Sales management is an art that requires thoughtful and effective communication between coaches and sales teams. Experienced sales coaches understand the importance of a clearly defined coaching plan for each individual team member, as well as the role of a proper diagnostic tool for measurement of performance. If not approached right, coaching can be ineffective and even counterintuitive, resulting in reactive instead of proactive coaching. For this reason, developing a clear game plan for coaching is essential to ensure success in sales management. In this article, we explore the importance of a clear coaching game plan in sales management and the benefits that come along with it.
Sales coaches establish individual team member goals
Before diving into coaching, it’s important to establish clear goals and expectations for every sales team member. This helps to get everyone on board, working towards a common goal, and helps to monitor progress. Establishing goals should be done together with the sales team, taking into account individual goals and existing challenges in the business. This way, each team member has a specific target and the coaching strategy can be tailored in a way that helps each individual achieve their goals. Having clearly defined individual sales goals also means each member can be held accountable for their actions. There is a common misconception that this is a tool for firing the wrong salespeople, but this is so far from the truth. It is all about enabling each team member to be as successful as possible and ensuring the burden of proof sits with both the sales individual and the sales manager.
Customised coaching
Not every sales team member learns or operates the same way. It is therefore important to customise the approach for each team member. Understand your team’s learning style, level of motivation, and how each of them best responds to coaching. Involve them in the coaching process and ask what specific areas they want to improve. Make use of the ‘tenant tiers’ analogy we discussed previously to simplify the process. Customised coaching goes a long way in increasing motivation, engagement, and ownership among the sales team.
Sales coaches provide regular feedback
As important as setting goals and customised coaching strategies are, regular feedback is essential. This helps to track progress, adjust coaching strategies, provide constructive criticism, and acknowledge wins. Feedback and check-ins should be done routinely with measurable metrics and clear expectations. This keeps the team motivated and focused on achieving their goals, helps to identify pain points faster, and helps to close performance gaps quickly.
Sales coaches measure progress
The final step in developing a clear coaching game plan in sales management is measuring progress and results. Setting measurable metrics is crucial in identifying specific areas that need improvement and determining if team members are making progress towards their set goals. By doing this, coaches and team members can celebrate wins, refine coaching strategies when necessary, and continuously improve performance.
Developing a clear coaching game plan in sales management is critical to achieving success in sales. By setting clear expectations, customising coaching plans, regular feedback, and measuring progress, sales coaches can help sales teams be more productive, motivated, and effective. When approached with a well-thought-out coaching game plan, expectations can be better aligned, performance can be improved, and sales goals can be achieved. When you have a clear plan in place, with measurable metrics and regular feedback, the responsibility of your actions and efforts can be directly measured against your intentions. Clarity is key for sales coaches. Without it, sales coaches will be constantly trying to put out fires, instead of ensuring each individual stays on track for success.
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