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5 sales coaching success factors

A ‘sales leader’ may be a business owner, professional, branch manager, senior consultant, executive and certainly a sales manager. Anyone who is responsible for managing others who create revenue for the firm is a sales leader.

Unfortunately I often see a situation where the sales leader is not fully embracing the scope of their responsibilities as a sales ‘coach’. That is, they aren’t doing everything they could be to maximise performance from their team.

Why don’t sales leaders coach?

There could be numerous reasons. However one common factor is that organisations don’t give sales leaders sufficient training to take on the role of sales manager and sales coach. The new sales leader is left to figure it out for themselves – which in some cases may take years.

Also, in fairness, these days many sales leaders have other responsibilities apart from simply ‘sales’ and their attention can be diverted by issues arising from those other areas.

From my experience working with many organisations I have identified five critical success factors for sales leaders that can quickly help under-performing sales teams get on the road to recovery and reach their potential.

Keep in mind the ‘sales team’ for many firms can include professionals or technical staff who have a dual role. They spend part of their time being a technical advisor or subject matter expert, and part of their time being a seller.

The 5 sales coaching success factors

1. Hold Sellers Accountable

Too often sellers are not held personally accountable for the results they produce. It is easier for the sales leader to ‘let things slide’ and not confront the seller about why sales have not been achieved. Unfortunately praise for the seller often gets overlooked as well. Another issue is that many times sellers do not have specific or current sales-related KPI’s in their Position Description. Without clearly communicated goals it is not surprising their efforts and commitment towards selling may be sub-standard or misdirected.

2. Spend Time 1-on-1 With Sellers

In the world of sales nothing beats having an experienced person on hand to observe the sales conversation and provide critique afterwards. A key aspect of the sales coach role is to observe sellers in action. It is impossible to really know what sellers do when talking with prospects or clients unless you are there on the spot (either in person or on the phone). The time spent together is also invaluable to build relationships between the sales leader and team members.

3. Include Sales Training in Team Meetings

Sales meetings are an opportunity for learning, sharing and motivation (but not the superficial, rah-rah type of motivation). Including training on specific sales skills or methodologies is essential. During these meetings team members can discuss their views and experiences with the particular sales activity under analysis, as well as practicing the skills using suitably constructed role play exercises. The training segment may only be 10-minutes in duration (or longer if time permits), but can be very effective in developing skills and creating consistency among the team when used regularly.

4. Use Coaching Questions

An important concept for sales leaders to understand is that of sales coaching being to ‘help the seller help themselves’. This is different to the often-used approach as a manager of providing all the answers and/or telling the team member what to do. Of course this implies the sales coach has a repertoire of suitable coaching questions to ask. Good coaching questions start with What, Why, How and When. They ask the seller to think the issue through for themselves and make a commitment to improve. Sellers thereby become personally responsible for their actions, outcomes and ongoing improvement.

5. Ongoing Professional Development

As a sales leader you need to stay ahead of your team. You need new knowledge and skills on a regular basis. The world of professional selling is evolving quite rapidly in line with technological advances and client expectations. The fact is, you need your own professional development plan. A simple plan may include reading appropriate books and listening to webinars. More advanced professional development plans may include undergoing personal assessments, attending conferences, enlisting a mentor, and enrolling in further education.

Want more help?

To access a list of suitable sales coaching questions and a sales coach self-assessment with 3-step action plan you can download Being a Great Sales Coach. It’s free.

 

Subscribe to the blog for the latest resources, and get a copy of ‘7 Steps to Create a High Performance Sales Team’

Recommended for Sales Leaders

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Overview of client feedback

Sales figures have increased by 20% on last year to date!! The team also continue to pick up new customers.
Sharyn Moran, General Manager

Our sales results have increased since incorporating Stuart’s sessions into our sales conference and this has been during a downturn in the market.
Justin Zakaras, National Sales and Marketing Manager

The content of the sessions was customised to suit our customer interactions, with a lot of preparation on the part of Stuart.
Dr. Sunil Kadri, Head of Sales and Business Development


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Thank you so much for a brilliant session on Thursday. I think the format and content was ideal.
Rennie Colston, Sales Director

We had a very positive result from involving Stuart in our Managers Conference last year.
Russell Varley, Human Resources

The training got us thinking more strategically about how the business is structured. It has really built our capabilities as a management team.
Mia Graham, General Manager


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Stuart was patient, flexible and knowledgeable. He took the time to truly understand our business.
Helen Zwicker, Executive Officer

The best thing is that I now have a road map of specific marketing activities that can be implemented with confidence.
Donna Cazzolato, General Manager Sales and Marketing

The participants immediately felt engaged as Stuart demonstrated his understanding of our needs and challenges.
Frederic Vanhove, Principal Engineer, Pacific Delivery


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With only one day we had a lot of material to cover and Stuart created a positive learning environment for all involved.
Kylie Kinsella, Sales Manager Australia & NZ

Bad ideas are expensive in business however with Stuart Ayling, it was money very well spent.
John B. Lonergan, Sales Manager


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By the next week, sales of this product had doubled from 10% of all new sales to 20%. The extremely cost effective session with Stuart paid for itself within the first week.
Maria Triggs, General Manager

We have already seen a new client on board as a result of the two-day workshop.
Mark Mahoney, Managing Director


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Stuart put the sales training across in a way they could accept as a part of our service offering with out them feeling like “salesmen”.
Gary McDonald, Managing Director

We were impressed by the approach of Stuart and the simplicity of the program without the hype generally associated with these courses.
Dirk Kuiper, General Manager


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Read the latest on the blog

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  • What does your sales team really need to learn? Apr 29, 2019
  • Resilience for sales people: How to help your sales team be more resilient Nov 21, 2018
  • How your phone could ruin your client meetings Apr 14, 2018

About Marketing Nous

Marketing Nous was established in 2000 by Stuart Ayling, Director and Chief Sales Strategist. Stuart works  with expertise-based businesses to develop customised sales training and … Read More >>

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