Achieving success in sales isn’t easy. Rejection, disappointment, and frustration are constant companions on the road to sales success.
That said, there are ways to get sales agents to produce more sales. The key is having a sales manager who has a variety of skills to lead their team. One of the most important skills is sales coaching.
What Is Sales Coaching?
Sales coaching is a one-on-one process where a manager and their peer work together to improve performance. Coaching emphasizes asking questions and helping a person to identify ways to improve. Rather than handing down advice, sales coaching helps the salesperson identify solutions which results in their motivation to take control of their next actions.
Here are 3 coaching strategies:
Strategy 1: Start with Activity
Inadequate sales activity is the root cause of many sales problems. For example, a salesperson becomes consumed with addressing a complex issue for a current customer for a week. As a result, the agent’s good prospecting habits may become inconsistent. Also, salespeople might get discouraged if they receive a harsh response to a cold call or proposal.
Use the following question to coach salespeople to improve their activity levels:
- How many sales calls (emails, messages, etc) did you send this week?
- How does that compare to the week before?
- How many sales appointments did you have with prospects last week?
- What is your process for completing follow-up?
- What strategies do you use to recover from disappointments?
As the conversation evolves, the agent may realize that insufficient sales activity hurts their results. If this is the case, ask the salesperson to set an achievable short-term goal (e.g., “I will contact ten prospects in the next two days”) and report back.
Strategy 2: Coaching for Sales Technique
In other situations, the volume of sales activity is not the problem. You might see reports from the daily High Payoff Activity Guide or CRM that show high levels of sales activity. If that activity level is not paying off in appointments, reservations, contracts, or closed deals, sales technique may be the challenge.
Reference these sales coaching questions in your next one-on-one to help your agent improve their technique.
- What are some of the most common questions or objections you hear from prospects?
- Do you have notes or a script to help you?
- How do you prepare for a sales meeting?
- What aspect of the sales process do you find most challenging or frustrating?
As you work through these questions, it is vital to listen with empathy. Asking a salesperson to speak about areas where they are struggling may be stressful.
Strategy 3: Coaching for Well-being
Even with the best technique and numbers in the world, health difficulties make it tough to win in sales. That’s why sales coaching with well-being in mind is worthwhile. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 21% of all adults experience mental illness each year.
Coaching for well-being is a newer strategy. Not all managers are confident in having discussions about mental health, and not all salespeople want to talk about it. Given these realities, an indirect approach to focusing on wellbeing and healthy habits may help.
Put these tips into action to encourage your sales team to improve their well-being.
- Self-reflect on the example you are setting as a sales leader. Your team is watching how you work and talk to guide their work.
Share personal stories and strategies when appropriate. In a oen-on-one setting, consider opening up about how you manage stress. For example, you might share how you’ve developed healthy routines like limiting caffeine intake and exercising to keep yourself in good health.
- Take the time to listen during one-on-one meetings. Effective sales coaching requires a fairly high degree of emotional intelligence. If you see your direct report looks unusually tired, they might have been up late dealing with a family crisis or another difficulty. In that case, it’s not the right time to dive into a detailed discussion of sales metrics. Instead, taking the time to listen and offer encouragement can be extremely helpful.
Sales Coaching Isn’t the Answer to Every Problem
There’s no question that sales coaching is powerful. When sales professionals and managers receive constructive feedback, there is every chance that you can improve. While sales managers should do everything to support their staff, coaching is not a magic bullet. In some cases, a person might not be a good fit for the sales profession.
Before you replace an under-functioning salesperson, take some time to reflect on the situation. For example, ask yourself if the situation might have gone differently if you had asked better questions in the recruiting process or provided better feedback.
