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Date
22 April 2016
Author
Delphine Duclos
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Once upon a time (before you became a sales manager), you were a very, very good salesperson. Perhaps even the best on your team.
Not to boast.
But being a good salesperson doesn’t necessarily make you a good sales manager.
Becoming a sales manager means your number one priority is no longer selling, but managing your team. This largely involves performance sales coaching. Teams that use performance coaching for sales forces have a 161% better conversion rate (according to a Salesforce study).
The 5 Secrets of Effective Sales Coaching
1) Coaching is Different from Teaching
For Hank Boyer, coaching is the most underutilized management tool. He is the founder of the Boyer Management Group, where he helps top-performing American companies implement programs to improve management, leadership, and sales effectiveness.
Boyer explains how coaching is different from teaching. “Teaching is giving new knowledge and helping someone understand it.” “Coaching is helping to master, to make it one’s own; there’s a big difference.”
If sales managers merely act as observers after imparting knowledge and do not actively coach salespeople, Boyer states that company growth is compromised.
Keep in mind that sales coaching is an active and continuous process that goes far beyond the basic transfer of knowledge.
Sales Challenge – The Keys to Success, Download the Guide Here
2) Focus on the Middle
Roland Massenet, President of Incenteev and former Sales Director at Dell, has 20 years of experience in management and sales coaching. He explains that the majority of sales teams (and all teams, for that matter) are made up of “median” performers. And these are the salespeople on whom your coaching efforts will be most productive.
According to Roland, top performers always find a way to win.
“Sometimes they don’t even know themselves why they win so much. But they do,” he states.
He goes on to explain that those with the most modest performances are often struggling because they are in a company or a profession that doesn’t suit them.
“It is by motivating the median performers that you will achieve your goals,” explains Roland.
Even if it seems more natural to coach those who are struggling, it is these median salespeople who have the greatest chance of improving and therefore need to be motivated, especially since they represent the largest group.
Suppose you have a bell curve of the type 10% / 80% / 10% where 10% of your salespeople are “top performers” and the last 10% are the lowest performers. The best growth opportunity lies in the 80% who form the core of your sales force. A 5% growth among the 80% who make up your median sellers brings 90% more revenue compared to a 5% growth among your top 10%.
3) Provide Real-Time Feedback
Generally, you shouldn’t wait for annual reviews to give feedback to salespeople. If you want to change a behavior, point it out immediately! Similarly, being praised for virtuous behavior makes no sense if it happens long after it was noticed.
Experts identify five levers of intrinsic motivation. The “progress” lever involves seeing what has been accomplished, receiving feedback on tasks performed.
Incenteev is the leading platform for motivating and coaching sales networks. Incenteev allows for the automation of part of the feedback process. Each salesperson can see their performance in real time and compare themselves to their corresponding group: they can view their performance relative to their region, department, branch, or any other group you create. Positive feedback (a commendation) carries much more weight if it is public. That’s why we have implemented the ability to give a one-click commendation in Incenteev, visible to the entire team.
A Commendation, by Incenteev
4) Less Is More
While providing real-time advice and criticism, be careful not to spread yourself too thin and focus your advice on one or two specific points each time.
A good practice is to pair up with a salesperson to listen to phone calls and compare pitches. Again, make sure to focus your feedback on a few specific points. By working on one or two points each time, the salesperson will feel like they are progressing quickly.
5) Effective Sales Coaching Is Data-Driven
This is perhaps the most important advice: your coaching must be data-driven. A common mistake made by sales managers is not using one-on-one meetings with their sales team to ensure that salespeople focus on and improve the right activities.
Since modern sales managers already monitor their salespeople’s daily activities, they should use the data they have collected to coach the behaviors they want to motivate in salespeople.
If you see that one of the salespeople is below their quota for appointments or opportunities, suggest some strategies for finding new prospects. If the data shows that they are not progressing enough in their opportunities, review the preliminary activities they need to complete to achieve their goals: such as calls and demonstrations, for example.
It’s not only about tracking salespeople’s performance but especially about being able to explain it and identify areas for improvement.
Ultimately, good coaching starts with being consistent, giving real-time feedback without scattering efforts, and focusing on median salespeople. So, are you ready to actively coach your salespeople?
Sales Challenge – The Keys to Success, Download the Guide Here
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Date
22 April 2016
Author
Delphine Duclos