Becoming A Super Sales Coach

Moving from selling to coaching requires developing a whole new set of skills. Organizations know that the quickest way to improve their salespeople is to improve their sales coaches because the coaches have the most leverage—when a sales coach improves, the salespeople improve. The challenge is that for most, coaching is a vague, intangible, and nebulous concept. So like other challenging topics, there are a lot of theories out there, but few proven-effective best practices. The following are six tips for becoming a super sales coach and a truly valuable employer. The tips are provided by Steve Johnson, author of “If You’re Not Out Selling, You’re Being Out Sold.” 1. Understand the difference between a boss and a coach. In which category does your management style put you?
* A boss drives his people; a coach leads them.
* A boss depends on authority; a coach depends on goodwill.
* A boss inspires fear; a coach inspires enthusiasm.
2. Make sure you're creating good habits in your salespeople—not just measuring the numbers.
3. Demonstrate to establish “street cred.” Step two in the five-step training process (Explain, Demonstrate, Practice, Observe, Feedback) is critical.
4. Regularly follow-up with these three magic words: “How’s it going?”
5. Coach top performers, too.
6. Keep a public scoreboard. A scoreboard that keeps track of your sales team’s performance, updated weekly during your sales meeting, can be very motivating.