Sales Coaching Blunders

You have probably seen your fair share of articles or blog posts telling you exactly how that person did their coaching and how well it worked for them.  Well, I have decided to take a different approach.  I wanted to get the word out on the top 5 coaching no-no's that everyone should follow.   

When a good manager becomes a good coach, then you know you are ready to succeed no matter what industry you are in.  The best way to bring about that change in your managers, is not only showing them the right way to perform certain tasks, but also what they are currently doing wrong, which is decreasing their performance.

The following 5 blunders are being done as we speak and can all be changed as long as the manager realizes what they are doing and how they can fix it.  Please continue on by reading the attached article.  Take some notes while you are reading on what blunders you, your sales managers, or your sales staff are committing and what you need to do to change those behaviors.

We constantly talk about what to do when coaching but what about what NOT to do when coaching an employee? Whether you are coaching one or one hundred employees the process of coaching can become overwhelming and often, without realizing, you may veer off your intended path. Below are 3 things to avoid in order to keep your coaching on track. 

• Be Predictable:
  • Your team member will certainly have some reoccurring issues throughout your coaching process, but if you run every meeting the same way, it will get stale, and the interest of you and the team member will take a dive.  Try to mix up where you meet, what time of day you meet, the order of things you discuss etc.
• Talk too much.
  • Effective coaching sessions are not training sessions.  You’re a manager, not a trainer or consultant so don’t run your meetings as such. (Typically workshop style training doesn’t work well anyways).  Sessions should be about getting the team member to open up about their top issues, and you guiding them to a suitable solution.  If you are talking the whole time how will you know what their issues are?  To get to the root of issues requires LISTENING not TALKING!
• No plan
  • While we do recommend mixing things up to keep interest and participation up, you must have a plan about what needs to be accomplished during that meeting.  If you aren’t sure what you’re trying to accomplish, how will your team member?  Do you want to discuss issues covered last week?  Is there a particular skill you see them struggling with that you would like to bring to their attention?  Is there something they did you want to congratulate them on?  What’s covered is really up to you, but whatever it is make sure you have a plan written down so you make sure you hit all your topics.

Download the whitepaper below to learn more about common coaching mistakes and how to avoid them