COACHING AND LEADING FOR INCREASED PERFORMANCE – PART 2Relentlessly Cultivate Potential – Human Potential is not fixed

Prepared by: John Martineauwww.linkedin.com/in/johnmartineau

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COACHING FOR INCREASED PERFORMANCECoaching objectives…Why coaching is critical…What is sales coaching…Coaching fundamentals…Continual education…What you should do…

Coaching objectives

MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF SALES COACHING

Objectives of Coaching Interactions: Help sales representatives become more effective Decrease sales cycle times by providing targeted guidance Improve skills in key areas necessary for success in sales role

Guide sales representative towards next-level performance Share high-performer best practices Increase sales representative engagement within the role

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Why coaching is critical

COACHING IS CRITICAL

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Research indicates that reps who are consistently coached by their managers outperform others by a significant margin

Team Percentage to Goal byCoaching Time per Rep per Month

Perc

enta

ge to

Go

al

Low(<2 Hours per

Rep per Month)

Average(2 to 3 Hours per Rep per Month)

High(3+ Hours per Rep per Month)

n = 2,400

90% 92%

107%

80%

100%

120%

Source: Corporate Executive Board

What is sales coaching

An ongoing and dynamic series of Job-embedded interactions between a Sales Manager and a Sales Representative, designed to diagnose, correct or reinforce behaviors, specific to that Sales Representative.

“… ongoing…”Coaching is not a single event or even a series of events, but a focused continuous improvement effort. Coaches

never “graduate.”“… dynamic…”

Coaching evolves over time as Sales Representatives needs and sales situations change

“… job-embedded…”Unlike training, coaching is integrated real time with day-to-day workflow and directly relevant to actual business

situations“… Sales Managers…”

While managers may offload some coaching to others (e.g., Peers, National Training Manager), they do not

relinquish responsibility for overall Sales Representative development

“… diagnose…specific to that individual”

Coaching is completely customized to the Sales Representative. It targets only relevant and pressing needs

and is tailored to coaches specific personality

“… behaviors…”Coaching is primarily about the application not the

acquisition, of skills and knowledge. It is concerned with doing, not simply knowing.

SALES COACHING DEFINED

Coaching fundamentals

COACHING ON TWO LEVELS

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Type of Session Frequency/Timing• Once a month/quarter• 30-60 minutes• Live, when possible

• Ongoing during field visits, joint calls, etc.

• Over the phone or live when possible

II. Deal-Level Coaching

I. Skill-Based Coaching Session

COACHING SESSION PREPARATION

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Preparation

• Gather and review information on top opportunities, and prepare to discuss details

• Self-assess performance in recent weeks

• Identify areas where you want coaching or assistance

• Review opportunity background

• Discuss strengths, reasons why we should win

• Discuss challenging areas and ideas to improve skills or move opportunities forward

• Agree on next steps• Follow up on previous coaching

Agenda

COACHING COMMUNICATION

Use open-ended questions to identify root causes of performance problems

Ask questions to gauge proficiency in target skill, behavior, or activities

Ask for their ideas on solutions or alternative courses of action

Provide honest feedback in a positive tone and share insights on problem-solving approaches

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COACHING - ASK

Attitude - Manner, disposition, feeling, position with regard to a person or a thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind.Head in the wrong placeFear of FailureOverconfidentLack of confidenceOthers…

Skill – Personal and professional competenceKnowledge – Accumulation of truths and/or facts

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COACHING - ASK

A - AttitudeS - SkillK - Knowledge

ObserveRecordSummarizePlanPrepare questions for sales representative Follow up

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Continual education

CONTINUAL EDUCATION

Build sales representative knowledge through learning:

- assess what are their learning needs

- identify programs that build on strengths

- take initiative, take action, find the needed resources

- actively manage their talent development

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THE NEED FOR ON-GOING EDUCATION

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review:

Only 10% of the population has a learning mind-set. These are the people who seek out and enjoy the learning process. The other 90% of the population are not self directed in their efforts and do not independently seek ways to improve their skills unless it is required.

The other 90% need mandatory continuing education programs in order to improve upon their skills and knowledge base.

It is up to company mangers/leaders to drive the training process for their teams.

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(The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes)

Field visits

FIELD VISITS

The best place to develop your reps is in the field:- observe activities and skill level of your reps- diagnose your reps development level- identify an action plan for skills/talent development

The visit should not conflict with planned activities:- no special planning should be made for your benefit- in order to help them, you need to see a routine day- reps should schedule accordingly when special circumstances arise

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FIELD VISITS - Top five

Proper manager preparation is needed to ensure success

Preplanning for a three day field visitProvide coaching, mentoring, and feedbackPost call review is in orderThe follow-up letter

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FIELD VISITS - Preparation

Provide advanced noticeReview and analyze records:

- Business plan- Performance review- Field visit letters- Sales reports- Contract information

Set objectives for the visit: - What accounts to visit- Desired customer interaction- Sales skill to observe- Sales call or in-service preparation

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FIELD VISITS – PRE PLANNING

Who, what, why, where, when: - Who are we going to see?- What is the objective of the call?- Why are we seeing these people and who else do we need to see?- Where will we meet these people? - When are the appointments?- What role does the rep want me to play in the call?- What else can we accomplish today?

The pre-call planning should be prepared by the rep in writing in order to stay on track and meet the objectives of the day

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FIELD VISIT – COACHING

Clearly state and reinforce what your high expectations are:- low expectations = low results & high expectations = high results

Lead by example with action:- reps who view their managers as credible consider their expectations as realistic and credible

Look for opportunities to reinforce correct behaviors:- you will get more of the same

Encourage and challenge reps in areas of weakness:- saying nothing is typically viewed as negative

Be specific - focus your comments on the individuals behaviors

Resolve any conflicts

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FIELD VISIT - MENTORING

Partner and participate as an experienced and trusted advisor

Remember to use situational leadership:- Shift the emphasis from leader/evaluator to leader/partner and encourager.- adjust your style to individuals level of development.

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FIELD VISIT - FEEDBACK

Review sales plan and current attainment to plan:- is the sales plan being met? Why or why not?

Review territory objectives and their impact on business:- are they realistic and achievable S.M.A.R.T. goals?

Review sales calls and their execution:- were the calls effective and what was accomplished?

Review territory management practices:- are they effective and leading towards the desired outcomes?- suggest needed changes or adjustments that will lead to success.

Be direct - fair - empathetic:- use this as an opportunity to build trust and commitment through praising, reprimanding, and redirection.

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FIELD VISITS – GET INVOLVED

The challenge to develop your people and also have a successful sales call do not always go hand-in-hand

Allowing people to stumble and make mistakes can be a great learning experience as long as it is not at the expense of a sale

Sometimes being a player coach requires that you step in and ensure a successful outcome:- is the reps development experience worth losing the sale over?- will the sale be lost forever or can it be recovered?- if you take over the call will you compromise the reps customer relationship?- will you be compromising the relationship with your rep?

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FIELD VISITS – POST CALL REVIEW

Were the objectives achieved by the rep:Review the objectives of the call, day, visit.

How did the rep perform during the call, day, visit:Provide feedback in the form of praise, redirection, and/or reprimand.

Identify needed follow-up activities that will advance the business

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FIELD VISITS – POST CALL REVIEW

This is a key opportunity to hear from the rep in their own words how they felt the day had gone. It is important to understand what the rep felt was a bad, good, or great day.

To maximize feedback, ask two basic opened ended questions:- Tell me about the day?- What happened today?

Avoid questions that may lead to defensive answers:- How did it go today?- How did we do today?

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FIELD VISITS – POST CALL REVIEW

Listen to the answers that the rep provides to you. If needed, you can drill down further into the details of the day by asking for more thoughts about a clinician call.

During the post call review, talk about the highlights and lowlights of the day and opportunities for further development.

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FIELD VISIT FOLLOW UP LETTER

Give an appropriate personal comment about the visit:- activities from the visit.- praise a specific talent/skill and the outcome- provide feedback on the S.M.A.R.T. goals

Address specific skill areas that need development:- present a behavior that needs improvement.- describe the reason why the behavior should change.- describe suggested ways to improve the skill.

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FIELD VISIT – FOLLOW UP LETTER

Review business objectives:- establish S.M.A.R.T. goals with time frames.- encourage successful outcomes.

End the letter with positives and a call to action:- express your care desire for them reach their objectives.- Let them know that you support them and will help whenever necessary.- Let them know when you plan to have your next visit.

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S.M.A.R.T. GOALSSpecific: the goal states the who, what, when, where, why,

and how.

Measureable: the goal must be quantifiable.

Attainable: the goal needs to be within the persons reach.

Relevant: the goal must be significant to the business.

Trackable: the goal must specify a series of progress milestones.

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Thank YouManage and lead with excellence!