You cannot successfully manage a sales team from behind a desk!
Average Sales Managers spend most of their time in the office analysing numbers and coming up with solutions to increase sales, which usually revolves around getting the salespeople to make more sales calls.
Good Sales Managers spend most of their time out of the office working with their salespeople, finding out first-hand what the problems are and giving good advice on how best to solve them. Enquire now for effective sales training methods.
The more time you spend out in the field working with your salespeople, the more time they will spend out in the field. Salespeople are more likely to make an effort to improve their sales performance when they have respect for their Sales Manager. And that respect comes from knowing they have a Sales Manager who CARES!!! Most sales managers are pretty good at identifying areas of weakness in their salespeople which need improvement. They are also pretty good at suggesting what needs to be done to improve the situation but in most cases, don’t see any improvement.
It’s time to start “Coaching” rather than “Managing”.
Sales coaching should take place regularly and not only in times of crisis.
One of the most rewarding elements of sales management is helping individuals to become more successful salespeople.
Sales coaching is an ongoing series of interactions between a sales manager and a salesperson, which aims to determine and correct behaviours, specific to that individual. Instead of “Telling” the salesperson what to do rather “Ask” them what they think they could do to rectify the problem. Focus on getting their “Buy-in” to ensure commitment and follow through.
Sales coaching in a nutshell:
- Ask the salesperson what they think the problem is.
- Ask them to come up with a solution to the problem.
- Ask them to formulate a plan of action.
- Ask them to put it in writing. (e-mail it to you)
- Hold them responsible for improvement.
Common coaching mistakes:
- Taking over from salespeople a meeting.
- Criticising a salesperson before giving praise.
- Giving salespeople the impression that you are out to find fault.
When coaching salespeople don’t, be too quick to jump in and modify what they are doing. Rather look at gathering information to see where the gaps are that need improvement. Focus on developing only one or two skills, competencies or behaviors at a time. Successful coaching is fine tuning and not expecting to change everything in one day.
Sales coaching should be a positive learning experience.
Don’t just focus on weaknesses. Also look for strengths and things which the salespeople are doing right and then encourage them to keep on doing these things.
The benefits of effective sales coaching are:
- Improved attitude.
- Improved productivity.
- Improved performance.
Successful sales coaching is encouraging salespeople to find their own solutions to the problems they face in sales and then helping and guiding them to achieve the necessary improvement.
Remember: YOU hold the key to unlocking the potential of your sales team!
Related Tag: Effective Sales Training.
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