Bridging the sales coaching gap

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High-quality sales coaching is mission-critical to the successful functioning of a sales operation in two key ways:

Firstly, it validates the quality of data relating to pipelines, sales opportunities, stakeholder relationships and other key metrics and indicators within a CRM system. The accuracy and quality of this data are vital to enable effective decision making and business steering.

Secondly, it boosts the motivation, skill and confidence of salespeople. They therefore perform better and sell more.

Quality is mission critical

Research shows that regular, high-quality sales coaching boosts sales performance by up to 15%. However, the keyword is ‘QUALITY’. It is the quality of the coaching that results in performance improvement and therefore, brings value and impact.

If the quality of their coaching is high, Sales Managers will experience a positive impact on their sales pipeline and the motivation and effectiveness of their team members. They will therefore see the value of doing it more. 

If the quality of the coaching salespeople receive is high, they will experience a positive impact on their opportunities, their time and their abilities. So, they too, will see and appreciate the value of coaching.

However, many of the typical approaches to building Sales Manager coaching capability fail to build the confidence, competence and evidence of progress required to bridge the quality gap.

How do you best approach the task of strengthening coaching quality?

The following four components are proven to make a vital difference…

1. Make sure everyone is clear about what coaching is, what it isn’t and why it matters

In many cases, coaching has become a ‘catch-all’, a modern-day term that encompasses all forms of conversations between managers and their team members.

Sales Managers have many different types of conversations with their salespeople. However, coaching conversations primarily relate to those focused on closing the distance between the current and future outcomes.

Coaching involves accurately identifying and pinpointing gaps – for example, in data, opportunity progress or capability. It involves raising awareness of these gaps with people in a way that is evidence-based and motivational. It also involves exploring possibilities and stretching comfort zones in ways that result in:

  • The willingness and commitment to close these gaps.

  • Demonstration of success and desired improvements.

2. Provide multiple practice ‘experiences’ to hone technique and skill

Repeated practice, observation and feedback underpin improvements in competence and confidence. However, the way this practice is conducted is important. Being observed practising a skill introduces risk and vulnerability for an individual. It is therefore important people are given the opportunity to practice in a ‘safe’ space, under the guidance of ‘experts’ who they rate and respect and who they believe they can learn from.

3. Tracking outcomes vs. inputs

When organisations run coaching programmes, progress is often tracked by attendance at training and/or the frequency of coaching conversations.

Attendance and participation are inputs. They are not indicators of improvement or impact. The risk in only measuring quantity is that while participation is incentivised, the actual coaching experience adds little value. This, in turn, has the potential to undermine ongoing engagement and participation. 

It is therefore vital to track the quality of coaching. This is done via regular observation and assessment against clearly defined metrics and measures. These include business-related indicators of progress and demonstrable behaviours – behaviours that can be distinctly observed and evidenced over time rather than relying on subjective opinion and interpretation. This evidence-based approach provides proof that coaching quality is actually improving.

4. Making coaching quality important and desirable

Intellectually, Sales Managers understand the importance of coaching. However, this needs to be reinforced by the people, processes and systems around them.

Sales Managers will unconsciously ask themselves the following types of questions:

  • Is my manager talking to me about coaching on an ongoing basis?

  • Am I regularly being asked about it, coached on it and assessed on it?

  • Does someone really care if I do this or not?

  • Am I seeing a tangible impact on my sales opportunities and pipeline?

  • Will my improvement be recognised and rewarded?

  • Will this make me more successful in my role?

The entire learning journey needs to reinforce the benefits and importance of coaching. It needs to be structured so that improving coaching quality becomes a regular part of the operating rhythm of the sales organisation.

It is also important that building proficiency in coaching is valued and recognised within the business so that Sales Managers believe it is worthwhile to commit the time and effort to pursue excellence in this capability.

In conclusion….

Building Sales Manager coaching competence is a cornerstone of a highly efficient and productive sales operation. However, the development of this competence needs to be brought to life in a way that builds the required sponsorship, formats, tools and processes that elevate the importance placed on good quality coaching and that result in the desired improvements and impact of this highly valuable skill.