Sales Performance Coaching - InsideOut Development
Challenge
Most organizations have top-performing salespeople who consistently exceed their goals quarter after quarter. After a time, these top performances are often promoted to sales managers or directors. In their new role, sales managers hold their direct reports accountable for numbers only, because that is how they measured their own success. But what happens when their sales team members don't hit their numbers? How do new managers respond when quotas are down? Many new managers who have been promoted up through the ranks have refined sales skills, but very few management skills. They know what worked for them, but they don't know how to help or lead others.
Sales management is too often an exercise in numbers, when it should focus on process and behaviors. It's a common misconception that managing sales is easy because measuring numbers is straightforward. But that only accounts for results, not the activities (or lack thereof) that lead to results.
Solution: InsideOut Sales Coaching Process
As part of their skillset, sales managers must redirect their efforts toward having productive coaching conversations with those they manage. InsideOut Development provides training in a simple, repeatable sales coaching model called GROW, co-developed by founder Alan Fine. In many cases, the GROW Model can help sales managers focus their direct-reports' attention on behaviors that will lead to success.
The GROW Model is a framework for having dynamic coaching conversations that change behaviors and advance the sales process, rather than dwell on only if the business was won.GROW (Goals, Reality, Options, Way Forward) does not disregard results or numbers, but rather directs the conversations between sales managers and sales reps to the activities, actions, and behaviors that can predict sales numbers.GROW can be used for every part of the sales management process, from opportunity and pipeline reviews to pre-call planning and performance reviews.
Lagging indicators measure the past; leading indicators predict future results.In sales, lagging indicators are the traditional sales measures used by sales managers, such as revenue, close ratio, and average length of sales cycle. These measures simply tell us what happened in the last quarter, or last fiscal year.
The GROW coaching model focuses on leading indicators--those behaviors and activities that occur during a sales cycle that predict success. Leading indicators are things such as the quantity and quality of client conversations, as well as the types of client challenges and the corresponding solutions.
Sales managers tend to assume more sales calls equals more sales, but it's also imperative what's happening during those calls. For example:
- Did the rep complete a pre-call plan?
- Did the rep uncover business needs during the call?
- Does the rep understand what the most urgent needs are?
- Did the rep craft and present possible solutions that target the most important needs?
Coaching sales reps to focus on these types of lead behaviors results in better lag measures.
Products and Services
Learn more about InsideOut Development's products and services for sales manager coaching.InsideOut Coaching: Tools for Team Leaders:
Coach Mentoring:
Keynote for Management and Leadership Audiences:
A sales manager discusses a substantial opportunity that has been in her rep's pipeline for over nine months. The rep has had three meetings with a vice president at a key prospect and has sent a proposal.
TRADITIONAL SALES CONVERSATION EXAMPLE:
Mgr: How is the opportunity with ACME progressing?
Rep: Not much is happening. I had a meeting two weeks ago and learned some new data related to the specs. Based on that, I revised the proposal and submitted it again last week.
Mgr: Have you followed-up?
Rep: I sent an email and left a voicemail, but haven't heard anything back.
Mgr: Give me a percentage. What do you think the chances are we get selected?
Rep: Pretty good I think. Maybe 70%.
Mgr: Okay, keep me posted.
GROW COACHING CONVERSATION EXAMPLE:
A sales manager discusses a substantial opportunity that has been in her rep's pipeline for over nine months. The rep has had three meetings with a vice president at a key prospect and has sent a proposal.
Traditional Coaching Conversation
Mgr: How is the opportunity with ACME progressing?
Rep: Not much is happening. I had a meeting two weeks ago and learned some new data related to the specs. Based on that, I revised the proposal and submitted it again last week.
Mgr: Have you followed-up?
Rep: I sent an email and left a voicemail, but haven't heard anything back.
Mgr: Give me a percentage. What do you think the chances are we get selected?
Rep: Pretty good I think. Maybe 70%.
Mgr: Okay, keep me posted.
GROW Coaching Conversation
Mgr: Which opportunity would you like to talk about today?
Rep: How about the ACME deal?
Mgr: Okay. Remind me of the most recent S.M.A.R.T. goal we agreed to for that opportunity?
Rep: I was going to schedule an additional meeting with my contact to discuss potential changes to the specs. I did have that meeting, after which I sent a revised proposal. I followed-up but haven't yet heard back.
Mgr: How would you characterize where you are in the process?
Rep: I would say we are still in the running. My contact told me they would be inviting back the three finalists to present to their Engineering Leadership team.
Mgr: In a perfect world, what would you do in order to ensure that we are one of the finalists?
Rep: Well... I'd like to speak to one of their engineering managers to confirm the specs are accurate. I'd also like to understand what is 'most important' to them in terms of evaluation criteria.
Mgr: What else?
Rep: Umm, I guess I would like to interview all the members of the selection team and get them to 'rank' the criteria. And of course, know the exact date they will make a decision!
Mgr: Okay, that's a good list. Of those 'perfect world' scenarios, which do you think you could realistically accomplish?
Rep: I would say getting with the engineering manager to clarify the technical side of the project.
Mgr: Any other priorities that you think are do-able?
Rep: Not really.
Mgr: When you meet with the engineering manager, do you think you could also ask about evaluation criteria and the priorities?
Rep: If I prepared well and didn't waste his time. It certainly would give us some inside information.
Mgr: What obstacles might come up arranging this meeting?
Rep: We could get stonewalled by my contact.
Mgr: How might you overcome that?
Rep: I guess I would explain that we are only asking for 20 minutes and I'd report back what I learned. As a last resort, I could invite him to sit in on the meeting.
Mgr: What timeframe do you think is realistic for having this meeting?
Rep: I could call my contact tomorrow to make my case, and hopefully have the meeting with the V.P. in the next 10 days.
Mgr: Then, can we re-group on this in two weeks to see what the outcome was?
Rep: Yes, that sounds great. Thanks for your help!