Coaching For Sales Success – Your Ultimate Guide
Coaching for sales improvement and success is one of the key and fundamental tasks that Sales Managers and leaders should concentrate their efforts on, because the rewards can be incredible.
According to studies, coaching for sales improvement can improve a Sales Professional to achieve quota by up to 75%!
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What is sales coaching?
- Coaching for sales improvement techniques
- Tips to improve performance
- Sales coaching training
Coaching For Sales Success – Your Ultimate Guide
Coaching For Sales Improvement – What Is It?
Coaching for sales improvement, is a step by step process used by Sales Managers to help Sales Professionals achieve their goals, metrics, quota, and consistency.
When coaching for sales improvement; it’s important to use the correct approach and methodology.
Instead of telling people what to do, instead focus on asking excellent probing questions that’ll allow the Sales Professional to realise the answer themselves.
Some examples of coaching for sales success and improvement may include:
- Doing weekly scheduled check ins, and finding out what isn’t working, what is, and why
- Shadowing the individual; be in on calls, meetings, and on particular tasks
- Giving them assessments to complete, and training to reflect on that’ll get them to expand on their individual improvement and focus
Coaching For Sales Performance – Techniques To Use
Coaching for sales performance and improvement, and simply telling people what they should do are two very different things.
Although there is a time and place for both, from a sales coaching standpoint – you want the Sales Professional to do most of the realisation and work.
This way they’ll be personally invested, and will be more likely to remember and implement what they learn.
Below are a few examples of techniques you can use when coaching for sales improvement and success.
Role Play
Role playing is an effective way for your Sales Professionals to remember what they learn when coaching for sales performance.
The reason it works is because it allows your sales team to test out new ideas and be innovative in a space that won’t jeopardise the sale in real time.
Team sports is a lot like sales; you have various departments working together for a unified goal. Teams also regularly practice; train and role play the outcomes they want to achieve.
It works just as great for sales teams too.
Related article: 8 x Sales Meeting Topics To Share With Your Team
Have Them Demonstrate The Process
Every top tier Sales Professional follows a step by step sales process – this allows them to use a road map to guide them towards the sale, and close new clients consistently.
When coaching for sales improvement and performance, a good technique is to have your Sales Professionals expand on a step in your sales process and explain how to utilise it and why.
This helps them self-reflect on the importance of having a sales process, as well as reminds them of the specific step in the process they demonstrate.
This can also be done in a group dynamic and is an excellent sales meeting idea.
Further reading: The Sales Process – A Step By Step Guide
Use Tie Downs With Your Training
Tie down sales techniques aren’t just useful in your sales conversations; they can be just as equally effective in your coaching for sales performance sessions too.
Tie downs are a technique in which you make a statement, and then ask a question at the end that’ll elicit an agreement response – and welcome buy in from your sales team.
This way – instead of just making blanket statements, you can get buy in which’ll make it a lot more likely to be followed through. When they give feedback, give buy in, and respond; they too own the process and not just you.
This empowers them when conducting your coaching for sales improvement sessions and assists them in owning the solution.
Further reading: 8 x Sales Meeting Ideas Worth Doing With Your Staff
Related article: Tie Down Sales Techniques – Your Ultimate Guide
Coaching For Sales Improvement Tips
Below is a list of tips to further assist you when coaching for sales success and improvement.
Know Your Desired Outcomes
An important ingredient for coaching for sales success, is being crystal clear on exactly what everyone needs to achieve. Is this isn’t transparent, people won’t know what the goal posts look like – and won’t know when they win.
Ensure your team knows their key metrics and have an actionable sales targeting strategy and marketing plan.
Further reading: 5 x Sales Coaching Tips For Sales Managers
Do You Know Their Goals?
As Business Owners or Sales Managers, we regularly share what the company’s ambitions are, and the goals we need to achieve.
But do we know our team’s individual goals?
How can we expect people to turn up everyday with the goal to succeed, if we’re not crystal clear on what it is they want to achieve?
When coaching for sales improvement and performance, use SMART goals, and find out what their personal desires are – and more importantly, how you can work together to achieve it.
Related article: How To Set Goals The Right Way
Celebrate Wins
Celebrating wins is an important and powerful ingredient when coaching for sales success.
That’s because it builds comradery, a sense of purpose, and celebrates the meaning as to why they do what they do.
Don’t just celebrate the internal wins made by Sales professionals and individuals; but also, when you help your clients out as well. This way, they see things from the lens of service, rather than just being in sales for sales sake.
Training For Sales Coaching Improvement
As previously mentioned, one of the most crucial ingredients required when coaching for sales improvement, performance and success – is to ensure everyone is on the same page with a clear and transparent process.
If people are following various sales methodologies; your potential clients will always have a different experience, which can create confusion.
Ensure your sales team is following the same sales process, so that you can deliver positive results consistently.
Positive results should be for both your business, and also your client.
If you’d like to learn more about sales process training, and how your team can win more sales consistently, check out the link below for more details.
Click here to learn about The 5% Sales Blueprint.
Final Thoughts
Coaching for sales success; be it performance and improvement, is an important part of any Sales Manager’s role.
When done correctly, there can be some incredible benefits for not just your company – but also your team’s personal lives
What other tips or techniques have worked for you?
Feel free to share them in the comments.
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