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    More coaching, even poor coaching, is better than none

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    I cannot stress enough the importance of sales manager coaching and doing it a bunch. I have stats to back me up. Check out this data curated by Objective Management Group on about 5,500 managers and their teams.

     

    omg-coaching-stats

    Ineffective coaching still yields significant improvement

    You can see, even if the manager isn’t effective at coaching their team, just spending 50% of their time doing it will increase seller effectiveness. And this increase is greater than what effective coaches can produce with their ability alone (without coaching at least 50% of the time). Crazy, huh?

    So exactly what do I mean by coaching?

    Think of sports coaches. A baseball coach doesn’t step into the batter’s box in place of the hitter and take swings. A football coach doesn’t step onto the field when the quarterback is throwing interceptions. These coaches are no longer players, and the sales coach should operate in the same way.

    Be aware that there are differences between what we see coaches do on TV versus what happens when we aren’t looking. We do often see coaches talk, yell or use foul language with a player that has messed up. What we don’t see is the countless hours players practice, and practice, and practice the same drills. Not the coach, but the player doing it over and over again. What the coach provides is direction and correction.

    What the best coaches do

    The best of the best, individually, coach individuals. They determine what will inspire each individual player and tailor their approach to help the player perform at their very best. It should be the same in sales as it is in athletics.

    The best sales coaches help the individual plan out what they are going to do in advance of a sales meeting and help the individual practice their skills beforehand. Repetitive practice, just like in baseball or football.

    Demand practice until it is subconscious. Demand preparation (a game plan if you will) and provide timely and focused feedback.

    Athletes don’t just show up for the game and make it up as they go along. Salespeople shouldn’t either (although they often do).

     

    Finally, please, please refrain from telling salespeople what to do next. Rather, ask the individual what they need to change; what they should do next; how they should operate differently to produce different results. Far too many sales managers just tell their sellers what to do every step of the way, and then the organization becomes hamstrung by the manager’s ability (or lack of ability) to field all the issues. This is a recipe for disaster

    What constitutes “effective” sales coaching?

    omg-coaching-competencies

    Below is a chart. Interpret it this way: If an individual has at least two-thirds of these abilities, they would be considered a proficient sales coach. But there are some elements that are more critical than others.

    Most managers we see are not actually proficient at the Coaching Competency. Still, until they become proficient, they can improve sales results by just coaching their team more.

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    Gretchen Gordon
    Published March 8, 2020
    By Gretchen Gordon

    Gretchen Gordon is the CEO of Boost Profits, a consulting firm specializing in sales team transformation. A self-proclaimed “Sales Nerd” with over 27 years of sales, sales leadership, and sales team transformation experience, she spends most of her time working directly with client companies and helping them improve their sales effectiveness and exceed their sales goals. Gretchen is also a frequent guest speaker for industry events and webcasts, and has been featured on the radio talk shows “Meet the Sales Experts” and "Sales Coaching over Coffee." She is also an accomplished writer, having been featured on industry-leading sites like SellingPower.com and SecurityInfoWatch.com. She authors a “Top 50 Sales Management Blog,” according to Docurated.com, and has published sales-focused eBooks, including “The 5 Essentials of Effective Sales Management” and “Cold Calling in the 21st Century.”

    Find out more about Gretchen Gordon on LinkedIn