There’s a lot of talk about how coaching makes all the difference in sales team performance. But do you know the power of performance coaching? Most sales managers don’t.

The most typical scenario is this: The sales manager knows what numbers need to be met, so they talk to the team and meet with the individuals. Goals are set, and follow-up is done. Most people think this coaching is enough, but it is not good coaching.

The Essence Of Performance Coaching

Performance coaching is more than following a checklist and offering encouragement. Many sales managers who coach are tempted to do compliance coaching. So, the conversations are focused on why someone did or did not meet the goals. This is uninspiring, to say the least. Rather than looking only at the “why,” start thinking about how (deeply) someone on your team might meet her goals. This is where performance coaching is most effective.

Performance coaching looks like this:

1. There is an agreed-upon plan with clear expectations and goals
2. It is a relationship with the coachee (the person receiving the coaching) that is based on trust, curiosity, and a structure to experiment and explore new ways of thinking and behaving.
3. The coach’s only agenda is to support the coachee’s growth.
4. The coach asks questions that challenge the coachee’s thinking or offers observations about how the coachee might be limiting self-development.
5. There is an agreed-upon system for accountability in which the coach asks, “How’s it going?” to foster self-evaluation, learning, and action.
6. There is an ongoing opportunity to review the plan and continue the growth and development of the coaches.

Effective Sales Coaching Is About The Human In Front Of You

Sales coaching is a subset of performance coaching. In Feed Your Eagles but Strengthen Your Core, it was noted that “in addition to better performance, the better trained and coached teams focus on the sales activities that have a greater impact on performance.The most effective sales coaching goes beyond the goals, the numbers and even the active deals. ” It goes below the waterline.

Sales managers are more than monitors when they coach well. Setting specific time aside allows you to get to know each team member on a human level. One question that can cut right to the human level is “what do you really sell?” Sure, everyone on your team sells the same thing, but they don’t sell that thing for the same reason. Your sales reps reveal part of their values system with their answers. Finding out that there is a personal or even a noble reason allows you to fit the coaching more specifically. You see the human in front of you.

That’s great, but…

Going below the waterline does take practice, but the research repeatedly shows that sales teams that receive regular coaching perform far better. So, what could you watch out for?

• Stop coaching the action. Staying focused on the outcomes misses opportunities to enhance skills. Coach the “being.” This change in focus for your sales reps encourages learning and keeps their skills sharp.
• Know who you’re dealing with. Sales teams are always being offered incentives, usually in the form of a bonus or commission. By deepening your understanding of each person on your team, you discover who is much more motivated by money and who is more motivated by recognition or a greater challenge.
• Neglecting your own skills. This happens far more than most sales managers want to admit to. However, allowing yourself to become complacent with coaching skills could mean missing out on a potential high flyer hiding in your core or being faced with firing a low performer. Complacency can also mean you get stuck in a rut and risk burning out.

The “Right” Kind Of Coaching Will Change Your Team

Getting your sales team to perform at its best needs effective coaching, and most of the work is really below the waterline. The types of personalities, the best ways to motivate, and getting to know the individual are key to meeting the goals and require the sales manager to go beyond the checklists and outcomes. Getting to the deeper “how” goes beyond the judgment of pass/fail and goes to the core values and skills of each sales rep on your team. Sales performance coaching is the best kind of coaching, and getting this type of coaching right will change your team for the better.

*Image via Fotolia by Jakub Jirsák