Perhaps the ultimate cornerstone for effective sales coaching is the ability to provide feedback to the salesperson as to what they are getting right, what they need to improve, and what they should do about it.
But providing effective feedback is not a skill that comes easily. The old notion that some folks are just naturally good at giving feedback does not hold up very well under inspection. It is a composite skill that requires training and practice.
Let’s take a look at some ideas for getting it right, starting with one particularly troublesome barrier.
It’s the water and the duck’s back problem. Although the number is somewhat notional, about 30% of feedback is never received – that is, people don’t take it seriously. Several reasons are driving this phenomenon.
In some cases, recipients aren’t willing to hear the feedback, so they don’t take it seriously. They believe it is incorrect or based on flawed observations, or they don’t view the person providing the feedback as credible.
In other cases, the feedback is heard but ignored because it does not match the self-image of the recipient, or they are resistant to any change, or they believe the feedback but can’t change, so they ignore the suggestions.
Because of the complexity of this problem, there is no magic potion. However, the sales manager and salesperson spending more time upfront discussing the coaching process can minimize it. There needs to be a shared positive vision as to why and how the sales coaching is going to take place.
Best Practices. Assume the water and duck’s back problem has been addressed. What are some best practices for conducting a feedback session? Let’s assume the feedback session occurs as a result of a field-based joint customer call involving a sales manager and salesperson.
Simple and immediate triumphs over comprehensive and later. Changing behavior is hard, even when you want to and have the ability. Therefore it is best to focus on one or two behaviors at a time (for example: asking questions or handling objections). Imagine if you were on the receiving end of the following feedback from your sales manager:
“Lee, I took a lot of notes on the call and have a couple of suggestions. I think the next time you’re in a similar situation you need to talk less and ask more questions. You also got to cut down on the number of features and increase the number of benefits. And, just one last thing, I think it would help if you open the call with an opening statement that created rapport.”
This short sales coaching scene is an example of feedback overload – imagine the reaction if you were the salesperson.
Reference the second point about immediate versus later – as the time between the call and the debriefing increases, the recall of the behavioral specifics tends quickly to fade, and a shared vision is lost.
In the worse case, the coaching session turns into a “my memory vs. your memory” discussion. Postponing feedback, mainly if it frequently occurs, also conveys a subtle message about the overall importance of coaching.
Recognize that balance matters. Balance is one of the cardinal rules for providing feedback – a mix about things that don’t go so well and things that do.
The problem is we tend to get out of balance. It is easier to see faults and mistakes than to detect skillful performance. Inevitably, this tends to color the feedback we give.
One of the old suggestions for balance is the so-called “sugar coated-bitter model.” You start by saying something encouraging, then move on to the behavior that needs to be improved and close with some heartening parting words.
So what usually happens? Well, more often than not, the praise portion of the feedback will come across as patronizing and insincere, and the recipient only “tastes” the bitter and forgets all the positive stuff. So, balance isn’t achieved.
The moral of the story is, don’t wait to give positive feedback on good performance until it’s time to correct a mistake. Instead, look for good performance and immediately provide some positive feedback – if you are the one on the other side of the table, the difference is dramatic.
On the other hand, some sales managers have gotten the “you’re good at that” feedback down pat – but they don’t tackle areas requiring improvement. Granted, it can be hard. Difficult feedback can result in conversations laced with tension. However, avoiding areas requiring improvement and hoping for change is not beneficial for the salesperson. Salespeople often know areas where they need to improve but don’t know how to tackle the change. So, feedback is welcome.
It’s about doing versus just knowing. Coaching is about helping people improve their performance skills. Therefore, it is not just a matter of giving feedback to help someone “know” something – it is about helping someone “do” something.
Let’s sharpen the difference by listening in on a sales coaching session that is occurring after a sales call between a sales manager and their salesperson.
“Pat, great call and a good self-analysis. I have one build. I noticed you did a lot of talking during the call. My sense is we need to get the customer talking more. One way to get at that is to ask more questions. Let’s think about how to tackle that.”
Fair enough. But the test is, what do you do next?
Selling is a complex skillset. Improving any skill requires knowing some ideas for improving the behavior but, more importantly, one needs to put that knowledge to work. So an ideal sequence is: provide information about best practices related to the skillset and then suggest an organized approach for practice and feedback.
For example, when working with a client on a Level Five coaching project, we provide a series of best practice videos and a resource library on the core selling skills. So in the Level Five case, the sales manager can suggest the salesperson review the video on asking questions and explore a couple of the resources on ideas for improving how to ask questions.
As step two, the sales manager could go out on one or two calls and observe Pat using questions during the call and provide Pat some feedback on performance.
The point of the story is salespeople are not going to get better at a complex sales skill like asking questions by being told what to do … or by reading a book, regardless of how good that book … or by watching others. Are these steps helpful, sure? But just knowing what the right things look like is not sufficient for doing things right.