Why Coaching Drives Sales Growth

Why Coaching Drives Sales Growth

We know that producers reporting to an agency owner or sales leader with strong coaching skills tend to have 28% more closeable late-stage opportunities. This is from the deep data warehouse of Objective Management Group, our partner and the pioneer of the sales assessment. Unfortunately, we also know that less than 10% of sales leaders are considered highly effective at this critical role of coaching. How do you know if you are skilled in this area?

• Weakness – You tend to help your producers mostly with pricing and technical questions on an ad hoc basis.
• Strength – You schedule regular coaching conversations with your salespeople to improve their skills and help them win more sales.

If your agency needs to grow, it is worth your time to focus on your coaching skills. Whether you decide to coach your team yourself or bring in a coaching expert, here are the reasons coaching will drive sales growth.

Empowering Your Sales Team:

Coaching is about empowering your producers by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and skills necessary to excel. It’s not just about telling them what to do but leading them through a self-discovery process—a more effective way to teach them how to sell better. Effective coaching involves asking questions about what happened on the sales call to uncover what was discussed, what was missed, and what needs follow-up. For example, instead of asking “Who will make the final decision?” an effective coach will ask their salesperson, “What did they say when you asked about their decision-making process?” This approach initiates a broader discussion with more coaching opportunities and builds the producer’s confidence and competence.

Improved Sales Skills:

Coaching helps sales professionals hone their skills, whether it’s prospecting, handling objections, or closing deals. But coaching sales tactics alone is not always effective because it may not address the underlying reason for a lack of performance. For example, if a producer is not making the prospecting effort that was agreed upon, it may be that they do not recover well from rejection. Just coaching them to make more calls will not be helpful. Uncovering if rejection is an issue and coaching them on resilience will improve their skill levels, not just for today but in the future. Selling involves frequent rejection, and unless your agent can bounce back and go on to the next prospect, they will struggle with prospecting. Given regular feedback and guidance, they can refine their techniques, resulting in more successful interactions with potential customers.

Customized Approach:

There are 21 Sales Core Competencies that a salesperson must master to be an “elite” producer. That is a long list for any coach to address effectively; however, that is the goal. Some of these competencies are inherent, such as a desire to excel, commitment to success, and taking responsibility for actions and results without blaming others or the organization. Other competencies, however, must be coached, such as reaching the decision-maker, overcoming the need for approval to ask tough questions, and using social selling skills to connect, build credibility, and find new relationships. One size does not fit all in sales. Coaching allows you to tailor your approach to your producers’ strengths and weaknesses. By understanding their unique needs, you can help them reach their full potential.

Feedback and Accountability:

There is a 5-step process that every Coach should follow when coaching their salespeople.

1. Gaining Insight: Understand what is happening in the field on a sales call or what is not. The Coach can gain insight firsthand by observing a call or gathering it from huddle data where you review sales behaviors and results. For example, how many calls and appointments are your producers supposed to make, and what were their results in a certain timeframe?
2. Giving Feedback: This is where coaching sales behaviors gets more challenging. Here are a few tips:
   1. Make sure feedback is timely and specific.
   2. Review the Good, Bad & Ugly (find something good to point out).
   3. Ask questions to help them self-discover.
   4. Gain agreement on the real problem.
3. Demonstration: Show the sales behaviors you want and expect, which can be challenging for Coaches who may not have sales experience. However, you can demonstrate the questions that should be asked and the sales approach that should be followed.
4. Practice: Roleplay is rarely anyone’s favorite activity, but once the sales manager has demonstrated the desired sales behavior, it’s important to have the salesperson practice. Don’t call it roleplay; refer to it as a practice session, but make sure they do it. Muscle memory needs repetition!
5. Action Plan: This is putting the learning into action. Is the agent going to call the prospect back and ask those additional questions about their current provider? Identify specific actions that will take place, set a follow-up to discuss the outcomes, inspect, then coach their sales behaviors again. And don’t forget to celebrate the successes and address the failures.

Effective coaching involves regular feedback and accountability. It helps salespeople understand where they can improve and holds them responsible for their performance. This accountability can drive better results and encourage a culture of excellence.

Measurable Results:

The impact of coaching on sales growth is not just theoretical. It can be measured through key performance indicators such as larger account sizes, improved conversion rates, revenue per producer, and customer satisfaction scores. To ensure that coaching improves sales results, it’s important to establish the metrics that will be measured and tracked to provide insights into coaching effectiveness.

Conclusion:

To fully harness the power of coaching, it’s essential to foster a coaching culture within your organization. This involves making coaching a part of your company’s DNA and encouraging all levels of management to engage in coaching activities. By implementing a coaching program within your organization, you can tap into the potential of your sales team and drive sustainable sales growth.