Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020 - 22

and the top performers have minimal
gains in production with coaching. This
is not a surprise as the top performers
are already high achievers, and the
bottom performers may simply not be
on the right career path.
One factor in determining the success
of a sales coaching program is the
level of formality and regularity
enforced by the organization. Some
organizations have a more informal or
random approach to sales coaching
- coaching happens whenever the
opportunity arises.

MANY ORGANIZATIONS
ARE STUCK IN A
PATTERN OF DELIVERING
THE SAME TRAINING
BUT EXPECTING TO SEE
BETTER OUTCOMES.

A best practice is adopting a more
formalized process and coaching
schedule. The strongest results
come from integrating dynamic
coaching components that tailor the
coaching practices to individual or
segment-specific needs. Dynamic
sales coaching showed double digit
improvements in sales performance on
both quota attainment (21.3%) and win
rates (19.0%) over the study's average.

HOW SALES COACHING CAN
ENHANCE SALES TRAINING
So how can we utilize the performance
results from sales coaching to improve
retention rates and impact from sales
training initiatives? Sales coaching can
build on sales training efforts to drive
sustainable performance improvements.
Here are some best practices on
how to incorporate sales coaching
practices into a sales training plan to
drive success:
1 | GET EARLY SALES MANAGER
BUY-IN

Training only pays off when sales
managers are invested and actively

| 22

engaged in helping achieve business
objectives. Organizations need to
ensure that managers not only buy
into the vision but are committed to the
ultimate success of the training initiative.
The first step is to build relationships
with them and make sure that they
understand the business goals the
training seeks to achieve. How will
this help them in their role as a sales
leader? How will this benefit the
organization as a whole?
A key success factor is getting the
managers involved early on in the
process, especially for new initiatives.
A successful practice is to get them
to provide input and help shape the
program. Listen to their feedback,
integrate their suggestions and ask
them what they would need to make
this initiative a success.
Managers are more likely to buy into a
program that they helped design. This
partnership and buy-in will be critical
during the execution and evaluation
stages of the training initiative.
2 | TRAIN THE MANAGERS ON
HOW TO COACH

Not every sales manager was promoted
based on their ability to coach others
but rather on their ability to sell and
drive revenue. And many managers
don't receive the training they need,
because organizations overlook the
importance of sales manager training.
According to Harvard Business
Review, there are two main reasons
why organizations overlook sales
manager training. First, some sales
leaders believe that, because sales
managers were once successful
salespeople, they should be able to
manage salespeople effectively based
on natural instinct. Second, some sales
leaders lack the business justification
to warrant a formal program because
of the expense.
Many sales managers believe that if
they are meeting with and managing
their team members, they are coaching
them. But managing is typically a oneway street while coaching relies on open
communication by both parties. The key

element of success in any coaching
practice is the manager's ability to listen
and guide rather than direct.
Manager training should include
learning how to coach. One of the
world's most popular coaching models
is the GROW model. This model is often
used for problem solving, goal setting
and performance improvement. GROW
is comprised of four elements:
*	 Goal - What do you want to achieve?
*	 Reality - What is the current reality?
*	 Options - What are the available
options?
*	 Will - What action will you take?
Sales managers need to understand
the key elements of coaching in order
to help reinforce a change or drive

https://www.aberdeen.com/cmo-essentials/lets-make-a-deal-best-in-class-sales-training-can-shorten-your-sales-cycle/ https://www.aberdeen.com/cmo-essentials/lets-make-a-deal-best-in-class-sales-training-can-shorten-your-sales-cycle/ https://www.hbr.org/2019/03/why-new-sales-managers-need-more-training https://www.hbr.org/2019/03/why-new-sales-managers-need-more-training

Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020

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