rewards. Between investing time in personal development and your ultimate success.

It takes commitment, patience, persistence, and goals to invest wisely in yourself over the long haul. It takes nothing whatsoever to postpone investing in yourself until it is too late and the die is cast. We are talking about a philosophy of ‘life-long learning’ – not learning as an event. It is never too late to begin an aggressive on-going self development program.

Many of the salespeople I coach want praise that they don’t get from their supervisors, validation of their methods or attitudes and permission to do something new or different. That’s not the role of a coach – that’s the role of a mother.

Where can you find a coach? Do you have to pay for coaching? What will you get out of a coaching relationship? How long will it or should a coaching relationship last? These are all very good questions so let me give you a couple of things to consider.

A coach can be anyone you trust, respect, knows how to listen, is not judgmental or critical, does not give advice and believes in you and your potential.

You can find them anywhere but there are organizations and professionals in all walks of life who spend a certain amount of their time coaching others. This may take a little digging on your part but it will be worth it.

A personal coach can:

-Improve your performance

-Save you time and resources

-Help you identify personal weaknesses

-Accelerate your career

-Help you learn new skills faster

-Improve your lifestyle

-Sharpen you existing skills

-Increase your income and net worth

-Improve your effectiveness

-Help you make better decisions

For personal coaching to be effective you must be willing to:

– Be held accountable

– Accept new ideas and approaches

– Change behaviors

– Get in touch with your real intentions

– Spend 5-6 hours per month working on your goals, plans and actions

What can a personal coach cost you? Anywhere from: $500 to $75,000 a year.

A coaching arrangement if it is to be successful requires commitment, follow-through, persistence, time and a desire to improve. There are no guarantees. Life offers no guarantees, but after over 30 years coaching a variety of people I have learned that if you will bring these attributes to the coaching process you will get back – ten times or more – the investment you made. Remember you are investing in yourself and your future.

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management, leadership and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; Soft Sell, That’s Life, Peace Of Mind, 81 Challenges Managers Face and Your First Year In Sales. He is also the CEO of Sales Clubs Of America. He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his websites at [http://www.timconnor.com] or [http://www.SalesClubsOfAmerica.com]

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Sales Coaching

Live Sales Coaching

“Live” coaching is coaching that you do based on your observations of your people. Certainly it is critical to look at the metrics of how salespeople are performing against objectives to guide your coaching. Equally and maybe more important is to sit down and work with your salespeople to find out firsthand what they are doing, what they know, and where they need support so they can achieve the metrics.

Since most of you have come up through the ranks of sales as top performers, you may be tempted to keep on selling during team calls. But the role of the sales manager is not to sell but to develop others to sell to achieve their objectives. In reality it is sometimes necessary for you to sell, but “when and how” is what differentiates great sales managers from sales managers who continue to be great salespeople.

Let’s examine your role during a team call:

  •  First, make sure there is a compelling reason why you are going (i.e., add value, coach, show commitment, uptier …).
  •  Then make sure it is a team call and don’t go in place of the salesperson or you may have difficulty extricating yourself.
  •  Before the call, clarify roles by asking the salesperson what he/she thinks the roles should be and then give your view.
  •  Make sure the salesperson leads the call — not you.
  • Remember, all team members on the call must have a role and that, while there can be only be one lead, you must have a role. Together, look at the agenda and decide what it will be. For most sales calls, the salesperson should lead 85 to 90% of the call.

– As said before, there will be times when it is necessary for you to assume the primary sales role. For example: developing brand new salespeople, a very important opportunity/final presentation which calls for your skills (assuming in this case the sales manager is more skilled — which is not and should not always be the case — Think about a coach for a top athlete — the star athlete is the better performer, but the coach is nonetheless essential.). But you assuming the sales role should be an exception, not the rule. By preparing, debriefing, and coaching your salespeople, you will accelerate their development.

Debrief the call against those objectives and what you observed.

“Live” coaching is the best way to get the information you need and accelerate the development of your people. You will take a big step in making the challenging transition from exceptional salesperson to exceptional coach.

About Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is President and founder of http://www.richardson.com, a leading sales training and consulting firm. She is a recognized leader in the sales training industry and is credited with the movement to consultative selling, which is the corner stone of Richardson’s methodology. Ms. Richardson has written 9 books on selling including her most recent, The Sales Success Handbook. She has been published extensively in industry.

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Sales Coaching

How Sales Coaching Can Increase Your Profits

The art of selling is commonly taught as a process involving 6 stages:

1. Before the sale begins

2. Understanding needs

3. Proposition of solution

4. Dealing with resistance

5. Gaining commitment/closing the sale

6. Follow-up and follow-through.

This is useful from the point of view of understanding where you are in the sale process and what you need to do next, but following the process will not necessarily get you the sale.

The fact is that ‘people buy from people’ – the decision to buy is made not because of the existing relationship with the company or even because of the features and benefits of the product – it is made because of the relationship with the salesperson as an individual. Successful salespeople know this and concentrate on building relationships as well as selling the benefits of their product.

Sales coaching begins where sales training leaves off and focuses on building relationships through understanding other people’s behavioural styles and dealing with them in the way they prefer, not necessarily in the way you prefer!

Sales coaching helps the salesperson to understand where their strengths lie and how to play on them, both in the sales process and building relationships. It also helps them to identify where they are not so good and how to develop these areas. It helps them to change strategy when things are not working, giving them more flexibility of behaviour.

Sales coaching helps your sales force to build the relationships that lead to more sales and is becoming an important way to deliver increased revenues.

Andy Britnell’s training and coaching products maximise the potential of your staff and cut out the unnecessary costs incurred by low morale, high turnover and repeated recruitment.

Visit his training website at http://andybritnell.co.uk/ for information on his powerful products and to subscribe to his FREE newsletter.

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