6 Ways To Transition From Sales Manager To Sales Coaching

Sales coaching has been the number one ingredient of my success.

At a very young age, I was the fortunate recipient of some very effective coaching from a variety of professionals in both sports and in business. I learned from experience that having a great coach or mentor can significantly improve performance.

On the other hand, all of us have probably shared the experience of receiving bad or ineffective coaching, too. I'm not saying these "coaches" were bad people, but they used bad coaching methods. Amazingly, both good and bad coaching can stem from the best of intentions. "I just want to help you be the best that you can be."

What did I learn from these experiences?

First and foremost, no two people are alike, nor do they respond to coaching in the same way. Therefore, using a one-size-fits-all approach is usually not effective. Do star players get special treatment? Absolutely! Should you ride one person hard and coddle another? Certainly!

However, there are some underlying principles of effective sales coaching that can be successfully employed with all types of people. These are not hard and fast rules but more guidelines to help you choose your approach. In addition, there are some questions to help focus your thinking:

Access

The best coaches seem to always be accessible without being in the way. They are there when you need them. Coaches can and should use current technology available as well as face-to-face events. Managers should always require agreement from their staff.

1. Do you coach your people?
2. Do you seek opportunities to coach?
3. What methods do you normally use to communicate with your people?
4. How often do you communicate with your people?
5. Do you communicate more with the bottom performers that the top performers?

Clarity

Good sales coaching makes it clear what the rules are and make certain that everyone understands their role. The rules are consistent and do not change. Always includes agreement.

1. How clear is your sales coaching?
2. Do you ask the recipients of your coaching if they understand and if they have any questions?
3. Are you surprised when steps are not followed or are not correct?
4. Do you document what is expected and when?
5. Do you change the rules or roles creating confusion during the coaching process?

Measure

Goals are measurable, achieved or not achieved, gaps identified and counter activities agreed upon. Recipients of sales coaching should have a say! Include payback and consequences. Always includes agreement.

1. Have you established quantifiable ways to measure the success of the recipients response?
2. Is the measurement subjective or objective?
3. Has the measurement been agreed to?
4. Who is responsible for recording the measurement?
5. Is there agreement as to when to measure results?

Relevant Feedback

Feedback should be immediate and include both good and bad criticism, and the criticism must be relevant to the behavior. Constructive feedback is always followed by suggestions on how to do better. Always includes agreement.

1. Are you providing feedback for both acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and activities?
2. Are you aligning the feedback with the expected behavior or activity that is the object of the sales coaching?
3. Are you praising good behaviors?
4. Are you suggesting different approaches as part of your feedback?
5. Do you confirm clarity with the recipient?

Next Steps

Since the relationship is ongoing and for the long term, coaching should be as well. We've gotten this far so what's the next goal or objective and how do we agree on getting there? Or should there be a next step?

1. Do you summarize what needs to be done next?
2. Do you record the next steps; what, when,why,who?
3. Are you providing a summary of the actions and behaviors that are being focused on?
4. Are you verbally gaining agreement on the next steps?
5. Are you follow up?

Focused and Simple

This doesn't have to be complicated! I've learned that we can over-engineer everything but that doesn't make it better. Too many things to remember, too many things to do usually translates into "I'm too busy to do it". Let's keep coaching simple. It's the blocking and tackling of managing.

1. Do you notice if recipients of your coaching are overwhelmed?
2. Do your next steps contain more than 5-8 things to be done?
3. Do you notice if coaching sessions are being delayed or cancelled?
4. Do you people as for more time to complete the list of next steps?

If you agree coaching is critical in today's work environment, then how do you make the transition from manager to coach? The first step is to conduct a simple assessment of your coaching methodology.

In summary, remember that sales coaching doesn't happen because it's the logical or right thing to do. Coaching doesn't happen by chance - it must happen by design, commitment, and agreement on both the coach's and the recipient's part. In today's business environment where managers are being asked to do more with fewer resources, their span of control demands that they be good coaches and utilize every opportunity to coach for high performance.

It's worth emphasizing that ignoring the issue and thinking something is going to change is a mistake. Coaching for performance must be a proactive activity that is agreed upon by both the coach and the recipient. The recipient must be a contributor to the process by his or her agreement each step of the way.

Remember we can over-engineer coaching as we do most training, but what works is consistent application of common sense to the point it becomes common practice.

David Woods is a consultant specializing in Sales Effectiveness. For the past 30 years David has been building and helping clients build high performing sales and marketing departments. To reach him: Click Here or call 828-890-9013.

Return From Sales Coaching To Home