Coaching is just about every banker’s favorite buzzword. The problem is no one is actually doing it.
Sure, most managers check off their brief conversations with employees about “getting their numbers up” as a coaching conversation, but only a small fraction of bank managers are actually having conversations with their employees to give them specific guidance on how to get better at selling.
And who gets coached the least? Typically it’s new employees and top producers, the employees who want coaching the most and who will give you the best return on your investment in terms of increased sales production.
So what makes a great sales coach?
An average sales coach may occasionally conduct observation coaching with managers, but those sessions are often not specific and unfocused.
A great sales coach will record his or her observations of each employee’s use of preferred selling behavior on an observation notes form and give employees constructive, documented feedback based on those observations.
An average sales coach will use generalizations when categorizing sales behavior. A great sales coach will state his or her expectations for sales production, sales activity, and non-negotiable behavior to his or her direct reports in ways that the staff can restate clearly to others.
An average sales coach might hold sales meetings to develop employee skills in describing products’ features —but a great sales coach will create a peer coaching system that supports the company’s values and preferred way of selling.
Demonstrating preferred sales behavior is also a high priority of great sales coaches. Specific goals for sales managers like “Reduce my average time of talking per customer sales interview from 70% to 30%,” or “Make at least one statement of clear difference during every customer sales interview,” can help set the tone for each sales and service employee – and the sales culture in general.
Get your sales culture strong in 2019. Contact Schneider Sales Management, Inc. today for a consultation and conversation about how we can help you increase your revenue and improve your return on investment for each and every employee in your company. 303-221-4511
