Share what you know with millions of people
Focus is the best place to turn what you know into remarkable content
2
What are the common mistakes coaching managers make and how can you avoid those mistakes?
Asked at:
How Not to Coach Your Salespeople
- Recommended by:
- Catherine Goldberg,
- Billy Vong
Events
- Dos and Don'ts of Small Business Marketing May 29 @ 11 am PT
- Lead Nurturing 202: The Next Generation May 31 @ 11 am PT
- The Tricks to Paid Media June 6 @ 11 am PT
- Display Advertising for Brand Awareness June 20 @ 11 am PT
Related Activity
6 Answers
Hi Catherine! One of the most serious mistakes is coaching (actually, correcting) without providing practice or rehearsal afterward. When the sales rep being “coached” does not have the opportunity to “make good” after the coaching, the desired behavior change often does not happen and the rep becomes demoralized.
Another very common mistake is in the timing of the coaching/guidance. The best time for a coach to reinforce is AFTER correct or exceptional performance … and the best time to coach different or better performance is right BEFORE the rep has an opportunity to do the coached skill or task correctly. Lots of sales manager get the timing backward. The best sports coaches … and sales managers … get it right.
I can't say it better than Michael did already - http://funnysalescartoons.com/photo/funny-sales-coaching-cartoon
I agree with Michael's input and would add another common mistake made by coaching managers is to not fully understand the issue before offering the coaching advice.
It is essential to invest the time to listen to the coachee, ask some penetrating questions and then formulate your coaching intervention. All too often, managers think they know what the problem is before they completely understand the situation.
Another great question, Catherine.
John is right; too often the underlying cause of an issue is not adequately explored, and the assumed correction is "coached" in a vacuum. Michael also offers excellent advice, and well put.
I think the biggest mistake coaches make, though, is imparting knowledge without belief. I can coach all day long that black is black, but if my student believes it to be white I have accomplished nothing except perhaps forced acquiescence. If I want my student to work to their highest and best capability, and if I want my coaching efforts to spread organically through my student to others in the organization, I must dig deep, determine why my student believes as he does, and affect a paradigm shift, leading my student to a belief that supports my coaching.
Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com
All great responses. I'd like to add that coaching needs to be integrated into the day to day activities of the sales manager. Too many treat it as a separate "activity" which actually never gets done. When managers are doing account reviews, they should use that the review to coach account planning, when they do pipeline reviews, they should use the opportunity to coach on health pipeline's, and so on. This way coaching becomes part of the fabric of the business and becomes much more relevant because the manager is dealing with the issues at hand, not something that is separated from what they and the sales people are doing every day.
The answers so far have been excellent. Another common mistakes is confusing coaching (listening) with consulting (telling). The coach recognizes the "coachee" usually has the answers and provides a process to allow that self awareness to come forth.
Answer This Question