Building a successful sales team takes more than getting talented and skilled reps on board. You need to invest in them and foster continuous development to make them more productive and efficient. A focus on development also boosts employee loyalty and retention, so you get a team that contributes and stays for the long haul. You can cover these fronts by having an effective sales coaching plan that addresses weaknesses, pushes performance, and motivates sales reps to give their best. While there are no shortcuts to sales coaching, you can achieve optimal results by following some best practices and that is helpful for every manager. Here are the proven ones managers must embrace.
1. Encourage self-evaluation
Coaching your reps should extend beyond skill assessments. The better way to handle assessment is by encouraging self-evaluation, as it makes people more conscious about self-improvement goals. The best part is that it does not involve micromanagement, which is not a great way to lead a team. Moreover, self-assessment boosts awareness and confidence, which reflect on performance and success.
2. Focus on employee well-being
Although employee well-being does not sound like a part of the sales coaching plan, it is actually a crucial factor. Anxiety can affect the performance of the best employees, even if you provide top-notch training. Sales is an inherently stressful job, so you must make stress management a part of the training curriculum. Moreover, educate reps about time management, creating realistic schedules, and achieving a healthy work-life balance.
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3. Record and review sales calls
Training people to sell is all about teaching them the art of conversation and persuasion. Recording and reviewing current calls should be a part of the Sales coaching program as it can help you understand the gaps and address them. Managers can dig deep into conversations, track keywords to pick market trends, and use successful calls as the baseline to coach existing reps and create onboarding material for new ones. The best way to use them is by curating the best and worst examples to guide your team members about the dos and don’ts of selling.
4. Build trust with genuine stories
Earning the trust of your team members is vital to make the coaching program effective as it is the only way you can make them open up about performance challenges. You can build trust by sharing genuine stories of your struggles, failures, and success. It creates an emotional connection with the trainees because they see the manager as one of them. Relatable stories help them to embrace their flaws and work on improving them.
5. Follow one improvement at a time
Effective sales coaching is slow and steady because overwhelming your reps is the last thing you should do as a manager. Pick one improvement at a time, and focus on its time instead of working on multiple areas simultaneously. It reduces the pressure and makes learning easy and enjoyable for trainees. Moreover, the outcomes are measurable with the approach as you focus on one goal and direction.
While there isn’t a tried and tested formula for successful sales coaching, these best practices put you on the right track. The process should be smooth and easy to ensure your sales team shows real progress in the long run.
