Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions: A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives

CHAPTER 1

The Death of Management

BECOMING AN EXECUTIVE SALES COACH

“What is that guy doing?” It was just an odd maneuver. Something out of the ordinary from what would have been a typical everyday experience at the drive-through of a Burger King. I was heading home from a day at the beach, unaware that I’d be having a breakthrough that would lead to the development of the concepts and strategies in this book.

I watched as the customer in front of me drove from the ordering to the pickup window of the drive-through, but it was closed. “How odd,” I thought. Instead of the usual routine, the cashier came outside to deliver the food, headset intact and bags of food in hand. The customer then drove off.

As I pulled up, I wondered if I too would have the same experience. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a digital timer mounted on the wall above the cashier’s head. At that moment, the manager at the drive-through window waved me forward, without my food. “We will bring it out to you. Just pull up, please,” he requested.

The manager sent a young man out to my car who handed me my food. I had to ask: “I’m curious, why did we have to pull up, especially when there was no one behind me?”

“The timer,” he replied. “That’s how the manager is rated in performance. We’re supposed to serve each customer within a certain period of time. By moving everyone ahead like this, he can ...