Sell More With Sales Coaching: Practical Solutions for Your Everyday Sales Challenges

Chapter 1

Ensuring Your Sales Coaching Gets Results

Salespeople sell more when they’re coached effectively and regularly.

Results prove sales coaching increases sales, the Harvard Business Review has reported on it, and the Sales Executive Council documents it. Yet, you may be wondering how it works in your world.

Picture this: You have a new salesperson on your team. Joe’s an average-performing sales guy, and you’re about to have your first sales coaching session with him. He’s just finished a sales interaction with a potential client, Susan. He’s done some things well, and he’s done some things that need improvement (like most salespeople).

Here’s what the line graph of his sales behaviors with Susan looks like:

The high point on Joe’s sales behavior curve represents the most effective behaviors he engaged in with Susan. These include:

• Asking some great discovery questions.
• Providing relevant information at the ideal time in the conversation.
• Remembering to set the agenda for the next time they meet.

The low point represents the least effective behaviors Joe demonstrated with Susan. These involve:

• Forgetting to ask Susan which product solutions her company had tried unsuccessfully.
• Agreeing the product he suggested was expensive without illustrating its valuable ROI.
• Not sharing the success story of a client with a similar issue to Susan’s company.

Despite Joe’s efforts, ...