It’s easy to mistake critique for correction. Sales coaching is all about helping salespeople improve their performance skills. Therefore, it is not just a matter of someone “knowing” something – it is about someone “doing” something.
With that distinction in mind, the approach used by some sales managers can often be summarized as follows: “I’m the expert – I’ll diagnose what’s wrong and suggest what you should learn. Your job is to practice what I recommend. And I will provide feedback on your practice.” Although the sales manager may use kinder and more gentle words, the above quote is what the salesperson hears.
When it comes to setting the stage for coaching an alternative narrative might sound something like the following: “You are the one responsible for the learning. I’m responsible for helping you become more aware of your performance and expanding your learning choices. After we tie down what you want to practice, let’s explore how the feedback sessions might work.”
It is always good to keep in mind; it’s about helping the other person to learn how to do something versus telling them what they’re doing right or wrong. It’s about persuasion not about prescription. Persuasion will probably take longer but you are more likely to get to where you want to go.
Once you get sales coaching off on the right track, there are several other leadership best practices for getting sales coaching going in the right direction. Let’s take a look at five:
Revisit your sales manager selection process. Sometimes companies will consider previous sales performance as the only criterion for selecting future managers – the higher on the list, the greater the chance of being selected. If sales coaching is truly a priority, what other criteria might be important? For example, have the candidates shown any interest in coaching in previous positions or outside of work? Have they served as formal or informal mentors for other sales reps? Do they possess the “soft skills” that people tend to possess that become effective coaches?
Address the time management issue. In many cases, sales coaching fails not because of the lack of skill on the part of the sales managers, but because they simply run out of time. Coaching gets pushed back to Friday and it never happens. This is a problem that can only be solved by the top sales leadership. Sales coaching takes time. If you want sales managers to start committing more time to sales coaching, to what do you want them to stop committing their time?
Reward creative attempts as well as results. Today both the sales managers and salespeople must function in very disruptive buying environments. To succeed they must try out different ideas for doing old things and new ideas for doing new things. This requires risk. Sometimes they will get it right; sometimes they won’t. So the senior sales leadership needs to create a culture where taking a well-planned risk is rewarded.
Think creatively about recognition and rewards. Ask the following question: What are the forms of recognition and rewards for those that do a great job coaching? If all “pats on the back” are about what deals were closed today, then coaching is unlikely to flourish. The problem with sales coaching is the results usually do not turn up in the short run – the real payoffs occur down the road.
Establish a process for blueprinting. Usually, there is a subset of front-line sales managers that are getting it right. If that is the case, blueprint how they do what they do, codify it into a set of best practices and leverage the findings to help others.
Sales coaching is the key to improving sales performance. When it comes to getting sales coaching right – remember statements inform, questions persuade.