My HERO———–Perry Mason!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Coach Hughes

OK, I am certainly dating myself, but I was very, very young when I watched Perry Mason at my home as a child. At the time, I didn’t realize the similarities that Perry had with being a sales manager. However, after watching some re-runs as well as being a sales manager myself, I finally figured out why Perry Mason was so good. Do you know?

His probing techniques!! As you know, a prosecuting attorney is not allowed to make statements except in his opening or closing. Everything in between needs to be in the form of a question. If it is not in the form of a question, it most often is greeted with an “Objection!” from the defense lawyer.

We probably all became pretty good at this as sales people. After all, one of the qualities of a good sales rep is their probing skills. Well, good news! It is also an imperative skill in being a good sales manager and an effective coach! It’s not always easy to “steer” discussions the way you want by only using questions, but don’t despair. You will get good at it, and your effort will be rewarded with a sales person who learns how to get things done and can repeat it, versus the one that was told, and needs to be told again, and again, etc…..

OK, if I was so good at it as a rep, why am I having trouble now? Well, first, telling someone what to do or how to handle a concern is easier and less time consuming then questions. Next time imagine someone in the “Coaching” session with you and whenever you do that, imagine a very loud…”OBJECTION!” The judge will ask you to rephrase. Now you have to take the time to figure out what questions to ask which will help the rep learn what you wanted to tell them.

In the beginning this is difficult, and it takes more time to get the same thing done. It’s just like taking a golf or tennis lesson, or probably anything else that requires education.

I may be able to hit a golf ball, but I am certainly not consistent. I have taken golf lessons and every time, I go out to play and use their coaching, my shots are even worse.
Why? Is the coaching wrong? Is it I may not be using the new techniques correctly? Do I go back to my old way and never get better? Maybe I should stick with this new way, and improve on the coaching?

Of course, the only way to get better at golf, or coaching is to keep trying to do it right.

So, practice getting your rep to the right area by using questions. Don’t worry if they look at you perplexed with “Where is this going?” Laugh it off and try again.

To become an effective coach and receive one free coaching session, contact us at www.salesleadershipconsultinig.com

Good Luck and Good Coaching!

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Coaching your team on the use of Social Media

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Coach Hughes

Coaching your Sales team on Social Media!

Congratulations! You are one of the few sales managers who have really taken the time to understand the value of social networks as they apply to business. You must be excited about how your team is using it and how it is helping to fill the pipeline.

Oh, you’re not one of those? Your sales team is not utilizing social networks consistently across your team? Are other sales teams in your company using it? How did they get to that point?

Well, unless your company has put together some “How’s, Why’s and Standard’s, “then you are on your own!

So, how do you coach your sales team to be a higher performer using this tool?

First, make sure your boss doesn’t have any plans that you may not be aware of at this time.
Second, don’t try to be an expert! Your role here is to determine that this is something you know would be valuable to your team in meeting your goals.

Third, check with your team. What is their opinion? Are some of them trying it?
No matter how many different opinions you have, you will want to lead a discussion that handles their concerns and provides information on the benefits. All you have to do is Google that term and choose the responses you can use.

Next, run a workshop on the subjects with the clear goal for the team to choose one social media tool to start. (I highly suggest LinkedIn) Ask each team member to come to the meeting with one feature LinkedIn offers to help grow your business. Have the team review the items. Ask them to start with some of these ideas. Gain agreement on what the steps are, which can be skipped if they have already done this:
1) Get a free linked in account
2) Determine a standard for how each reps profile will look
3) Choose two action items from all of the ideas discussed which may be a good way to start. (I suggest that everyone go through the process of getting 15 connections on LinkedIn before the next meeting.)
4) Ask them to IM you, text you, email you, whatever you are using, the total number of first and second level connections until the next meeting. Help them see the exponential growth.
5) The second “to-do” is about the information available even without the connections. Ask them to bring to their next meeting 10 new contacts in accounts they currently call on, but do not know. Ask them if any of these people would be valuable in their sales efforts. (Editors note—this may be a great time to introduce them to the concepts in Jim Holden’s “Power Base Selling.”
In summary, choose a tool, brainstorm with the team, and practice a few things to let them get their hands dirty, summarize and define next steps.

You want to make sure that you encourage the team to bring other ideas on how to use LinkedIn at future meetings, and, as the Sales Manager, don’t be afraid to reach out to some “experts” and ask them to a staff meeting to help your team with more ideas.

Each idea, if the team supports it should have an action plan.

By the way, this model can be copied and used on any subject you think is important to your team and, which you may not have the expertise. As the facilitator, you can get the best ideas from your team, determine where they are on the subject, let them share what they currently do, and then determine standards for the whole team.

Even if the standards they set are low, ask them to make it happen, and as you see fit, you may want to ask about a higher goal.

KEY POINT! Don’t let your level of knowledge stop you from leading your team to use better tools! Good Coaching!

Coach Hughes

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Forget about the “model”, what does it really take to have an effective Coaching Environment?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Coach Hughes

The REAL work behind an effective coaching environment!

OK, so you have read a lot of articles. You are convinced that managers who coach effectively are more consistently successful. (In other words their success is not attributed to a superstar sales rep or fantastic negotiating skills for their annual budget with your boss!)

You want to implement a coaching environment, but since it’s not being done across your whole team you have some concerns. There are a lot of articles out there, many of them are very knowledgeable, but you get the sense they are models and not real world.

Well, let me alleviate your fears. Those models are not complete!! You will face many challenges other than just learning a new way to ask questions.

It’s true, that once you have the right model, and fully understand your goals, that coaching is quite easy. The part most people don’t tell you is that there is quite a bit of work you need to do to create an effective coaching environment. It is WORK!

However, having been in your position, I can assure you that if you take the time to invest in creating this environment, you WILL free some time up, increase your forecasting skills and accuracy, improve your pipeline and win more deals!

So, what comes first? Before you tell your team about the changes you are going to make in your feedback process, you have to be prepared.

So, first make sure you understand the model for coaching. It’s no different than any model you learned for selling. The difference is that this time your audience is the sales rep, not the client. It’s actually the easiest part of coaching as long as you remember that self discovery is a much better learning tool then being told.

Second, define the work to a much better level of detail then is in the typical HR review form. Typically the HR review form does not discuss skills and knowledge you want your team to have. For example, is there a place to speak about account/territory planning? If that is an issue, how do you bring it up? A Performance Requirement Document for Sales includes that item and allows you to define your level of expectation for a “3” performance, or any level you choose. As an example, you can have the completed Sales Review Document I used at our website.

http://salesleadershipconsulting.com/Promotion.php

The most difficult requirement for effective training is TRUST. You have to have their trust when you coach, because otherwise they feel like it’s a setup and they won’t be honest. Trust is earned. One of the prizes for being trustworthy is honesty from your team. Without honesty, your coaching may be wasted.

So, how do you earn trust? There is no one answer, no magic pill, but there are so many landmines that you could easily be stepping on them. So, here are a few suggestions on building trust:
1) Ask yourself, are you honest with them? Do you say some things to one sales rep and not to others? I’m not talking about individual performance; I’m talking about news, decisions, etc….
2) Ask them! What things do I do that appear as not being honest? You may be doing some things you think are perfectly logical, but appear as being untrustworthy. You have to exhibit trust before you can expect it from them.
3) What do you do to defend/protect your sales people? This is a slippery slope. You have to do this while still being 100% above board.
4) “No Surprises!!!!” You don’t want to surprise them with good or bad news, and you don’t want surprises from them.
5) Give direction, and take responsibility for those that follow it and do not succeed.
6) Generate ideas with your boss, your teammates and HR because we cannot come up with all of the ideas here and we cannot come up with specific activities that your management team does without being there.

You will never have complete trust, but if there is anything they are looking for from you, everyday, is trust.

OK, you know the model you will use, you have a document to review with your reps, and you have assessed that you may have some work to do on trust. Make sure you have buy in on the work you will be doing with your boss and the HR manager. Your boss may not care as long as you make your numbers, but they will know what you did if the numbers improve under your watch. Hr will support you as long as they don’t think you are using a new tool to get rid of people. This may be tough because that may be the result, but if it is, you have much better documentation then you have ever had. Stand your ground! Finally it’s time to implement an old IBM phrase that they applied to presentations and training:

“Tell ‘em what you are gonna tell’em, tell’em, tell’em what you told ‘em.”

Show them the tool you are going to use. The purpose is to make sure I help you become a better sales rep. I don’t mean to lengthen a sales cycle, or give you more work to do, but to help you learn how to make your numbers more easily and to make more money. The objective is simple. I want to ask you at the end of the year if you think you are a better sales rep. If the answer is yes, I hope I contributed. I win by making sure that all of you are better then you were at the beginning of the year. Each of you are different, so development discussions will be different, but I hope to tailor what we work on to meet your goals. I may also ask you to share some of your successes and the great skills you have which contribute to your success.

OK, you’re ready. Start small, one call per rep and tell them up front what you are going to do and how you want to help. IMPORTANT TACTIC, which you told them at the kickoff but you have to reinforce before you go on the call. You need to tell them that you are not going to focus on everything you do well or that you do wrong. If there is something major, you may bring it up, but this particular call I will focus on coaching you in the following area, which we agreed ahead of time is one of your strengths, and the other skill or knowledge area which we agreed is an area of development. So, don’t worry about the whole call. Do your best, and let’s focus on those skills afterwards.

Now, make sure they have a goal for the call, and go watch!

Good Coaching!

For more details and to experience an effective coaching call, contact us. We would be happy to “Coach” one of your reps while you observe.

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Coaching Senior Sales People

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Coach Hughes

How do I coach Senior Sales People?

When most of us became sales managers for the first time, we all (almost) thought it was because we were good sales people and obviously, my boss wanted me to turn this team into a group of people like me!

OK, you are laughing now, but how many of you thought that was the reason and the goal? Let’s raise our hands! No one is looking!…………………….AH HA! I knew it.

There are a lot of reasons you got promoted. There are a lot of reasons you are now a sales manager. How many of you know specifically why? Ask your boss!

Now, before we go down all the good things to do to make sure you are an effective coach, let’s get to today’s question. How do I coach Senior Sales People?

It is significantly easier than you think if you practice some of the key behaviors that an excellent coach practices everyday.
1) Do you constantly and visibly demonstrate that your sales people can trust you? Across the board. You do not need to share information with your senior person that you don’t share with others. THAT does not earn trust. You know why? Right, the first question they are asking is if he/she is sharing that with me, what is he/she sharing behind my back.
2) Assuming you have trust, make sure everyone on the team understands the value you bring to the table generally, and in one on ones, clarify what value you can bring to the table for this person. For example, it might be industry knowledge, sales skills, visibility, etc…..
3) If you have trust, and you have gained agreement with the senior sales rep as to what they want to do, this year, next year, and beyond, then you need to gain agreement on where you and they will spend time coaching.
4) When coaching a senior sales rep, we are going to assume that sales skills are not the issue. However, you know how we spell ass u me! So test your assumption. Maybe they have been able to close deals without the need to do a presentation in front of a large group. That might be a skill they want to improve. If they do, you have your first area in which to build a coaching relationship. Either do it yourself, or make sure you find a way which will allow this person to get better.
The other assumption we need to make, is that this person DOES have a career progression in which they want to achieve and it may mean different behavior. What do they want, and how can you help.
5) Another assumption you have to test is, “Are they coachable?” This means a discussion on what kind of coaching they may need. Let them take the lead. Dare them, jokingly, to tell you they don’t need any. In which case you may suggest some coaching on “ego management.” You get the point. Hopefully these people are senior because they can sell, and they are smart. A simple question about how much money are you going to make this year can kick off a good coaching session on setting personal goals for yourself.
6) Once some of these discussions are held, make sure you stick to your commitments and put situations in place which will allow you to coach and advance their career.

Another example is that it took me a while that even though someone is a senior sales rep that they MAY not have great skills in all the area. Don’t, I repeat don’t try to focus on those areas. Just because you think you may have a better way is not the right way to start this coaching relationship. If they are good, focus on what they do well. Focus on what they think they do well and reinforce it. If you find things to be added to that skill to make it even better, phrase it as a question. “You know, Bill, that was very good the way you asked them to explain the problem and then you lead them back to quantify the benefit. One of the things I have seen done before is keeping a “T” chart where you put costs and benefits the customer provides. Have you ever tried that?”

If they have, how did it go. If not, would you like to try that technique?

Bottom line on Coaching and particularly on coaching senior sales people, don’t tell them how to do it better. That implies you are smarter than they are. Discuss the subject, ask for ideas on how to improve and/or throw out an idea or two that you have used/seen. Be upfront! YOU do NOT know all the answers. But, you have ideas that may or may not work. You don’t want to push an idea down their throat.

Final Point!
When you are the Coach, you may think it is your job to fix every problem as soon as possible. The fastest way is in telling them how to do it. If you need help in fully understanding why that is NOT a good idea, then call me.

Food for thought. The next time you are on a call with your rep, and you feel the urge to interrupt and help this person, then think of two things: First, if you blow this, it will be all your fault! LOL! Second, how important is it to change behavior by telling right now? John Wooden won 7 NCAA Basketball championships in a row. He didn’t understand why teams took time outs except to take a breath. He had done all his coaching before the game. If he had not prepared his people on what to do on every situation, then he failed there, not trying to get their attention during a timeout. In each situation, the team knew what they had to do next and they went out and did it!

Is your team as well prepared as John Wooden’s team?

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Competitive Coaching

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Coach Hughes

Competitive Coaching

We all struggle with selling against the competition. Even if we figured out some best strategies and tactics as sales people, how do you coach your sales team to win these competitive battles? Should everyone do it the way you did it? You were great! But why? One of the most important steps in transitioning from a great sales rep to a great sales manager is understanding the difference between being competent, or even great, to a conscious competent. In other words, not just being able to do it, but understanding how it was done so you can teach it.
By now, you certainly have learned that you can’t afford the time to handle each competitive situation with each of your reps forecasted business. You have also learned that the competition is not behaving the same way each time. So, what made you successful in competitive situations?
There is no ONE answer. As you know, it is a combination of things that eventually help you win a competitive situation. The key is have you done all these things? I use to say, “Have you outsold your competition,” but that misleads people. The real question is have you met the needs of the client better than the competition? Do you know the business problem better so that your proposal resonates with the prospect better than theirs?
I was a sales manager in a very competitive situation where two different companies had the exact same product set. It was clear that each organization would recommend the same product, unless one of us did a better job of explaining that we knew what they wanted, we knew the kind of relationship the prospect was looking for at this time, and that they wanted a “partner” to move into the future on this deal and all future deals. Our competitor did not take the time to learn these things. As a result, the rep put together a much better proposal that discussed all of the prospects needs. As a matter of fact, our team actually proposed the same brand, but different models which the prospect thought was a better fit, met their needs more effectively, and fit into their future plans. As a result, we won the deal.
The key to this competitive win, as well as the ones you won as a rep, was better questioning, better understanding of the business needs, not just the technical needs, and expressing a solution that fit their idea of a vendor relationship.
In this case, we already had the product knowledge, so we knew what the “competition” could do. However, when competing against a different vendor with a different brand of solution, somewhere knowledge needs to be obtained.
Once again, how did you do it, and/or how would you have liked to see it done when you were a rep?
Having been a sales rep and sales manager, I have seen it done many different ways. As a sales manager you may have your favorite way that is already working. However, let me toss out this idea on how to make your team more effective in competitive selling then most other teams.
1) Recognize and empathize with all of the product information your team needs to know at the present time!
2) Identify a sales rep on your team who has recently won a competitive deal and knows why!
3) If this is not available, help a top rep win a competitive deal.
4) Ask this person to share with the team the information they had which allowed them to win.
5) Ask the team if it was valuable? If yes:
6) Ask/assign other competitors to the other reps.
7) Ask each of them to do some homework and develop a competitive profile. Over time establish a standard for what information should be there, and what is a waste of time.
8) Ask these people to do an overview, and then to update us with anything new as required.
9) Make this resource available to other teams. (Good visibility to your teammates.)
10) Get permission from your peers to allow this “expert” to hold interviews for any losses. This is also good training for future sales managers on how to run a “loss review.”
11) Maintain and reward people for doing a good job and help with recognition.
Coaching in a competitive environment means asking questions of your sales team to get answers to the kinds of things you did in the past. You cannot be a competitive expert yourself, or know all the right questions because you have been out of the “Sales Rep” role for some amount of time. The competition changes their tactics and strategies. Teach your sales team to learn about the competition by asking the right questions of your client, and in understanding their tactics in other deals.

Good Coaching!
Coach Hughes

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Happy New year and Happy Anniversary?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Coach Hughes

Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations! You made it through another year, and hopefully you have your sales management job again this year! (If not, I can recommend some other blogs like CareerHMO.com)

So, it’s the beginning of a new year. If it was your wedding anniversary what would you do different today? We all know that being a sales manager is like being the head of a family. Everyday it feels like you are delivering the same message to your reps and to your family. So, if that is the case, what do your kids want on their birthday, or your spouse on an anniversary? LOVE! Your goal in both cases is to have your “family” grow this coming year and not have to be told what to do all the time. You want to help them make better decisions, to know how to use you for advice, and to learn how to trust. You can’t do that, and they won’t listen if they don’t think you care about them! Call it LOVE, call it the warm fuzzies, call it whatever you want, but your behavior has to reinforce that and not give them doubt.

How could you give them doubt, even if it is by accident:
-Your “favorite” child/rep always gets the best toy.
-There are layoff rumors and you don’t take some time to explain any impact on the employee.
- You are in constant communication with your “Favorite” and don’t help the younger ones with their needs
- There are times for recognition and despite the work of one of your employees, they don’t feel like you ever recognize them.
- The budgeting/allowance process doesn’t seem fair.
- etc…..

So, don’t make those mistakes.

Next, take the proactive approach to build the environment for the New Year. Remember, most managers take this time to do a lot of “telling.” Whether you are the youngest, or the most senior, most people don’t like to be “told” what to do, and it only gets worse with age. So, this is a good time to listen. Remember, making decisions and telling do not have to be the same thing. You can be the decision maker and still listen. You can be the leader and listen as well as creating an environment where the “team” discusses the overall problem and how the team can respond.

One of my favorite authors is James Patterson. One of his story lines is about a detective with 10 children and he is about to lose his wife. Because of the environment they had established when Mom got sick, she gave the kids some assignments. They could accomplish them any way they wanted. The first night Alex Cross got home after the assignments he found 10 kids all working together to get things done, and then all of them in bed by 8:30. How did this happen? Think about setting generic goals (Yearly Quota) and not having to tell your reps how to get it done. Would they perform like the Cross family? What has to happen for your group to perform that way?
Well, it requires full knowledge of what “good” behavior looks like. How to work as a team. How to accomplish “TASKS” that lead to successful completion of the work.

John Wooden, one of the best “Coaches” ever, had a philosophy that nothing needed to be discussed in a “time out.” He never called a time out, and when the other team did, they used it as a resting break and did not panic on the next thing to do. Why? How did he do that. He believed, and his teams did as well, that they had practiced every scenario that could happen and the skills of each team member so they KNEW what to do. They were prepared and they knew it. If there was any chance they saw something new that they had not been prepared, then it didn’t help much to come up with something new then. He won so many championships with so many different players because they practiced, and they were taught to be leaders. He could not save them on the court (or you in a sales call) but he made sure they were prepared. Is your team that well prepared?

Now is the time to build more trust, to show them you care, and to begin/start a program for your team to make sure that everyone is prepared for what will happen in the real world.

Good Selling!

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Exclusive-A tool to help you become a better coach!

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Coach Hughes

EXCLUSIVE—Becoming a better coach!!!

Coaching is clearly the buzzword for the next few years. Why? Simply because all of us are facing competition where the product is not the only differentiators. Price is not the differentiators, and even making sure our sales people sell “Solutions” is not a clear enough differentiator.
With buyers using the web far more than before for information gathering, simply training salespeople on products and services is not enough.
Today, and for quite a time in the future, sales people need to be adaptable. They need to know the products and services they offer, but in many cases they need to know how these products and services work in tandem with other tools that deliver the solutions they want to deliver.
To do this, basic training is still important, and coaching sales reps to improve their knowledge, skills, and adaptability are important. However, if a sales manager can not create an effective coaching environment, then why coach? If a sales manager does not know how to create standards, so when they coach they can refer to standards that all members of the team buy into, then why coach? If a sales manager has not developed TRUST, then how can their coaching be effective, so why coach?
It is very important to be an effective coach today. Even if it means that there are going to be new approaches that you and the rep learn at the same time. A Coach does not know all the answers. A coach IS smart enough to know where they can add effective value and where they may need support from another coach. For example, many top quarterbacks in the NFL have coaches. Specific “Quarterback” coaches to help the QB insure they are practicing the right skills, are prepared for the competition, and knows which skills they can consistently use to win, and when their developmental skills will be tested. HOWEVER, sometimes these quarterback coaches are replaced, or supplemented with another person’s point of view. Why is that done? Simple! What if the Head Coach changes the team strategy and the QB’s job description. The existing coach may not be able to contribute. Heck, the sales rep, excuse me, QB might not be able to contribute as well to the new plan. The bottom line is that “Coaching” requires skills and just like anything else, when the coaching and the player are in synch, they can utilize their best skills and develop the most important ones to win.
Coaching a sales rep begins and ends with trust.
One of the most important aspects of trust is no surprises. Tell your team what you are attempting to accomplish. Role-play your part of this work for them, and then ask them to role-play with you.
The best way adults learn is by observation and experience. Class time, lecture time, “telling” them what to do will not make any lasting change and you will be doing the work all over again.
(Brief Advertisement) There are a lot of ways to learn how to be a better coach, but the best way is for someone to watch your techniques on the field, oops, in the field, and the provide effective coaching. One of the biggest advantages of working with Sales Leadership Consulting, is we provide you in field coaching. We model the behaviors we are trying to help you learn by modeling the coaching experience for you while coaching you on your performance.If you really want to develop your sales team on how to be successful, then you need to be a better coach. You need to be able to brainstorm with many different smart people, read a lot, practice what you preach, and work with a Coach trainer who does all of the same things.
After Trust, what do you need to do next before implementing a coaching environment?

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Delivering the message! How can we effectively coach this requirement?

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Coach Hughes

Delivering the message!
How do you coach people to deliver effective messages?

This has got to be one of the most important training roles a sales manager has on their plate!

How is it done in most organizations though? Product training is delivered. Sometimes presentation skills are trained. Most of the time, we observe a rep presenting and afterwards we recommend they attend a class. They may even do that, but you are still not impressed with their presentation skills. Now you wonder if they can do the job.

You help your team by making sure everyone on your team can deliver an “elevator Pitch” or a “Two minute Drill” on the corporate message. They become pretty good at that, but it goes no farther.

Does any of this sound familiar?

From my experience it certainly does. After a dozen years of managing sales teams and quite a few in sales training, I have tried to merge the reality of a sales manager’s role, and the time pressure with the skills of people with degrees in education, but not enough “line” experience.

Here is what I have come up with in how to “Coach” reps on better delivery of messages.
1) Ask your sales team to define standards for what an average rep should be able to do. Can an average rep: deliver an effective
2 minute drill on the corporate overview?
2) Can this same sale rep do it for any other messages, i.e. Product overview, competitive differences, services overview, reference selling, etc…
3) Can an average sales rep give a presentation (10-15 minutes) using a tool to add visual cues and improve the relationship with the prospect? Do you and your team understand the standards to be able to say yes or no to that question. If not, define them.

These three are just an example of how you start. Expand on this work and define the difference between an Average Rep and a rep who should be on a performance review, or the super star, or better yet, the rep that is just one level above the average rep. This will also define for you and the team what level they have to perform at to be considered for promotion.

After you have developed “standards” with rep input, start holding them to it. Identify sales calls where you will simply observe and coach afterwards. Identify some of your best, and ask them to deliver it to your sales team as a role play. They get noticed for doing something well, and you get to see them and others “Practice.” Once you have the standard of practice going on, encourage your reps to practice with each other when they need to. It doesn’t have to be at your sales meeting. It doesn’t have to be during a busy day. However, if you see two or three reps practicing a new presentation during work hours, then congrats! This is certainly one of the steps you have just integrated into their work which will result in a higher performing team.

Many people say there are good presenters and those that can’t.
I don’t believe that any of those people (who can’t) are in sales. One of the number one roles for us in sales is to be an excellent communicator. If we are, then we know how to listen, we know how to watch the non-verbal cues during our presentations, we know how to ask questions, etc… Now all we need to do is take those skills and apply them to the delivery method. It may mean learning a few new skills, like when you deliver the message to a large audience, you do not use open ended questions (unless you intend on it being rhetorical.) What you do add to your message are yes and no questions where people can raise their hands. You can ask questions to measure acceptance like asking them to clap for the solution they think would work best.

Our role as sales managers is to help the sales team get better. We may not know how to “teach” each skill, but we all know what it looks like. Help your sales people practice what “looks” good to you. Don’t do it for them.
Have them practice, give them challenges, but help them get the work done so they are better prepared for the “Real World”

Good Coaching!
Jim

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How do you “Coach” through the Holidays?

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Coach Hughes

How do YOU coach your reps on dealing with the Holiday objection.

Happy Holidays!  All of us have had a myriad of experiences which can allow you to come to your own conclusions on this topic.  There are certainly arguments on why this is a very difficult time of year to sell.  However, as sales managers, our job is to make sure that this general attitude does not impact the reps on your team who CAN win business during this time. 

Once again, rather then coaching our team to a higher performance, we can always tell them what they should be doing.  When we “Tell” them, we improve the odds of them going directly to that task.  We improve the chances that we won’t lose the deal because they assumed the prospect would not make a decision.  However, by telling them what to do, we run multiple risks. 1) If they try your idea and fail, it will be because your idea was wrong and it had nothing to do with any other factor. 2) You might tell them, but if they win or lose, it may not be something they really learn and can apply to any other sales role they have. 3) You may have helped them understand why this customer, in this situation, in this timeframe may still be interested and is willing to make a “buy” decision, but what about the next situation with different factors?

As we have discussed, “Coaching” is all about helping people understand what they do now, and what they can do differently to win more deals.  If we are helping them learn, as well as making sure they do the work you think is necessary at this time, it’s all about the questions you ask and how you ask them.

This conversation can start in a number of ways, but most often it occurs during the forecast discussion.  Whichever way it is brought up, let’s assume that on November 30th, you have just discovered that a very large order your rep was forecasting for December now shows up on the January Forecast.  What’s your first question besides, “What the %&*@!?  Unlike me, you may simply ask why this item moved into January.  Of course you can get all types of answers, and many may be valid, but let’s stay on topic.  This means the answer is “They are just too busy to be able to focus on this.  The VP is on vacation for a week, and they may even close some things down the week between Christmas and New Years.”

Obviously, this sales rep is assuming that given all of those conditions, getting the order approved, and processed is NOT very probable.  Sound familiar?

OK, now it’s our turn to coach!  Let’s use that vast experience you have had as a rep, or manager somewhere else.

Let’s begin with the obvious:

“I thought the prospect said they wanted to get this done in December.  What happened?

Or “When is the end of their fiscal year?  If it’s not December it might move out and we should have qualified this.  If it is December, is their still money set aside for this budgeted item?  Then we better get it!”

“What’s going to happen to the money in January?  What’s going to happen to the decision maker in January? 

If this project had a timetable, what will happen if it is delayed by another month?

Are you concerned that the funding may go somewhere else in January?  What other key projects are they developing?

Let’s look at it from the risk factor.  1) Will an order in January be able to get the same type of delivery schedule?  Will resources we had committed to this project not have the same availability in January?  Have you reviewed this change with your cross functional team, and have they agreed to the delay?  If not, have you informed your prospect of that risk?

Of course there are specific questions you can ask about the procurement process and helping them to learn to ask about “time off” that could impact the order.  Finally, I want to mention one example of using forecasting as a competitive advantage.

I worked for IBM for a while.  During that time I observed the push, the pressure, the strange things IBM did to make sure an order came in during December.  Later, when I was a competitor to IBM and worked for a company that had a June fiscal end, I forecasted my IBM competitive business in January.  I also explained to the customer why they were not ready to make a decision, the work that needed to be done, and any vendor who would try to push you for a decision in December was not after YOUR best interests.  We won a fair amount of business in January.

So, help them by “Coaching” them on the concerns and opportunities at this time of year.

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Does anyone want my Job?

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Coach Hughes

Does anyone want your job?

What makes someone want your job?  Well, there are people outside who want to do it because they have done a similar job.  However, they don’t really know your job.

There are people in your current organization who may want your job.  As a matter of fact, a friend of mine recently wrote a blog that provides “6 Killer Tips to Get Promoted to Sales Manager.” http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MufCl&m=ImtINTCmxYg9P8&b=NLLX0BDzLQlU3TjYFt8AEA

However, I believe we have the opposite problem.  Based on the work reps see sales managers doing their general inclination is “I don’t want that job?”

Why is that?  Well, first of all there are already many reps that got promoted and they actively complain about the work. “It’s not as fun”  It’s not fun because as a sales rep I had much better control of my time.  As a sales rep, a good one, I knew my job and could get up and know how to go about it.  As a sales manager there are so many new things to learn, that the job is more stressful.  One of the biggest forms of stress is also the number one complaint.  “Too much paperwork!”  There are not many reps that yearn for a job with more paperwork.  That’s not how we are made.

It can’t be the money; for the most part reps make more than sales managers. (The good ones)

It must be the recognition.  No, because as a manager you know that the recognition must go to the feet on the street.  It must be the goal achievement.  No, because even though it is nice to make your numbers, again the real credit goes to the rep.

So, what is it that makes sales managers good at their job, makes it look fun, and gives reasons for sales reps to consider sales management?

Coaching and developing their people!!!

Of all the work you need to do as a manager, this is the one thing that is squarely in your control and where you are the largest influencer!  Imagine the pride when your team makes their goal, and they each get credit, but the credit you get is that most people didn’t think that group of people could achieve their goals.  The growth you gave each rep is what allowed the achievement.  Each sales rep on your team got better, and everyone knows why.

So, instead of 6 Killer Tips for reps to get promoted, let me identify the 6 Critical things sales managers need to do to have people want their job.

1)      You need to change from getting kicks for bringing in the order, to helping others get the order.

2)      You must state and act that your number 1 goal is to make each sales rep more successful, better, and earn more.

3)      Act that way!

4)      Learn how to effectively coach and develop people without being an expert on everything you sell or on every skill.

5)      Practice coaching every day!

6)      Ask for feedback

The result: you become a better manager, you get more people to mention your name when they get asked “Who was your best manager?”, you have developed a “High Performance Sales Team”, you are having more fun, and people want your job so you can backfill when you get promoted!

Good Selling and Good Coaching!

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