What is Sales Coaching?
And so the articles in HBR, Forbes, Inc., and Fast Company continue...
Blogs in which consultants pontificate on the benefits of coaching in sales seem to have grown exponentially. Everywhere I turn, there is something to hear or read on why sales coaching is so important:
We are not complaining here at the Institute, but rather pleased that coaching is getting more attention. Like most markets, the more attention they receive, the more awareness there is to products and services offered within the market. The challenge is to understand what sales coaching is and how it is best done. (Tweet this)
We have visited with companies who are doing “coaching training,” which involved training managers on how to do pipeline reviews and teach sales people how to forecast accurately.
Well guess what? Our research would show that a poor manager spending more time with sales people executing an activity (such as a pipeline review) can inhibit sales performance. Yes, organizations are unknowingly training managers on how to squelch their team’s performance. (Tweet this)
A quick note on our research:
Through our coaching cloud software, we have tracked over 100,000 manager/sales person coaching interactions to date. We have surveyed nearly 10,000 sales people, front-line managers, and executive sales leaders. Five days a week we are on the phone with sales leaders from across the world; teaching, educating, listening to challenges and successes. Does this mean we know it all? Of course not, which is why we continue to research all levels of people in many departments across all industries.
Sales Coach vs. Sales Manager
We use the word “coach” to not only describe activities, but also use it to describe the role. Without going into detail, a coach better defines what it takes to continually grow a team of people. Great coaches know how to lead, they know how to motivate, strategize, plan, and manage (when appropriate).
Let’s now do a quick synopsis of the role of a coach and why coaching matters.
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