Chronicles of a Sales Leader: Can Sales Managers Really Coach?
June 12, 2008
There's a lot of talk lately about coaching, and I'm not referring to the debate on your favorite sports blog regarding all-time great coaches in sports.
By Bill Golder
While it's not a new topic in the world of leadership and management, it seems to be on the minds of many sales executives looking to improve productivity. In the past, improving the way front-line sales managers coach was often an initiative pushed by human resources. Today, the most senior sales leader is looking to crack the code on how to get more coaching and leadership out of their managers. Universally, most executives agree that this is one of the toughest initiatives to implement and to gain traction.
Why is this so hard? Many of us might wonder if it's even possible to happen in any meaningful way. I've heard all the reasons: increasing spans of control in headcount and geographic coverage, increasing responsibilities with fewer resources, multiple corporate initiatives (such as managing a new comp plan roll-out or implementing a new CRM system), new directions coming from the top, etc. It gets overwhelming to put our arms around something as soft and hard to measure as coaching with all of the challenges that can get in the way.
Let's take a step back and look at some of the issues that every organization should consider when looking to improve effective coaching.
Coaching Defined
First, let's all agree that the term "coaching" carries a multitude of meanings. Think about the proliferation of consultants who make a good living off of a variety of coaching angles. Career coaches, life coaches, executive management coaches … the list goes on. It's important that every sales leader defines what good coaching should look like in their organization and make it as tangible as possible. For example, when a sales manager is considered a good coach, what do they do that can be replicated? Answering that question will help establish a definition that everyone can identify with and measure down the road.
Another common issue is that many organizations tackle coaching before basic process issues are addressed. The playbook has to be defined in terms of common language and process. It must clearly establish how the organization will create opportunities, pursue opportunities and manage relationships. Without those key processes, it's difficult to define a tangible coaching discipline inside the organization that can be replicated. Get the playbook in place to outline your expectations on how you want managers to coach.
Invest in Your Managers
The 2008 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study (for more on this study, read "Are You the Reason Profits Are Down") revealed that the most successful sales organizations invest in tools to assist their managers in interviewing, selection, delivering effective performance appraisals, and sharing best practices. You can't expect your managers to coach and develop their team if you don't invest in the right support for them.
It starts at the top. As a rookie sales manager, my sales vice-president ingrained the importance of frequent one-on-one time. It wasn't spent telling me about the latest corporate initiative, but rather my agenda to raise the opportunities and issues in which I needed coaching and help. He coached so I followed suit with my team. If you’re the most senior sales leader, coaching won't improve unless you are going first and leading the way.
A Learned Skill
Like selling, coaching is a blend of art and science. Also like selling, too much is left to chance, with very little science and rigor. What's true about sales, a craft that relies on strong effective interactions, is also true in coaching. We often forget some of the skills that make us successful with clients when working with our people—preparing good questions to better understand their win, figuring out what they're trying to fix, accomplish or avoid, providing value by raising questions that allow them to think a bit differently, and listening so you can best understand where you can leverage your experiences to help them achieve desired results.
Coaching is often thought of as a touchy feely skill. The best coaches clearly lay out expectations, provide specific feedback in a timely manner, apply consistency and rigor to the sales process, and always focus on how their coaching will contribute to the individual, team and organizational results.
By the way, in case you are interested in my vote for the best sports coach of all time? It's Vince Lombardi. He was no softie.
Bill Golder is a monthly online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management online. As EVP of sales at Miller Heiman, Golder has a reputation for taking on tough assignments and successfully turning around difficult situations. He has extensive sales and operations experience, especially in leading business-to-business sales of professional services and multi-unit operations management. Available for keynote speaking opportunities, Bill can be reached at bgolder@millerheiman.com or by telephone at 1-877-678-0397. Additional information about effective coaching is available at www.millerheiman.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
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