Are the sales managers coaching the sales people? Have you asked them?
Have you every trained your sales managers on how to coach the sales people? Let’s be fair, as a CEO or a Sales Leader it is on you to get them prepared to do their job.
One of the top reasons sales training fails in the long run is because the sales managers were not trained prior to the sales people. Sales managers are not sure how to coach the sales people or support the sales training. Link to 3 Biggest Mistakes CEOs Make Executing their Growth Strategy
Great sales people crave coaching and support from their management when it is positive, consistent and the intent is to help close more deals. Good coaching is about asking questions, not giving the answers. The sales manager should help the sales people discover the answer. This way the sales people do not become dependent on the sales manager for answers, and gain confidence.
As the business leader, do you know if your sales leadership is providing training and coaching to your frontline sales managers? Your sales team may be missing opportunities and your sales cycle may be extended, if coaching is not occurring throughout the sales organization.
Here are 3 sales management best practices:
- Sales Managers should spend consistent, scheduled time one on one with each sales person. Two 30-minute sessions or one-hour session each week is a good place to start. These sessions are only coaching the sales person around deals or something with which they want help. It must not turn into an accountability meeting.
- When a sales person asks a question around how they should handle an opportunity or prospect, resist the temptation to give them the answer. Ask them at least five questions that lead the sales person to discovering what they probably already know, but need help getting to their own conclusion. This will lead to deeper learning for the sales person, and it builds trust.
- Replace ride-along time in the field with coaching sessions. Ride-along meetings can be effective, but rarely does anyone in that meeting act the way they normally would act without the Sales Manager present. This time can be more effective by having the Sales Manager De-Brief a call with the sales person after the meeting. We introduce a De-Briefing tool to our clients. If you are interested, let us know here. We will send you a copy. The trick to De-Briefing a call or meeting is to start at the end of the call. What is the next step? What was your objective for the meeting? These two questions usually can avoid the fairy tale that a sales person will tell when allowed to lead the De-Brief.
Action:
If you are interested in understanding how to help your sales managers, reach out to us here. If we cannot help you generate a 10X ROI, we believe it is not worth starting.
