Next Level Sales Coaching

Do you remember being "in the trenches" as a salesperson? What did you think of your sales manager? If you're like many front-line sellers, you probably didn't think she or he was a wonderful example of leadership who could inspire you to do your best in life and in work. The unfortunate truth is that many sales managers--well-meaning though they usually are--lack the skills and know-how to help their sales teams grow and achieve greater success.Over a combined 50 years of experience as salespeople, managers, coaches, and executives, authors Steve Johnson and Matthew Hawk have witnessed the do's and don'ts of top performing sales teams. Next Level Sales Coaching is the culmination of their experience. In this book, they distill what they have learned working with organizations like Google, Bank of America, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and many more. The result is a compendium of best sales coaching practices with the power to make any sales manager into an inspirational and transformational leader.At its heart, this book is about how to integrate a person-centered development mindset into sales environments. Readers will work through practical examples, including a self-assessment, to identify the best way to implement strong coaching programs within their organizations. Each chapter concludes with takeaway questions and tips that sales leaders can use right away. From goal setting to daily sales huddles, and sales development training to analytics, Next Level Sales Coaching covers the best practices that readers will want to implement to take sales management to the next level.

Introduction 1Why We Wrote This Book 1Who This Book is For 2Who We Are 3Chapter 1 The Case for Sales Coaching 7Dynamic Sales Coaching is Better than Random Sales Coaching 8The Benefits of Reading (and Using!) This Book 11What's in This Book 14What's NOT in This Book 14Are You Ready? 15The Road Ahead 17Chapter 2 Why Coaching Fails or Fails to Happen 19Personal Background 20Company Culture 22Quantity: Why Managers Don't Coach Enough 23Quality: Why Sales Managers Coach Ineffectively 23Chapter 3 Sales Coaching Model and Self-Assessment 25Sales Coaching Model 25Sales Manager Attitudes 27Sales Manager Self-Assessment: Attitudes and Activities 28Impact of Coaching 29Chapter 4 Review and Plan Meetings 31Planning Varies by Type of Sales Organization 32Benefits of Review and Plan Conversations 34Review and Plan Conversation 36Review and Plan Meeting Tips 38Chapter 5 Goal-Setting Meetings 41Why Salespeople Miss Expectations 42Guidelines for Conducting Goal-Setting Meetings 43Goal-Setting Meeting Overview 44Goal-Setting Meeting Process 46Addressing Attitude Issues on Your Team: The Classic Types 66Goal-Setting Meeting Best Practices 72Chapter 6 Skill Development Training 75Talent is Overrated 76Skill Development Training Challenges 78Benefits of Skill Development Training 79Opportunities for Skill Development Training 79Skill Development Training Steps 82Types of Feedback in Skill Development Training 95Skill Development Training Tips 97Chapter 7 Check-Ins 99How Check-Ins Impact Your Sales Team in a Positive Way 100How to Check In 102Chapter 8 Performance Feedback 115The Practice Coach, the Game Coach, Then the Practice Coach 116Define Roles and Responsibilities 117Performance Feedback Process 122Performance Feedback Form 124Insights on Performance Feedback 136Chapter 9 Sales Meetings 139Top Ten Reasons Why Salespeople Hate Sales Meetings 141Sales Meeting Agenda 142The End Game 143Preparation 145Welcome/Overview Agenda 146Opening Inspiration 148Success Stories 150Skills Development Training 154Goal Reporting and Goal Setting 160Summary and Action Steps 163Next-Meeting Logistics 164Closing Inspiration 164Other Activities 164Chapter 10 Sales Huddles 167Benefits of Sales Huddles 168How to Recognize Effective Sales Huddles 171Sales Huddle Example Scripting 174Chapter 11 Sales and Service Coaching in the Contact Center 177A Tale of Two Coaches 177Make Time 179Use Non-Scored Feedback 179Coach Proactively 181Focus on One Behavior at a Time 182Use "MAPs" - Micro Action Plans 183Use Questions to Coach 186Recognize People 188Calibrate 190Chapter 12 Sales Enablement Best Practices 193Micro Learning 193Video 193Web Conferencing and Video Chat 195Competency Assessment Tools 196Field Coaching Tools 197Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence 197Analytics 198Appendix: Sales Coaching Cadences 199References/Further Reading 203Acknowledgments 205About the Authors 209Index 211