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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Do you remember being "in the trenches" as a salesperson? What did you think of your sales manager? If you're like many front-line sellers, you probably didn't think she or he was a wonderful example of leadership who could inspire you to do your best in life and in work. The unfortunate truth is that many sales managers--well-meaning though they usually are--lack the skills and know-how to help their sales teams grow and achieve greater success. Over a combined 50 years of experience as salespeople, managers, coaches, and executives, authors Steve Johnson and Matthew Hawk have witnessed the do's and don'ts of top performing sales teams. Next Level Sales Coaching is the culmination of their experience. In this book, they distill what they have learned working with organizations like Google, Bank of America, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and many more. The result is a compendium of best sales coaching practices with the power to make any sales manager into an inspirational and transformational leader. At its heart, this book is about how to integrate a person-centered development mindset into sales environments. Readers will work through practical examples, including a self-assessment, to identify the best way to implement strong coaching programs within their organizations. Each chapter concludes with takeaway questions and tips that sales leaders can use right away. From goal setting to daily sales huddles, and sales development training to analytics, Next Level Sales Coaching covers the best practices that readers will want to implement to take sales management to the next level.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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Table of Contents
Cover
Introduction
Why We Wrote This Book
Who This Book is For
Who We Are
1 The Case for Sales Coaching
Dynamic Sales Coaching is Better than Random Sales Coaching
The Benefits of Reading (and Using!) This Book
What's in This Book
What's NOT in This Book
Are You Ready?
The Road Ahead
2 Why Coaching Fails or Fails to Happen
Personal Background
Company Culture
Quantity: Why Managers Don't Coach Enough
Quality: Why Sales Managers Coach Ineffectively
3 Sales Coaching Model and Self-Assessment
Sales Coaching Model
Sales Manager Attitudes
Sales Manager Self-Assessment: Attitudes and Activities
Impact of Coaching
4 Review and Plan Meetings
Planning Varies by Type of Sales Organization
Benefits of Review and Plan Conversations
Review and Plan Conversation
Review and Plan Meeting Tips
5 Goal-Setting Meetings
Why Salespeople Miss Expectations
Guidelines for Conducting Goal-Setting Meetings
Goal-Setting Meeting Overview
Goal-Setting Meeting Process
Addressing Attitude Issues on Your Team: The Classic Types
Goal-Setting Meeting Best Practices
6 Skill Development Training
Talent is Overrated
Skill Development Training Challenges
Benefits of Skill Development Training
Opportunities for Skill Development Training
Skill Development Training Steps
Types of Feedback in Skill Development Training
Skill Development Training Tips
7 Check-Ins
How Check-Ins Impact Your Sales Team in a Positive Way
How to Check In
8 Performance Feedback
The Practice Coach, the Game Coach, Then the Practice Coach
Define Roles and Responsibilities
Performance Feedback Process
Performance Feedback Form
Insights on Performance Feedback
9 Sales Meetings
Top Ten Reasons Why Salespeople Hate Sales Meetings
Sales Meeting Agenda
The End Game
Preparation
Welcome/Overview Agenda
Opening Inspiration
Success Stories
Skills Development Training
Goal Reporting and Goal Setting
Summary and Action Steps
Next-Meeting Logistics
Closing Inspiration
Other Activities
10 Sales Huddles
Benefits of Sales Huddles
How to Recognize Effective Sales Huddles
Sales Huddle Example Scripting
11 Sales and Service Coaching in the Contact Center
A Tale of Two Coaches
Make Time
Use Non-Scored Feedback
Coach Proactively
Focus on One Behavior at a Time
Use “MAPs” – Micro Action Plans
Use Questions to Coach
Recognize People
Calibrate
12 Sales Enablement Best Practices
Micro Learning
Video
Web Conferencing and Video Chat
Competency Assessment Tools
Field Coaching Tools
Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence
Analytics
Appendix: Sales Coaching Cadences
References/Further Reading
Acknowledgments
Steve's Acknowledgments
Matt's Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 3
Table 3.1
Table 3.2
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Figure I.1 Triple-Distilled Best Practices
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Relative Impact on Engagement
Figure 1.2 Approaches to Coaching
Figure 1.3 Coaching Approach and Win Rates
Figure 1.4 Stay Longer
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Sales Coaching Model
Figure 3.2 Sales Manager Attitudes
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Review and Plan Manager Benefits
Figure 4.2 Review and Plan Salesperson Benefits
Figure 4.3 Review and Plan Agenda
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Blank Goal-Setting Form
Figure 5.2 Agenda for a Goal-Setting Meeting
Figure 5.3 Record the Biggest Victory
Figure 5.4 Review the Action Steps
Figure 5.5 Reviewing KPIs
Figure 5.6 Record Observations
Figure 5.7 Setting Action Steps
Figure 5.8 A Completed Goal-Setting Form
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Skill–Will–Attitude
Figure 6.2 Talent-to-Goals Equation
Figure 6.3 Skill Development
Figure 6.4 Types of Feedback
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Check-In Agenda
Figure 7.2 Check-In Conversation
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 Co-Selling Performance Feedback
Figure 8.2 Sales Manager Roles
Figure 8.3 Delivering Performance Feedback Process
Figure 8.4 Performance Feedback Form
Figure 8.5 Performance Feedback Form Salesperson
Figure 8.6 Performance Feedback Form Sales Manager
Figure 8.7 Performance Feedback Form Skill Development
Figure 8.8 Performance Feedback Form Signed
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 Sales Meeting Agenda
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1 Sales Huddle Agenda
Chapter 11
Figure 11.1 Tale of Two Coaches
Figure 11.2 Habits to Metrics
Figure 11.3 Micro Action Plan
Figure 11.4 MAP Tracker
Figure 11.5 Map Tracker Notes
Appendix
Figure A.1 Field Sales Cadence
Figure A.2 Inside Sales Cadence
Figure A.3 Contact Center Cadence
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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NEXT LEVEL SALES COACHING
HOW TO BUILD A SALES TEAM THAT STAYS, SELLS, AND SUCCEEDS
STEVE JOHNSON
MATTHEW HAWK
Copyright © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available.
ISBN 9781119685487 (Hardcover)ISBN 9781119685494 (ePDF)ISBN 9781119685425 (ePub)
Cover Design: WileyCover Image: © Ajwad Creative/Getty Images
Introduction
Two friends used to go duck hunting together. Since they didn't have a bird-dog of their own, they went to the same location every year because they were able to rent a dog from the person who owned the property. After a while they found a dog that gave them particularly good results, so they requested him every time. They discovered the dog's name was Salesman and they used him for the next few years. On one of their annual trips, they asked for Salesman and found out that he wasn't available. They went to the owner and asked, “What happened to Salesman?” The owner replied, “You don't want to use him anymore because he got promoted to sales manager. The only thing he does now is lay around the office and bark at everyone.”
Why We Wrote This Book
You've got this book in your hand, and you may be asking yourself, why did these guys write this book? We wrote this book because it takes a lot more than a barking sales manager to improve the performance of your sales team.
We wrote this book because we believe…
Sales managers are pivotal. Sustained development of a sales team rides on the shoulders of the sales management team.
Selling is a noble profession and we want to help the people who do it. Salespeople help buyers navigate purchase decisions, around the world, every minute, every day.
It's important to share what we know best-in-class sales managers do with those who aspire to improve. Winning is fun! Helping others win even more so.
An ineffective sales manager can have a neutral impact or negative impact because they fail to help their sales team grow out of their comfort zones and develop the habits and disciplines that generate success.
An effective sales manager can have a dramatic impact on a salesperson's career and life. They help their sales team grow their skill set and develop the discipline, rigor, and proper habits to ultimately maximize their potential.
Sales managers need to know how their team perceives the support they receive from them. According to Gallup, the best way to determine if you have a high-development culture is to ask your team to what degree they agree with the statement: “There is someone at work who encourages my development” (Clifton and Harter 2019, 6).
You deserve a practical playbook. It would be awesome if you worked for the greatest sales manager in the world, who could foster your development by setting a great example every day. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that. That's why we think sales managers deserve a practical playbook. We've been fortunate to code the DNA of what great sales managers do and we're going to share it with you.
Sales enablement technology can empower coaching, but sales managers must still possess the right attitudes and perform the right activities consistently to develop their team. While sales enablement technologies continue to evolve and get more powerful (for example, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning) it still, always, boils down to how well a sales manager coaches their sales team.
Who This Book is For
This book is for people who possess the right mindset, are motivated, want to get better, and want to help others get better.
Enterprise Rent-a-Car is one of the most successful car rental companies in the world, and one of the best sales organizations we've ever worked with. One of the keys to their success is that they have a very dynamic approach to sales coaching with the goal of growing the company while, at the same time, delivering great customer service. They believe their major priority is to develop their people. When they develop their people, they become more competitive and gain market share. Therefore, everyone in the company is genuinely invested in developing their people. If you have that sort of mindset, this book is for you.
In terms of job function, our intended audience includes:
Senior sales executives.
Line managers in sales and customer service.
Aspiring sales or customer service managers.
Contact center managers, leads, coaches, and quality assurance managers.
Customer experience executives.
Customer loyalty executives.
Small business owners.
Anyone in a leadership position at a law/accounting/consulting firm.
Who We Are
We have been successful salespeople, sales managers, business owners, and consultants. We started The Next Level Sales Consulting because, by working with other sales organizations, we found we could have a bigger impact, gain more experience and exposure, and (honestly) make more money. Together, we have over 50 years' experience in the trenches, training and coaching salespeople, sales managers, and sales executives.
Representative Client List
In addition to our own experience, we've been fortunate because we have partnered with some of the best sales organizations in America (and beyond) on sales force effectiveness projects that have helped them to better develop their sales leadership team and enjoy all the benefits that cascade from that. In this “laboratory of human experience,” we have learned the best practices of top-performing companies and sales leaders, enabling us to repeat, refine, and innovate processes over time.
We probably benefited more from the relationships than they did. Hopefully we added value along the way. Thanks to all our valued clients, including:
American Express
AT&T
Baird
Bank of America
Blue Cross Blue Shield
DIRECTV
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
ManpowerGroup
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
MetLife
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Raymond James
RBC Wealth Management
Synchrony
UBS Financial Services
US Bank
Wells Fargo Advisors
Zurich Insurance
Triple-Distilled Sales Coaching Model
If you should ever have the opportunity to visit the Jameson Whiskey distillery in Dublin, Ireland, you will discover that Jameson Whiskey is triple distilled. The whiskey is purified, refined, and improved. Through that process they have developed a great-tasting whiskey – especially if you are a whiskey drinker. We have gone through a similar process to develop this book. We have worked with some of the best sales organizations in the country, gathered the best practices of their best sales leaders, distilled what we have learned, and refined it to make it better. Think of this book as the “triple-distilled” sales coaching process and methodology.
Figure I.1 Triple-Distilled Best Practices
1The Case for Sales Coaching
IN OVER 50 YEARS' combined experience training and coaching salespeople and their sales managers, we find that many of our clients share the same goals: to increase market share, revenue, and profitability.
Market share improves when sales performance improves. Sales performance improves when sales teams are better trained and coached, because it creates a cycle in which salespeople feel better about themselves and their career, experience more success, stay longer, and achieve even higher levels of success.
“Of all the codes Gallup has been asked to crack dating back 80 years to our founder, George Gallup, the single most profound, distinct and clarifying finding – ever – is probably this one: 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager” (Clifton and Harter 2019, 12).
Employee engagement drives retention, higher levels of buyer engagement, revenue, share price, and market share. The Gallup research validates everything we have learned over many years of helping companies improve the performance of their sales teams. Sales managers matter, you matter, and you can make a big difference!
Figure 1.1 Relative Impact on Engagement
Dynamic Sales Coaching is Better than Random Sales Coaching
While implementing sales coaching programs for our clients' sales leadership teams, it is not uncommon for them to express very early in the process, “We're different. We are unique. We are not like everyone else.”
You know what? They're right! We know that different companies take different approaches to sales coaching. Miller Heiman's CSO Insights 2019 Sales Enablement Report identified four different approaches (Miller Heiman 2019a, 34).
Random: 42.9% of companies take a random approach, in which sales coaching is completely left up to sales managers.
Informal: 20.0% take an informal approach, in which there may be guidelines.
Formal: 24.5% implement a formal approach.
Dynamic: 12.6% are dynamic, meaning that they have a formal sales coaching process and methodology, and enablement services tailored to individual salespeople.
Figure 1.2 Approaches to Coaching
Take a moment to reflect on your own experience. Does your company have a formal approach where there is a clearly defined sales coaching process and methodology that you have been trained on? Does your company take an informal approach in which there may or may not be guidelines? Or is it more random? We know there is a high probability that your company takes a random approach in which the sales coaching process and method is left entirely up to you.
Let's take a look at how sales coaching impacts win rates. Generally speaking, you don't get half a sale. You either get it, and you entered “closed-won” on your pipeline tracker, or you entered “closed-lost.” It's all about the win rate.
So, what impact does the approach to sales coaching have on win rates?
Companies with a
random
approach to sales coaching have a win rate of 41.8%.
Companies with an
informal
approach have a win rate of 47.8%.
Companies with a
formal
approach have a win rate of 48.9%.
Companies with
dynamic
approach have a win rate of 55.2%.
Figure 1.3 Coaching Approach and Win Rates
Dynamic sales coaching showed double-digit improvements in sales performance on both quota attainment (21.3%) and win rates (19.0%) over the study's average (Miller Heiman 2019a, 36).
What is the delta between random and dynamic? The dynamic approach outperforms the random approach by 32.1%. All the data from CSO Insights and Gallup are consistent with our own experience working with many large sales organizations on sales performance improvement programs.
In summary, we wrote this book to help you impact the level of engagement of your sales team, reduce the randomness in your sales coaching, increase the formality, and move you closer to a dynamic sales coaching process and methodology that will ultimately help you to win.
Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.
—Vince Lombardi
The Benefits of Reading (and Using!) This Book
If you're like us, whenever you consider investing your most precious resource – your time – in reading a book, you are probably asking yourself: “What's in it for me? This book better be worth it!” We realize that, as a sales manager coaching your team, there are many challenges you are going to face. Here are just a few…
Delivering Consistent Sales Performance as a Sales Manager
Quota achievement has improved a bit in the last few years, but it remains an extremely challenging environment, with only 56.9% of salespeople making goal (Miller Heiman 2019a, 3).
Shortening the Time to Proficiency for New Hires
Even if you have a great new-hire sales training program, the results are still going to depend to a wide degree on the sales manager, who has to know, demonstrate, reinforce, and coach what was covered in the sales training.
Developing the Untapped Potential of Your Sales Team
Many companies categorize their salespeople into “A,” “B,” and “C” players. “A” and “C” players together often compose about 10–15% of a typical sales force, while “B” players make up about 70–80%. Coaching will more effectively optimize the productivity of your “A” players. For “C” players, it will either “help them out,” or it will “help them out.” That's not a bad thing. Sometimes there are people in a sales role who are not a good fit for that role and it may be in their best interest to get on a path that might be more suitable for their skill set. The biggest opportunity is with the moveable middle, the “B” players. If you can incrementally improve the performance of the largest segment in your sales force, you can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line.
Developing Your Sales Team Through the Phases of Building a Business and Career
We find that many of our clients share similar goals when it comes to hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, and retaining talent. In that continuum, the first goal they have is to make sure people can survive and make it. After they have had success, the focus shifts to productivity. The best companies will then leverage those productive salespeople to be peer-to-peer coaches, ultimately grooming them to become future sales leaders. Teams that develop their sales leaders in this way are better positioned to be more competitive and gain market share.
Figure 1.4 Stay Longer
Increasing Retention
Turnover in sales has increased to 18% (Miller Heiman 2019a, 4). The impact of this attrition includes the opportunity cost of having a territory/market vacant, plus the time it takes to source a new salesperson to move into the open role, compounded by the time it takes to get them to a desired level of productivity. Effective sales managers, in contrast, have a higher retention rate. They have more experienced, more productive, salespeople in the field longer, resulting in higher customer loyalty. They spend less time sourcing and onboarding new hires and more time coaching their sales team.
Leading a Diverse Workforce
This is the most diverse workforce in history. Millennials and Gen Zs typically like and expect ongoing feedback, positive reinforcement, and coaching to their strengths. You know what? So does everyone else! Even Boomers! We know more about the science of leadership today than we ever have. Leadership style and work environment affect our brains, our physiology, our culture, and our success (Pink 2009). Effective sales managers today must be able to communicate consistently and effectively while flexing their style, so they can be the coach that each unique salesperson needs.
Getting Competitive Results on “Great Place to Work” Surveys to Help Attract and Retain Talent
Your reputation as a workplace will determine the prospective talent you attract or repel. Your reputation lives in social media (and society generally), but it can be measured using employee engagement assessments. Using the sales coaching process and techniques in this book will help boost your scores in areas such as:
I feel my work is recognized.
Feedback is timely and consistent.
My sales manager supports me.
I know what my sales manager expects of me.
I feel supported to pursue opportunities and grow.
Delivering Competitive Customer Satisfaction and “Net Promoter” Scores as a Customer Service Manager
The Net Promoter score is an index measuring the willingness of customers to recommend a company's products or services to others. It is used to measure the customer's overall satisfaction with a company's products or services and the customer's loyalty to the brand. Although the performance metrics may be different compared to sales teams, all the techniques in this playbook are applicable to a customer service environment where the Net Promoter score is an indication or reflection of the customer experience.
The questions we asked earlier were, “What's in it for me? Is it worth my time?” If you are facing any of these challenges, we think the juice will be worth the squeeze. We believe that the time you invest in reading this book will be well worth it. The fact of the matter is, if all you get out of this book is one good idea, it will be worth it.
What's in This Book
We believe in simplicity. This book is simple to use and easy to follow. It includes:
A practical game plan you can start to use immediately.
Easy to understand graphics for reference and sharing.
Proven best practices from top-performing sales managers.
Tools and templates.
Inspiring quotes to get you motivated.
Takeaway questions for individual reflection and team discussion.
What's NOT in This Book
This book is not designed to cover every area of responsibility a sales manager has. For example, we will not address hiring, recruiting, human resources issues, or compensation. We are purely focused on the sales coaching elements of the sales management role, because it has the biggest impact on performance.
Your Own Motivation, Drive, and Desire
We can show you what great sales managers do. But we can't do it for you. Only you can act on the principles in this book, and the drive to do that will come from within. What is not in this book is the motivation and desire to get better at coaching, be consistent, and adapt the tools to your specific situation. However, if you apply this coaching process consistently, you will increase your motivation, drive, and desire as you experience success.
It's kind of like diet books. There are thousands of them out there, and every year they publish more. A lot of people are looking for a book that will just promise them they can continue doing what they are now but get better results. In contrast, some people are so motivated they could read the world's shortest diet “book” (Burn More Calories than You Consume) and get amazing results. What kind of book are you looking for? If you're not that motivated, but you've already bought the book, or someone gave it to you, look on the bright side: you can always re-gift it or sell it on Amazon!
A Sales Process and Methodology
Another thing you won't find in this book – but will need – is a well-defined sales process and methodology as the framework for your coaching.
Just as with coaching, there are different organizational approaches to sales process and methodology. Some companies have a random approach, some informal, some formal, and some dynamic. In our experience, the most successful sales teams have a dynamic approach to selling, meaning it is formal and consistent, yet also adaptive to the individuals involved.
Are You Ready?
Are you ready for this book? Hopefully you answered “Yes!” because now is the time, you are the person, and this is the playbook. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. You know you're ready if you:
Believe you can make improvements to your sales coaching.
Are open-minded to new ideas.
Are not afraid to let your team know you are making changes for everyone's benefit.
Are willing to live with some temporary discomfort while you and your team adopt and adapt to new tools and activities.
Want to implement repeatable sales coaching and management processes that deliver predictable results.
Takeaway Questions
Below are questions you can use for further reflection.
Takeaway Discussion Questions for Your Organization
If you are leading a sales organization, here are some things to think about:
Do you have a consistent sales process and methodology that is supported from the top down? If not, what can you do to promote one?
How proficient are the sales managers on the sales process?
How well-calibrated are they with one another on the sales process?
How proficient and consistent are they on coaching and reinforcing the sales process?
To what degree are they open-minded to making changes?
How open are they to new ideas that could potentially help them to become more effective managers?
Takeaway Questions for Personal Reflection
If you are leading a sales team, here are some things to think about:
How open are you to new ideas?
Do you believe you can make improvements to your sales coaching?
Are you willing to let your team know you are making changes for everyone's benefit?
Are you willing to live with some temporary discomfort while you and your team adopt and adapt to new tools and tips?
Do you want to implement repeatable sales coaching and management processes that deliver predictable results? Why now?
The Road Ahead
In Chapter 2 we will look at the reasons that coaching fails, or fails to happen, by considering four sales manager personas: the Achiever, the Culture-Shocked, the Change Agent, and the Sales Rookie.
Chapter 3 introduces the critical sales management activities and attitudes, along with a self-assessment.
In Chapter 4 we cover (annual or semi-annual) review and plan meetings, including: key performance indicators, benefits of review and plan meetings for sales managers and salespeople, and the agenda for a review and plan meeting.
Goal-setting meetings provide the opportunity to follow up consistently on the goals set forth in the review and plan meeting, and we cover this in Chapter 5, including positive recognition, review of key performance indicators, skill development training, and building action plans.
In Chapter 6 we note the similarities between athletic performance and sales performance by talking about the importance of skill development training, and how to do it.
Check-ins are important to help salespeople sustain momentum, and we address this in Chapter 7.
In Chapter 8 we tackle live performance observation and feedback, including a discussion of co-selling roles and how to use live sales calls as opportunities to conduct skill development training.
Chapter 10 investigates team huddles, why they are important, and how they work, so you can inspire your team to great performance.
In Chapter 11 we provide seven best practices for coaching sales or service in the contact center, including tools you can use to build your team's skills, one at a time.
Chapter 12 discusses how to deploy sales enablement tools to enhance your sales coaching.
Finally, the Appendix includes examples of sales coaching cadences for field sales teams, inside sales teams, and contact center teams.
2Why Coaching Fails or Fails to Happen
THE FOOTBALL TEAM was getting clobbered. The first-string quarterback was injured. The second-string quarterback was injured. Even the punter was injured. All the coach had left was the third-string quarterback who had yet to play a down all year. He pulled the quarterback aside. “Look, we can't afford to let them score again. We've got to run some time off the clock. Here's what I want you to do. On first down, run it to the left. On second down, run it to the right. On third down, run it up the middle. Then, on fourth down, punt it as far as you can punt it.”
“OK coach!” said the quarterback. On first down, he ran it to the left for 30 yards. On second down, he ran it to the right for 40 more. On third down, he ran it up the middle to the one-yard line. Then, on fourth down, the quarterback dropped back and punted the ball right out of the end zone. When he got to the sideline, the coach was screaming, “What were you thinking?!!!?!!!” The quarterback replied, “I was thinking I must be playing for the dumbest coach in the world.”
In this anecdote, the coach was not very effective. He gave the quarterback the plays to run but failed to make adjustments along the way. His prior experiences probably shaped what he felt the third-string quarterback was capable of and, therefore, underestimated his chances of success.
Personal Background
One of the reasons sales managers fail to coach, or fail at coaching, is because they've never been shown how to do it. Whether you are already in a sales management role, moving into a new sales management role, or considering doing so, you may find one or more of these profiles sounds familiar.
The Achiever
The salesperson who got promoted to sales manager, which is very common, and that could be you. You were a top-performing salesperson with a track record of success. You didn't need a lot of feedback, coaching, or support, so they just let you do your thing. You've done some peer-to-peer coaching and spoken at corporate events where you shared with the rest of the organization some of the things you've done to be successful. Based on your track record, you have been approached multiple times by sales leadership to consider moving into sales management. Finally, you decided to take the plunge. You haven't had any training on sales coaching, but you're a good salesperson. Because you don't have sales coaching skills, you revert to what you do best, which is selling. So, you find yourself going on sales calls to make sure deals get closed, but you're not really developing your team – and you know it. In fact, you get impatient trying to understand why your team does not seem to want to put in the hard work to improve.
