Being a sales manager is arguably one of the toughest positions in an organization. It takes a delicate balance of leading and managing the sales team.
Take Wally, for example. Wally-the-weak-closer is working hard, but he’s struggling to hit his targets. As the sales leader, you dedicate one-on-one time to help Wally reach his potential. You’re making progress, but the added time means Ally-the-all-star doesn’t get the sales coaching she needs to improve. Now, is that an example or does it sound familiar? Don’t worry, there’s a better way.
Many sales leaders use the terms ‘supervising’, ‘training,’ and ‘sales coaching’ interchangeably. However, they’re three tactics that, when used together, create the sales triangle to success.
Here’s how supervising, training, and coaching differ and how you should use each tactic to support your sales team.
Supervise to keep salespeople on target
Great salespeople love accountability. Yes, they love it. And the best way to hold them accountable is through supervision and setting clear goals before letting them go.
Set expectations around metrics, your KPIs, and any measurements in your CRM that indicate a rep is en route to closing a sale. Discuss these targets with your reps proactively rather than dissecting an issue after their performance slips. Give them guard rails and get out of their way.
If you constantly fight Wally on accountability, it isn’t a good fit.
Training is structured learning
Training has a known starting point and targeted outcome. As an example, if Wally struggles to close a business, he needs structured training and roleplaying to improve.
Training is most common when you welcome a promising new hire to the sales team. Before you extend an offer to a prospective hire, roleplay a sales call during your second interview. Roleplaying during the interview stage not only helps you refine a candidate list but also sets the tone and expectation for future training and sales coaching.
Once the new hire is on payroll, illustrate your expectations. Train them on what you want them to say in a call and how you want them to say it. Use roleplaying to keep them engaged.
Sales coaching needs to be a priority for all
The last piece to the triangle of success is sales coaching. Many sales leaders use coaching as an umbrella term for training and supervision and skip a critical part of the process: scheduled one-on-one time.
A great sales coach uses the RIMS strategy: regular individual meetings that are scheduled. These are sacred and reoccurring meetings where you coach through the good, the bad, and the ugly. What did the sales rep notice or do during their last call? Talk through what they did well, what went wrong, and what they could do better.
The best salespeople will come to you for coaching. They’re driven by goals and can’t wait to tell their sales leader how many people they saw and lean in for coachable knowledge. Schedule RIMS once a week with new hires and bi-weekly or monthly with everyone else.
When you hire a new salesperson, the 90-day onboarding period is critical to their success. You need to be laser-focused on sales coaching, training, and supervision as they ramp up.
At HireMeASalesPerson.com, we’ve created a 90-day onboarding whitepaper that empowers sales leaders to set up new hires for success through structured sales coaching and training. Contact us today to learn more.