Everyone recognizes the importance of coaching sales people, but it just doesn't get done. In a survey of several hundred sales managers, we found sales managers "coached" their sales people 1 time per quarter or less! Based on this, a sales person is lucky if they get 4 coaching sessions per year.

Clearly, this is a problem. Coaching needs to happen every day, but everyone is busy and time-poor. How do busy managers and sales people find the time for coaching and development.

Analysis

One of the problems with coaching is many people confuse coaching with the performance review. While coaching should have a positive impact on the performance review, effective coaching is not a performance review. Too many managers think of the "coaching session."

Integrating Coaching Into Everyday Business:

Effective sales managers incorporate coaching into their daily business activities. Coaching is part of the everyday conversations and discussions they have with their people. It occurs as part of normal business conversations--not something special. When they are talking about opportunities or deal strategies, strong managers focus both on understanding the business situation, but also use the opportunity to coach the sales person in strengthening and improving their strategy. In preparing for a call or debriefing the call, the sales manager will also coach the sales person by asking things like, "What are your goals for the call," "Do you have stretch goals," "What is the worst thing that might happen in the call, how do you plan to handle it?," "What's the value the customer will get from this call?" After the call, they might ask, "Did you accomplish all your objectives," "Is there anything more that you might have accomplished," "Is there anything you would do differently?"

As sales managers, we spend our days talking to sales people about sales calls, deals, pipelines, forecasts, territory and account plans. In each of those discussions, the best managers use these as opportunities both to understand what's happening, but also to coach and develop their people.

When coaching becomes part of the everyday business discussion managers have with their people, it is no longer an "unnatural act." It no longer is the meeting we schedule, then postpone, then postpone again.

When coaching becomes part of the everyday business, the performance of sales people skyrockets--they are getting advice when they need it and can use it, not months later, after everything has been forgotten.

So How Do We Coach?

The second aspect to effective coaching is "the conversation." Coaching is a careful blend of asking and telling. Some may be surprised by this, since most of the time when we talk about coaching we focus so much on asking questions.

Effective coaching starts with the questions. The questions shouldn't be an interrogation, but should be oriented to getting the sales person to think about what they are doing, the strategies they have chosen. The questions should help the sales person consider other alternatives, broaden their point of view, analyze the results they have produced.

But questioning alone is not sufficient. Making suggestions (telling) based on the discussion the manager has had with the sales person is very helpful to the sales person's development.

Effective coaching is a conversation -- it is a balance of questioning, active listening, and advising. If any part of this is missing, then the impact of coaching is reduced significantly.

Conclusion

Coaching is one of the highest leverage activities a sales manager can undertake. Effective coaching improves the performance of sales people. Effective coaching is a focused conversation, integrated into the daily activities of sales managers and sales people.

Disclosures and References

For more perspectives on Managing Sales Professionals, join me on June 15 at Dynamic Business Week, being sponsored by Microsoft and Focus. I will be presenting the Top 10 Things Managers Need To Do To Drive High Performance. I'll be joining the conversation by Twitter. Let's talk about performance in sales.

Also, look at the other presentations at Dynamic Business Week. There will be a rich set of presentations covering Social Media, Social CRM and leveraging technology for high performance. It will also be a chance for you interact with experts from all disciplines, as well as meet other outstanding professionals.

More information on Sales Management and Coaching can be found at Dave Brock's blog, www.partnersinexcellenceblog.com

Comment on this Focus Brief

Tim Hagen

President, Sales Progress & Training Reinforcement Partners

Posted on Oct. 5, 2011

Its not a time question rather a question of true commitment. We are with sales people so we have more opportunity than anyone to coach them, inspire them, and drive them beyond performance levels they even thought possible.

Brian MacIver

Partner, BMAC Sales Consultants

Posted on Oct. 31, 2011

Pre-call Questions:
"What are your goals for the call,"
"Do you have stretch goals,"
"What is the worst thing that might happen in the call,
how do you plan to handle it?"
"What's the value the customer will get from this call?"

After the call, they might ask,
"Did you accomplish all your objectives,"
"Is there anything more that you might have accomplished,"
"Is there anything you would do differently?"

Many of us were coached this way, therefore some of us Coach others this way too. There is not a lot of empirical evidence to support any style of Sales Coaching.

So, we have no rules, no right way or wrong way, just the ways we know of, or the ways we experienced as Salespeople.

Let me ask you a question:

“Would you use the same methods to Coach Children to read and write,as your school teacher used to Coach you?”

I have been blest by having been coached in Golf by three of the Top Golf Coaches,
David Leadbetter, Butch Harman and Dave Pelz.

Each Coach in their own way is unique and very special.
Dave Pelz is Golf’s “Scientist” he has produced more empirical evidence on the behavior of the Golf Ball on the Putting Surface and in the air than anybody! His expertise in the short game is encyclopedic. He “Demonstrates”, using a perfect Putting Machine called “Perfy” which can repeat the same perfect putt as often as you like!

Butch Harman is along with Tom Watson just one of Golf’s Gentlemen, great company and you could listen to their discourse on the Great Game forever. Butch’s approach is “feel “and “shot making”, you will use clubs in new ways and play great shots as never before. His success in Golf Coaching is unsurpassed.

David Leadbetter is a golfing phenomenon, he is sometimes called “The Swing Mechanic”, but if that makes you think of the guy who services your car, DON’T. Instead, think of the “mechanic” who tunes the Ferraris to racing perfection before a F1 Gran Prix. The DL Golf Academy’s proud boast is that they can help ANYONE to play better golf.

Three completely different approaches,
three different styles YET they all coach the SAME WAY!

Analyze, Demonstrate, Prompt, Release, Four Stages, repeated over and over until the Golfer Learns and Improves.

Analyze: they ask you to show them how you currently play the shot, you show them maybe three of four times.
They 'see' your “problem”.

They “Demonstrate” the right way, to play the shot.
Then, you attempt to make changes while they give you “Prompts”, little changes to increase the chances of a good shot.

Finally, when you have reached a reasonable level, they “Release” you to practice on the range or apply it on the course.

Is there empirical evidence that this works, you bet! Before you leave they set expectations of ”good performance” so that you can analyze for yourself in the future.

I unhesitatingly recommend all three Golf Coaches.

For about fifteen years now I have used the same Analyze, Demonstrate, Prompt, and then Release approach to both Sales Skills Coaching and to Sales Strategy Coaching, with empirical success.

What great Golf Coaches don’t do is:
Pre-Shot Questions:
"What are your goals for this golf shot,"
"Do you have stretch goals, for the shot"
"What is the worst thing that might happen in the shot, how do you plan to handle it?"
"What's the value your game will get from this shot?"

Nor do they ask you post shot:
"Did you accomplish all your objectives,"
"Is there anything more that you might have accomplished,"
"Is there anything you would do differently?"

They already knew the answers to all these questions, and they want to change your behavior using a simple process Analyze, Demonstrate, Prompt and then release.

Sales Coaching for Skills are best done with a Customer Visit, and then three more.

Sales Skills coaching is best done in the office, or on SKYPE away7 from the Customer's office.

Being a Sales Coach is great fun, it’s really rewarding, and it brings great results. It demands WE learn how to Coach effectively, and we should be “coached” in Coaching but like Golf, after you learn how to play well it’s a lifelong friend.