Articles
Coaching: A Critical Skill for Sales Managers
By Business Performance Group Staff Writer
Published on Monday, December 8th, 2008 under Coaching / Performance Feedback, Sales Training
Think of a time when you’ve had a great coach — it may have been an individual who helped you with an athletic endeavor, a teacher in school or a mentor at work. How did the process work? It probably started with the coach watching you perform the skill and then providing good and constructive feedback. Your coach, in all likelihood, helped you develop a plan for getting better and then checked later to make sure you succeeded. Great sales coaching is a similar process.
Sales coaching is a process
The process of sales coaching begins with a plan. We recommend the Sales Manager establish expectations with each salesperson in an informal contract — a business plan, if you will — on how the job will be performed over a period of time, typically six months. This business plan will serve as a baseline for expectations.
Next, the Sales Manager should observe the salesperson’s performance in the field or on the phone, noting what the salesperson is doing well, in addition to those skills or activities that may need improvement. After this, a brainstorming session should be held with the salesperson to determine what can be done to get better — the actions that need to be taken.
Gain commitment to improve
The Sales Manager should advance the process by next gaining the salesperson’s commitment to improve. During this step, the Sales Manager should also provide his or her commitment to follow up to see if the improvement activities are succeeding. Finally, the Sales Manager and the organization should provide resources to help salespeople achieve their improvement objectives. These resources may include a mentoring relationship with someone in the sales group, a self-directed training product or a class that can be attended.
A well-defined coaching process can be augmented with good tools — checklists, development plans and business plans. It should also include various learning resources for the sales group. Sales Managers should be provided with training in sales coaching to build their skills and to assist them in developing and implementing a good coaching process.