Turning Underperformers Into Sales Winners

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Turning Underperformers Into Sales Winners

February 3, 2012 in Clarity, Coaching, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Results, Sales Training

Underperforming sales people plague sales managers and organisations in every industry sector. Over the decades business leaders have adopted an assortment of tactics to combat and address this issue, with most showing little in return. Some large businesses have a policy to let go of the bottom 10-20% of sales performers each year and replenish with new sales blood. Other organisations are too slow to address the real issues affecting poor sales performance often tolerating incompetence. Neither strategy is useful, leaving people operating in a climate of fear or mediocrity.

However, the majority of sales managers do try their best to improve underperformers’ results, often spending 80 per cent of their time with this bottom 20 per cent. There are occasional miracles and much heart ache and this isn’t due to the underperformers, it’s mostly that the sales managers simply aren’t equipped for the job. So where do we start? How do we turn around underperformers and create a healthy, well performing sales force without neglecting the other sales people who also deserve our attention?

Many of us want to see the potential in others and give them a go. Is this wishful thinking on our part? Possibly. But, hiring doesn’t have room for wishful thinking. We need to hire for results not potential.

Sales Strategy

The preventative path to eliminating underperformers from being an issue begins with our sales strategy which determines the type of sales force that best suits our business, our markets and our customers. A well developed sales strategy helps us properly define the type of sales people we need; consultative sales people, new business development managers, account managers, internal sales people or a blend of all. Rather than wishful thinking we need to be discerning about the qualities and competencies we need to recruit to. What knowledge, skill and mindset do we need to fulfil the requirements of the various sales roles? Hiring people to these standards is a preventive approach to the issue of underperformance.

Another preventative measure following the hiring stage is to put in place a structured induction program which educates and trains our sales people in the following:

Sales processes: sales planning, prospecting, sales communication, account management
Knowledge: company story, product, pricing, customers & markets, competitors, message and marketing plans, business acumen, etc.
Operations: technology, CRM, OH&S, distribution.
Culture: vision, purpose, company values, code of conduct, customer service ethic, etc.
Goals: company, team & individual goals

Zappos, the famous online shoe sales business, actually pays people $2,000 to leave the business after their induction program if they do not think they can deliver the Zappos promise.

Following a good induction program (usually over a period of 2- 6 weeks) sales people perform much better if they then get regular coaching support out in the field (tactical or deal based sales coaching) and in more formal settings where strategic coaching (with a longer term focus) can take place. This would be supplemented with relevant training in core areas, as well as purposeful sales meetings and planning sessions.

one on one coaching

So now we need to wonder how many sales people have been given an induction program supplemented by ongoing sales coaching and training that has covered the areas sited above in detail to give them the best chance at a good start? Sadly most sales people receive no induction or follow up coaching and training. Instead they are often thrown in the deep end expected to sell from day one trying to learn as they go by watching what other people do and working it out for themselves. No wonder we end up with pool of underperformers struggling to stay afloat.

If salespeople don’t receive a proper induction to the business and its sales approach how can one expect to turn underperformers into sales winners? It all begins with us – the sales managers, leaders and business owners. Have we set up the right environment? Do we:

Encourage open, constructive communication between ourselves and our employees.
Provide feedback on how people are doing on the job.
Allow for mutual understanding (between manager and employee) of each employee’s job responsibilities and performance expectations.
Facilitate identification of individual capabilities, strengths and areas for development.
Identify factors negatively affecting employee performance (e.g. work environment, job design, organisational policies and practices, personal issues, external factors, etc) so that action can be taken to alleviate them.
Use a structured and documented process that encourages objective evaluation and fair treatment.
Assist in the achievement of strategic goals.
Provide a consistent way of setting goals, monitoring performance and formally reviewing performance.
Create an environment for self-managing for proactive individuals.

Any individual will not be motivated to perform to a high standard if they are not supported and encouraged. This performance depends on a number of factors. Of greatest significance, however, are those factors that can be incorporated into the equation:

Performance = Capability + Role Clarity

Role Clarity

Role clarity includes providing clear guidelines regarding responsibilities and targets to be sure they can be held accountable.

Capability can tie into intelligence, preferences and cultural fit. It is important to understand our team member’s preferences and values and how they may be similar or dissimilar to ours and the organisations.

Experts believe that at least 50 per cent of performance problems in business occur because of a lack of feedback. Managers simply don’t make the time to talk and listen to their people and find out how they are going. Sales people will not see a need to alter their performance if it is never spoken about because it will be deemed as acceptable by their manager or company. They are not mind readers. We have to give them feedback and check in with them.

Here is how we can check in when people are not performing at optimal levels

Below is a list of questions that we can use to probe those team members who are not performing at their optimum level. This may assist us (and them) with uncovering what is lying at the source of their current level of effectiveness:

How satisfied are you with your job and your role?
Do you feel a sense of purpose in your job and/or in working for the company?
Do you have belief in yourself and your ability?
Are you experiencing any personal problems (e.g. health/home life) that may be impacting your current state of being?
Are there any issues around your actual capability to perform any tasks incorporated in your role?
What is your level of commitment to the company?
Do you feel you have a lack of training?
Are there enough processes for you to follow?
Are you experiencing any relationship issues (either at work or in personal life)?
Do you think that your job description and KRA’s (key result areas) are appropriate and accurate enough to provide you with the guidance, direction and focus required for your role?
Do you believe that you are receiving enough recognition and acknowledgement for your level of performance?
Do you feel that you are receiving effective guidance and management?

Does the person fit?

We need to work out if the issue with underperformance revolves around the following problems; perception, resources, training, aptitude, expectations, relevance, or incentives and correct accordingly.

By creating the right space for our team members to share what they are experiencing and skillfully probing with the right questions, we are also creating the opportunity for both ourselves and/or them to uncover what lies at the source of any level of ineffectiveness. Doing this, we’re paving the way for an effective plan of action for their future development and improvement and of course, for our business success.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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What Athletes, Top CEO’s and Pop Stars Have in Common

December 1, 2011 in Coaching, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Training, Self Development, Success

Elite athletes, pop stars, top selling writers, politicians, Fortune 100 CEO’s all have one thing in common…they hire coaches to help them achieve their goals faster and become or maintain their ‘number one’ status. Elite performers see the value their coach brings to their craft. They know their coach will help them gain and create insights that transform their performance. The rest of us can take the same approach. Many salespeople see the value of hiring a sales coach to help maintain an edge internally and over your competitors.

Not being heard, thus changing paths

As highlighted recently in the article ‘Are you at risk of losing your top sales performers?‘I mentioned the story of a young sales woman who contacted Barrett looking for expert sales coaching. Here is the excerpt: ‘My repeated requests to my manager for coaching and training were dismissed as too costly. I went outside to get the development I craved. My manager just wasn’t interested in giving me any of his time to coach me and certainly wasn’t interested in paying any money for my development. So I paid $3,000 of my own money for 6 one-on-one sales coaching sessions and they really helped. The benefits of one-on-one sales coaching were enormous. I achieved 130% of my budget in my first year and made the annual incentive trip overseas. My manager tried to claim the credit for my success. Needless to say into my second year nothing changed on the management front so after a further 9 months in solitude I left the company to pursue a career where personal development was valued.’

This young woman is an example of a growing number of sales professionals looking externally for coaching support to help them succeed and achieve their goals. They often tell us that that they are not getting the professional development or coaching they crave from their sales managers or business leaders. Often left to fend for themselves, these high performers want to be successful so they employ their own coach.

But a word of caution: you need to know what you are looking for. Not all coaches are the same and not all will be able to help you. If you are going to employ a sales coach make sure they:

Have had relevant sales experience and know how to sell well themselves (in a 21st century consultative sales way of course; no used car, product flogging, charm merchants)

They have knowledge and experience in sales strategy, sales planning, prospecting, sales communication, account management, negotiation, team work, etc.

Have recognised coaching qualifications with at least 100 hours of real time coaching experience and testimonials to back up their success.

Use an integrated mix of recognised coaching tools and resources

Know where their professional boundaries lie – they do not delve into nor try and fix any clinical or deeply personal issues, unless they are clinically trained in psychology and/or medicine. If they claim to be able to work in this space without appropriate qualifications do not continue with them.

Have your interests at heart and remain professional at all times. They do not try to make you dependant on them.

RobynCreed, Head of Coaching

Robyn Creed, head of Barrett Coaching says that a coach can wear a number of hats at any one time. They can act as your sounding board, someone who listens without prejudice. Your coach should be a person who helps and guides you while you set your own goals and strategies. They keep you accountable and focused on the priorities that are most important. They might also critique the way you do things, which may be the difference between winning that $200M deal you have been trying to close for months! Here is a lovely quote I found on coaching: ‘A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.’ John Wooden, American Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee.

A good sales coach knows the difference between Deal Based coaching and Strategic Coaching; they know what type of coaching you need based on where you are at – skills, transformational, remedial, or high performance coaching. If you want to read more about what qualities you should look for in an experience coach then go to Why Barrett Coaching.

Fortunately you don’t have to go it alone. Like the young woman mentioned previously you can get your own sales coach, however the good news that more and more Sales Leaders and Managers are now being trained on how to coach properly. Sales Management is quickly seeing the merit in coach training from a team engagement perspective and for staff retention, as well as the obvious and financial viewpoint.

Gallup research has demonstrated that there is a very significant connection between outstanding salespeople and their managers. The research indicated that having the right sales manager/coach can result in a 20% improvement in a sales person’s performance. In addition, it is not uncommon to find that almost 90% of what salespeople learn in a sales training program is lost unless it is effectively embedded and integrated back in the workplace and led by managers through effective coaching.

Stay on top So if you desire to be at the top of your game and stay ahead of your competitors, remember great sales people don’t hesitate to ask others for support. Just like our proactive sales capabilities we take our role seriously and enlist the coaching that will make us a truly top performer and one of the best.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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Why B2B Buying Decisions Are Taking Longer Than Ever

November 10, 2011 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Mindful selling, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Planning, Sales Relationships, Sales Training

Are companies taking longer to make buying decisions or does it come down to impatience on the part of the B2B sales person, in a hurry to reach their sales targets? It seems nowadays buying decisions are taking longer to make than in previous years. This slow purchasing process isn’t just happening at the enterprise level in large scale businesses, it’s extended right across the board.

Protracted buying is dramatically slowing the sales process. The flow-on effects of such time delays are causing blow-outs in the cost of sale for many sales teams and businesses. Delayed purchasing results in longer lead times and inconsistent pipeline predictions for sales teams. Of course, this in turn creates panic at the ‘C Suite’ when sales leaders can’t easily predict their forward orders and report on work in progress, thus leading to further indecision and so the cycle goes on….

Extended Pipeline Length

So what’s causing this to happen?

Firstly let’s look at what isn’t the cause. We’ve all known sales people who have ‘prospects’ sitting in their pipelines for months on end going nowhere. Their ‘prospects in waiting ’ have usually turned out to be nothing more than phantoms put there by the sales person to make up the numbers so their figures look more impressive. This “puffing up the books” is all too common and completely useless to the salesperson, the team and the business. Many sales managers have to conduct a ‘chat’ with the sales person about the validity of these so called prospects to determine their bona fides.

However, effective sales people are now finding that the timelines on prospects in their sales pipeline are lengthening and more work needs to be done to get deals over the line. It’s not just happening at the enterprise, large scale clients like government, semi government entities or large public companies. Dealing with multiple stakeholders was the domain of large scale businesses involved in large scale enterprise/contract agreements. Now, the lengthening of the buying process is occurring across the board.

So why are buying decisions becoming protracted? Are products or deals more complicated? It doesn’t seem so. What then, is causing these delays?

Once upon a time, you could deal with a key decision maker and an influencer or two; now you have to sell to a committee. It appears that many buying decisions are now being made by committees. No longer content to entrust the purchasing decision to one or two people who represent the whole business or division as the buyer, many are now roping in people from across the organisation to give their input, ideas and suggestions as well as being involved in the final decision making process. Buying decisions by consensus results in elongated sales cycles, more people to know and understand, more complication and increased cost of sale for the business doing the selling.

Uncertainty

It seems that the real culprit is ‘uncertainty’. The current market conditions are making people reticent; more hesitant to commit and make decisions; they are looking to the opinions of others, seeing what ‘everyone’ is thinking before they make decisions. And even when they think they have made a decision something or someone else comes along and they change their mind again. Sound familiar? It’s not just businesses that are stuck in this loop, we see it on the political stage every day in poll driven politics.

Maybe there is some truth in this ancient Jewish prophecy which goes something like this: ‘There will be a time when leaders will act like dogs’. What does this mean? In short if your pet dog is at the off lead park and gets ahead of you, notice how often it will turn its head back to you to see where you are and look at what direction it needs to go in. It takes it lead from you even though it is ahead of you and technically in the lead. That is how our political leaders are operating and perhaps this in now bleeding into our business communities where leaders are afraid to make decisions without excessive deliberation and consensus.

It is understandable that we need to be cautious as markets become less predictable and seeking people’s input to key buying decisions is important, however buying by committee is making selling and buying really challenging and we all know what can happen when a committee gets involved. If it’s not paralysis by analysis, it’s certainly more protracted. Here’s a five minute video that gives you some idea of the complications sales people face. Although produced with large business deals in mind, I believe this video illustrates how this process is being replicated in smaller deals across the board.

So what does a sales person need to do to meet the challenge of protracted buying decisions?

Understand the nature of the business you are dealing with

Identify how many people need to be involved in the decision making process within the customers business and in your own business and learn how to connect and communicate with different types of people looking for common ground on which to build a case

Get agreement on the customer’s vision and consensus on that vision so you know what they are aiming for and where you can work with them

Offer to meet with the committee to ask and take questions face-to-face

You may have one contact in the group but you need to get to everyone to understand their needs and priorities so that you are in the best position to demonstrate what you’re about and how you can help them

Understand and clearly specify all stakeholders’ key priorities and build a business case that addresses them all (if you can)

Be explicit about why you do what you do; how you do what you do; what you do; and how you help people achieve results. No fluff here. Provide your credentials in a professional format that is written for the client in language they understand and can relate to

Be prepared to engage in multiple meetings and be very clear on your purpose for each meeting or level of engagement – don’t leave loose ends

Account for the time involved in each stage of the sales process and factor this into your planning, forecasting and costs of sale

Don’t barrage your prospect with excessive phone calls or emails to try and speed up the buying process

Don’t assume to know the reason for their delays

Don’t be wishy washy or indecisive yourself as this will just fuel further indecision

Feel confident to ask for timeframes

Check if your sales cycle is costing you more than it is worth and where it may be eroding margins

Rethink your pricing strategies and ensure they cover your cost of sale

Manage expectations and be prepared to report accurately on your sales efforts and the pipeline so that Sales Leaders and the ‘C Suite’ can manage their part of the business and make informed decisions

Control what you can control

Whether this is temporary or here for the long term, as sales professionals we need to adapt and work with what we have in the most professional manner possible managing expectations both internally and externally. So hang in there, be persistent and have enough deals in your pipeline so that you have options and are not caught out with all your eggs in one basket.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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Rethinking Sales Incentives – The Science of Motivation

August 25, 2011 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Sales Management, Sales Research, Success

‘Rethinking Sales Incentives’ was voted as the Number 8 Sales Trends for 2011. Incentive programs, commissions and bonuses have been synonymous with sales teams for at least the last 50 years. However throwing more money at sales teams to perform better, especially in these more complex and creative times may be a thing of the past.

While the ‘carrot and stick’ approach has been reasonably successful for most sales teams in the twentieth century, especially when sales people were simply selling product, scientific research is showing if you want smart thinking sales people this approach is no longer viable. If we are to have sales people who can navigate ambiguous markets, create new opportunities, forge new partnerships, and sell real value, then our traditional incentive programs are often the wrong way to motivate people for today’s challenges. Yet external rewards such as bonuses, commissions or incentives are still strong features in sales management forums.

In 2011, more and more companies will be enlisting new approaches to motivation, rethinking how they incentivise and reward their sales teams both intrinsically and extrinsically.

Money Perks

For many years it has been believed that sales people are only motivated to sell if they have strong financial incentives to do so. For a number of sales people this may certainly be the case, however, it would be a false to assume that this is the case for all sales people. Another false assumption is that the more you incentivise someone the better they will perform. Science is turning the business world upside down, challenging ‘norms’ and long held beliefs about what motivates and drives people.

As the world, and with it the business world, becomes more complex, it will be harder and harder to determine who did what and who deserves what because many tasks are no longer simple transactions. With selling becoming less transactional and relying more heavily on teams rather than a lone sales person to bring in the deals the compensation issue is becoming more complex.

Who deserves what? How much should they be paid? Many companies spend hundreds if not thousands of hours going around in circles trying to work out what is fair and reasonable. And to no avail. This perplexing issue could have a more simple solution, although some people may not like it.

According to the latest research synthesized by Daniel Pink in his latest bestselling book, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, the best use of money as a form of compensation is to take the issue of money off the table.

His book highlights what scientists have known for some time now:

‘The more prominent salary, perks, and benefits are in someone’s work life, the more they can inhibit creativity and unravel performance. As Edward Deci explained when organisations use rewards like money to motivate staff, “that’s when they’re most demotivating.” The better strategy is to get compensation right – and then get it out of sight. Effective organisations compensate people in amounts and in ways that allow individuals to mostly forget about compensation and instead focus on the work itself.’

I know this may be heresy to sales people, teams and sales leaders, because for so long big commissions and bonuses have gone hand in hand with sales teams. Well, maybe this could be a thing of the past.

What the scientific research is showing is that ‘for simple routine tasks which aren’t very interesting and don’t demand much creative thinking, rewards can provide a small motivational booster shot without harmful side effects.’ In short if you want people to, for instance, stack boxes more quickly, offer a bonus to those who stack the most in the shortest space of time and to the standard you want. As long as the task is simple and mechanical in nature, bonuses work to lift performance.

However if the task or situation involves even rudimentary cognitive skill i.e. you have to come up with ideas or solutions, possibilities or plans, then a larger reward leads to poorer performance.

With transactional selling going the way of the internet leaving most sales people out of the equation, the rest of selling now requires the need to deal with complex solutions, consultation, problem solving and prevention, creativity and collaboration. All of these tasks require cognition. Our brains need to work, think, sort stuff out, create options and so on.

Another key finding from Pink’s book that throws cold water on the money motivator is that most people are not motivated by money at all. Yes, you need to take money off the table, so it’s not a day to day issue, and pay the right amount from the beginning, and instead focus on fostering and developing the following ideals in your business and your people. Then you will find lifts in performance that are far more significant. The three elements of true motivation are:

Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives

Mastery – the urge to get better and better at something that matters

Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

If you would like to explore this further I would suggest you get a taste for it by viewing this 10 minute video by Daniel Pink which is a very good summary of the topic at hand.

So what does this really mean for sales teams? Well, it all depends on what you sell, how you sell it, how you run your sales business and what you want your sales people to do:

If you are in simple transactional sales where your sales people do not really need to think in any complex way then maybe you can continue with your current bonus or commission schemes
If your sales culture is more complex or is more of a lead team approach then you may need to rethink the way you reward people

One client of ours in the world of new home sales has taken the radical move to pay its sales people a far more substantial base salary to take money off the table. Instead of sales people panicking about where their dollar will come from and how they will afford to feed their family this week, they want their sales people to focus more readily on better quality sales efforts rather than the mental churn and burn often seen in this industry. It is early days and the transition will be interesting. However, in their endeavour to bring about better standards of professional selling in an industry known for its ‘cowboy’ culture, changing the way they remunerate their staff along with continued professional development such as coaching, combined with a committed leadership will see them prosper. If they can stand steady and hold their own in the face of challenges I have no doubt they will see the fruits of their labour and out perform their competition in the long run. And isn’t that the irony, when we remove these financial incentives we will get better performance.

An example of a company who have already taken this on board and making it work is Australian company Atlassian.

It’s a brave new world for sure.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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Can a sales manager be an effective sales coach?

April 14, 2011 in Coaching, Performance Management, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Talent, Sales Training, Success

Coaching usually focuses on two areas of development to achieve excellence: skills and performance. Excellence in performance is knowing the right processes to apply in the right situation, coupled with the personal insight to know how to apply them wisely. An effective sales coach is there to help people achieve excellence and realize many more benefits.

However to be an effective sales coach your people must experience you as a support in helping them achieve higher performance and not a hindrance. Often people experience performance improvement initiatives as ‘threats’ or ‘aimless chats’ leaving people feeling negative, intimidated or that their time has been wasted.

For coaching to work at its best the relationship between coach and coachee must be one of partnership with trust, safety and minimal pressure. The pay cheque, promotion and performance axe have no place in a coaching relationship. Often, sales managers don’t know the difference between managing and coaching and find it hard to change hats when required. So can a sales manager reconcile the roles of manager and coach and can a manager really be an effective coach especially given time pressures and other competing priorities?

Barrett’s newly appointed Head of Coaching, Robyn Creed says ‘Yes, managers and especially sales managers can be fantastic coaches, however coaching demands the highest qualities of a manager.’

“Qualities include active listening, empathy, integrity, honesty, detachment and effective questioning. Coupled with this is a willingness to adopt a ‘performance enhancing’ mindset to staff development along with the skillful use of best practice coaching tools and frameworks. True coaches help people liberate their talent to realise mastery. Being able to set yourself a part from your managerial duties i.e. the KPI agenda, delivery of strategy, results, and firefighting and instead, approach each staff member as an individual when coaching, allows you to build a genuine coaching relationship. Creating a coaching climate can be a challenge for many managers mainly due to time constraints, competing priorities which often relegate coaching to ‘nice-to-have’ status, and the lack of proper training in effective coaching tools and strategies,’ Robyn said.

So how can a sales manager reconcile the roles of manager and coach? Knowing the difference helps. Review the following checklist on Managing and Coaching and see where you fall in relation to these roles.

Managers:
•   Do most of the talking and directing
•   Tell people how things should be done
•   Fix problems – sometimes preventing staff members from developing necessary skills
•   Presumes and makes assumptions (not having delved deeply into what is going on for an individual)
•   Seek control
•   Order people, provide directions
•   Works on
•   Keep distant
•   Assign blame

Coaches:
•   Spend most of the time in a coaching discussion listening to their staff member
•   Ask people how they think things should be
•   Prevent problems – when appropriate, skill people up to develop skills to manage situations effectively
•   Explore, providing staff with in-depth insight around a particular situation or what is going on with an individual)
•   Empower team member and seeks commitment
•   Allow people to develop their own path, but challenges when necessary
•   Work with (partnerships to develop skills and improve performance)
•   Make contact
•   Take responsibility (those who understand the importance of coaching appreciate the direct link between their coaching of their staff and their staff’s performance)

Many sales managers we work with have reviewed this list and realise they are not coaching at all. At best they have chats over coffee which is not the same as coaching. Yet they are ever concerned that their people may not be performing to the standard they require.

In 2005, the Sales Executive Council conducted a survey of over 3000 Sales Professionals and their sales managers. Some of their findings clearly demonstrate the difference in sales professionals’ performance based on the effectiveness of coaching. In this study there was at least 19% improvement in sales performance as a direct result of one-on-one coaching which meant the difference between people achieving their sales quotas or not.

Recent results from ICF Consumer Global Awareness Study reported that more than 42.6% of the respondents who had experienced coaching chose “Optimise individual and/or team performance” as their motivation for being coached. This reason ranked highest followed by “Expand professional career opportunities” at 38.8% followed by “Improve business management strategies” at 36.1%. Other more personalised motivations like “Increase self-esteem/self-confidence” and “Manage work/life balance” rated fourth and fifth to round out the top five motivations.

Coaching is key to performance improvement in any role. So why isn’t coaching prevalent in the daily lives of sales leaders and managers?

Lack of time is usually the issue. Finding time to coach is a real issue for these managers. Too many managers find themselves firefighting, unable to devote sufficient time to long term planning, visioning and most importantly coaching and developing their people. The paradox here is that if they coach their staff properly the staff will be capable of shouldering more responsibility, freeing the manager from firefighting and allowing them to be available to manage and coach their people and grow and develop the business.

So how do we get managers to engage in coaching?

Help sales managers see the real value in coaching including the dollars and sales it can return to the business. We need to help managers see that coaching delivers far more than the effort put into coaching however, if you have never experienced effective coaching you are unlikely to value it. One solution is for managers to experience professional coaching themselves and see how it helps them achieve excellence in their own role. Engaging an independent coach to work with a manager i.e. a ‘coach-the-coach’ experience has great benefits. Ideally sales managers would be trained in best practice coaching tools and strategies to give them the confidence and competence to coach. Another solution some managers are resorting to is outsourcing the coaching of their team members to independent coaches or internal people specifically trained and assigned to a coaching role thus leaving managers to manage. This is a trend in some industries such as call centres.

Robyn Creed says that outsourcing authentic coaching can really help people experience an agenda free environment helping them to shift and move to higher levels of performance without the complicated relationship of their managers. However, she does warn that abdicating coaching responsibilities as a manager is dangerous. ‘Managers should not avoid coaching’ says Robyn, ’The skills and mindset of coaching need to be ever present in a manager’s tool box, especially in sales. The opportunities to coach present themselves at any time and you have to be ready to seize the opportunity and know what to do.’ Robyn’s advice is to adopt a blended approach: ‘train your sales managers and other managers how to be effective coaches and then, when needed supplement this with highly trained external coaches. These coaches are best used to coach the managers who are coaching their own teams as well as for high performing sales people who need that to move to a higher plain.’

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au