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

CHAPTER 9

Facilitating an Effective Coaching Conversation

PREPARING FOR THE COACHING SESSION

Coaching is an organic conversation. The greatest coaching sessions often start with focus on a specific agenda, then can evolve naturally to a different agenda entirely, depending on the flow of the conversation and the root of the issues at hand.

When it comes to structuring a coaching session with someone, like anything else, the pendulum of preparation can swing both ways. Too much structure and rigidity inhibits creativity, flexibility, and the ability of the coach to quickly shift gears and expose a new opportunity that did not exist before, whereas too little structure can lead to unfocused conversations with little substance, especially with a salesperson who has a tendency to pontificate, dominate conversations, skirt or avoid certain issues or questions, and talk in circles.

If you recall from previous chapters, it is the client or the person you are coaching who creates the agenda, not the coach. This chapter covers the delicate balance of preparation and structure that you can use for every coaching session you facilitate. This proven approach will maximize the value that each salesperson will experience during every coaching session.

THE ANATOMY OF A COACHING SESSION

The following steps to take in a coaching session are more guidelines than concrete, rigid laws. After ...