How do you motivate your sales team at the moment?
Would you like to be able to motivate your team more effectively?
How much easier would be it if your team were more proactive?
Are you frustrated that your people keep on making the same mistakes?
Do you find yourself having to come to the rescue during joint sales calls?
Are you under pressure to both increase your team's performance and take on more responsibility within your organisation?
Do you wish your people would be more proactive?
It can be difficult being a sales manager nowadays. Pressure from above and below, frustration and hard work - these are often the mainstays of the modern sales manager. I know, because I have been there. And of course it's relentless. You hit your monthly or quarterly target, but there's little time to celebrate - there's the next target to hit. And yet you probably like the buzz of sales and the relationship building. If only you were supported a bit more consistently by your sales team!
If some of the above "rings bells" then read on, because, whilst I don't have a magic wand, I believe that, if you are a sales manager, there is a way of managing your sales team which could free you up, take the pressure off and improve performance across the board. If you are in training and development or HR, we have a programme that you may well be interested in.
So, what's the answer?
The thing to do is move from being a sales manager to being a sales coach. Coaching is now being used widely in business, but sometimes it can be difficult to see its true potential unless it is used in a focused way. This article will attempt to convince you that there are real benefits to adopting a coaching approach to developing sales teams - for the sales manager, the individual team members and your organisation. Stay tuned.
Let me just tell you a little about where I have come from. I worked as a salesman, key account manager, sales manager, consultant and trainer in 2 large multi-nationals for 10 years before becoming a full time consultant, trainer and coach some 5 years ago.
I have trained thousands of people since then in sales, negotiation and influencing. And in that time I have worked closely with a number of sales divisions and managers. So I know a bit about the issues. And I know how frustrating it can be to get your people to consistently perform and rise up to the challenge of change and increasing customer demands.
What is happening out there?
Here are a few of the things I tend to come across on a regular basis:
More and more is expected of sales managers
There is often an inbuilt expectation that managers have to manage, as well as be a super salesman
Great sales people are still being promoted to management without much initial support and training
There is less tolerance among senior people for poor performance among sales teams
Many sales managers are not getting the training and support required to grow them and improve performance
Most coaching at the moment comes in the form of telling or evaluating, not questioning & developing
Having been there and done it, and now working outside large organisations, I now have a sense of one way to really make a consistent difference to the lot of the sales manager - SALES COACHING. Having trained sales managers to become coaches in a number of organisations this has been the typical response:
"Finally - a course that has really made my life easier"
"The best course I have attended in 15 years of sales management"
"Clarity at last - I finally understand what coaching is all about"
"Now I see how to empower my team to become more proactive and take the burden off me"
"Sales Manager as Coach" Programme
We have designed a course that will really make a difference, both as a mindset and a process. It is a 2 day programme that gets to the heart of what coaching is and how it can be applied within a sales environment. So, it's a highly focused course. The programme will ensure that the confidence and competence levels of any sales manager who attends will soar. It is designed to give everyone maximum opportunity to practise coaching skills in 2's and 3's to help participants build on their natural strengths and also covers all the key information about coaching which includes:
What is the purpose of coaching in business and sales?
Coaching improves awareness and fosters responsibility
How to give evaluative feedback which will be a platform for development
How to plan coaching
How coaching can support training
The coaching skills and mindset can be applied immediately to sales. Participants have reported to me how they have been able to apply what they have learned to, for example:
Side by side coaching in the field
Pre call planning
Post call debriefing
Solving crises
Motivating and empowering the whole team as individuals
Dealing with key accounts
The course is supported by a coaching model which has been widely used for the last decade - the GROW model...
This model takes you through the stages of a coaching process - establishing the GOAL of the coaching, focusing on the current REALITY, exploring OPTIONS and ending with establishing the WILL to do it in the coachee.
In addition there are 2 videos (including rare footage of the No. 1 business coach, Tim Gallwey, who has written the Inner Game books) which help embed coaching as a process and a set of skills that can empower sales people and improve their performance.
So, at hr Team, we believe we have a great programme which will really make a difference both to sales managers and ultimately to sales people.
What would happen if you wanted to take this further?
We have a foundation programme that can be adapted to different sales environments, in different market sectors. We would spend time with you establishing what the current skill level is within your sales management team, identifying best practice by working with your top people, agreeing how we can measure the success of the training and ensuring that we produce a programme that will fit with your culture. We will then deliver a blended solution - blended because it will combine a number of elements to guarantee success:
Trainer contact with all participants at the front end
Introduction of coaching principles through e-learning mechanisms
A workshop, which will work best if it is modular
Telephone coaching follow up
Review online or offline, or in the field
If you are a sales director or manager, internal trainer or HR specialist and you know your organisation will benefit from an outstanding programme which will change the way you develop your people, please contact us at hr Team. Your sales managers will know how to coach and be able to apply what they learn to improve results in your sales people very quickly. We are developing a reputation as sales coaching experts and we know we can make a BIG difference in your business. So, give us a call on 01435 865 711...
Contact us today, if you are interested in our "Sales Manager as Coach" programme...
