COACHING
BY: JACK DALY
PROFESSIONAL SALES COACH
“Rather than weighing down the
salesperson with too many suggestions,
pick one or two that hold the greatest
opportunity to increase his or her success.”
it,” it is critical that the call be conducted
solely by the salesperson.
After the first coaching call, the
salesperson will usually want to know
how he or she did. But sales managers
must resist doing a debriefing at this
time. Instead, suggest that five or six
more calls be made. Once they are all
completed, the sales leader should sit with
the salesperson and debrief. Identify those
things that went well and share them with
the salesperson. Also identify what could
have been done better.
Rather than weighing down the
salesperson with too many suggestions,
pick one or two that hold the greatest
opportunity to increase his or her
success. Discuss these two items
thoroughly, suggesting specific actions for
improvement.
INFORMATION, NOT CONTROL
You can’t be helpful if you don’t know
what’s going on in the field. It’s not a
control issue—it’s an information issue.
Get in the practice of taking notes on
each salesperson you work with. Start
accumulating information about them
and their customers and prospects. Let
each salesperson know your purpose: to
help the salesperson grow professionally
and to grow his or her production.
BEFORE YOU START
Here are two basic points that are
important to make before going on sales
calls with salespeople:
Fundamental One - Give plenty of
advance notice. Surprise visits to the field
are not appreciated by your sales team as
that implies a lack of trust. Set up your
schedule at least a week in advance.
Fundamental Two - Go with a plan. Don’t
say to the salesperson, “Well, what should
we work on this time out?” Instead, review
your prior notes, current production, and
call report and then state where you think
it best to focus. Always solicit feedback
and agreement from the salesperson.
Remember that if you demonstrate that
you are doing your homework, salespeople
will be more prone to do theirs.
Let’s build on those fundamentals by
establishing some guidelines to help keep
your calls focused:
1) Begin by reiterating the objective
of the day’s calls. Be sure to show how
your current objectives will fulfill the
salesperson’s overall game plan.
2) Build on the last coaching session.
Review with the salesperson what you
each agreed upon and what got completed.
See if anything needs to be changed or
discussed before setting out.
3) Let the salesperson do the scheduling.
If you are being “set up” with calls only to
his or her best customers, you will know
soon enough and can correct accordingly.
4) Agree on the type of calls. Will they be
training? Joint? Coaching?
5) Make the first call as positive as
possible. Your presence increases the
tension so make this as easy as you can f or
the salesperson.
6) Before each call, ask about the purpose.
There should be a specific goal on every
call and a specific approach for each one.
Know it beforehand so you can better
assess the call later.
7) Practice being a keen observer. Develop
a mental checklist of what you are looking
for so you can avoid taking notes during
calls. If you are on the road, make quick
notes in the car between calls. Focus on
the primary changes to be suggested. The
list could include any of the following:
• Greeting
• Questions the salesperson asked
• Questions the prospect asked
• Percent of time talking versus
listening
• Use of benefit statements
• Ask for business
Remember your purpose and never
take over a call. If you do that, your
relationship with the salesperson is on
the way to ruin. Your primary reason for
being there is training, not seeing how
much can be sold.
8) At the appropriate time, describe what
you observed. But remember:
• Focus on one or two specific items
• Let the salesperson talk
• Agree on what can be done differently
9) At the end of the day, get an overall
agreement on what the salesperson is to
do and what you will do to help. Write
it down. When giving feedback to the
salesperson, ask yourself: What do I
want to communicate? Where do I want
to focus suggested changes? How can I
communicate this information so that
the salesperson will be receptive to it?
What specific solution or goal may I offer,
and how may I assist the salesperson to
achieve this goal? +
Jack Daly is an experienced and world
recognized sales speaker and sales
training expert, who inspires audiences
to take action in the areas of sales, sales
management, and corporate culture.
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