Sales Coaching: Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, 2nd Edition

3Developmental SalesCoaching—The Model

Every sales organization needs salespeople who can analyze situations, think through solutions, use good judgment, and execute successfully. Telling salespeople what to do may get them to do that particular thing, but the impact stops there, and an opportunity for real development is lost.

Directing salespeople in what to do rather than eliciting their perceptions and ideas can seem more time-efficient—in the short run. But it comes at a cost. It's a boomerang solution in that sales-people who haven't had to think through what is blocking the desired performance will turn to you as the answer source over and over again. Also, without giving their input, they are much less likely to feel ownership of the ...