A bullet cannot hit the target bull’s eye if the trainer has not aimed it properly. A student will not be able to fare well in his exams if he was not trained well. Though one may possess the talent to do a job perfectly all by themselves, a guiding force is always necessary to keep them on the right track. A coach or a trainer is that beacon who will steer the ship to the shore amidst all the unrest prevailing in the sea. A sports coach, a gym trainer, dance teacher, music instructor, teacher at the school etc. are the pillars who have been the support for aspiring learners to learn and perform.

A sales coach! Who is he?

Among the enthusiastic trainers, a sales coach is the one who trains interested candidates to become lead generators, how to handle target pressures, how to attract customers, how to retain them and most importantly how to take business forward by closing quick deals. These coaches have the capacity to become the master of change. There are some qualities that define a successful sales coach. Here are some of them:

Calmness

Are sales coaches hypersensitive? No they are not at all. One quality that defines a perfect sales coach is calmness. This gives them the ability to assess the market and take decisions favorable for their business and achieve their target with no tension around. Cool mind and clear thoughts assist them in taking the most perfect and profitable move or decision.

Presence of Mind

The second most important quality that defines a sales coach is presence of mind. Yes, he is one of the few most intelligent personalities who have the capacity to turn any situation in his favor without spending extra money or effort. Presence of mind and ability to give quick response help them to master all situations.

Build Credibility

When does a customer start to believe in a sales executive? Probably after a few meetings and calls, an unknown bond of creditableness and trust worthiness creeps within the customer which makes them believe what the sales expert there by materializing the deal. The sales coach who is an expert in building trust teaches techniques that are legit and easy to follow in this exercise.

Radiate positivity

Looking at sales & marketing coach, one always feels a spurt of positive energy radiating from all directions. This is also the reason why they have turned into coaches from just being sales executives. The positive energy that they translate into every student improves the confidence and enthusiasm in the aspiring sales executives to achieve something big in their life.

Efficient Networking

The last but the most important quality that marks the best Sales training coach is his ability to network with people belonging to every age group. They can easily strike a chord with anyone who can be a prospective lead for them and they capitalize their socializing skills to the fullest and can network with the opponents. The same technique they teach their students as well.

With these awesome qualities, sales coaches impress their audience with their flamboyant self and charismatic personality.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9219524

One of the most significant costs to a company can often be the employee turnover in the sales department. This is can be costly because the success and quality of the sales organization has a direct impact on top line revenue. There is always going to be some level of turnover, but if there is something that a company can do to decrease employee turnover, there can be strong financial benefits.

Employee turnover in the sales department creates two different types of costs for a company: direct costs and indirect costs. The direct costs are the hard-dollar expenses that are incurred when sales resources are recruited, hired, trained, and terminated. These costs can be tracked and will typically show up in financial reports.

The indirect costs that a company will see are in the form of opportunity cost. This cost is all of the business that is lost or missed while sales positions are open due to turnover and then while new sales resources are being trained and ramped up. This cost can be a tremendous amount, especially when you factor in recurring revenues that are missed for future years. Unfortunately, opportunity cost can be difficult to truly measure and will not show up in financial reports.

The main cause for employee turnover in the sales department is poor sales performance. Either sales resources are not performing at a high level and not making the money they want to be so they chose to go somewhere else where they feel they will be more successful. Or the sales resources are not performing at a high level and management determines that a permanent change is necessary in order to drive better sales results. This is how sales coaching can help as it can improve sales performance and that alone can decrease employee turnover.

Sales coaching will decrease employee turnover by working with sales resources on an ongoing basis to help them to perform at their optimum level. Coaching will help bring clarity to sales resources with where they are in terms of attainment, identifying what they need to do to be successful, and then help them with dealing with challenges and hurdles as they occur. Sales coaching will help the sales person to be more successful than they would be if they were completely operating on their own.

By being able to decrease employee turnover, the company will stand to retain a tremendous amount of knowledge. This includes knowledge on company information, processes, products, customers, etc. By being able to retain this knowledge, the company will stand to perform better in the area of sales effectiveness, which will decrease the amount of business lost or missed driving down opportunity cost. In addition, the cost to replace this knowledge can be tremendous in terms of both time and money. This is a hard-dollar cost and to decrease employee turnover will yield immediate savings.

Sales coaching can be provided by a company’s internal sales management team or it can be provided by outside coaching professionals. The benefit of outsourcing the coaching responsibility is that outside resources will likely be trained in the area of coaching and will have experience that can be leveraged. In addition, if the internal management focuses on more strategic activities, there can be a better return on investment for the way their time and attention is spent.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3462708

If you sell value-add or business critical solutions or services B2B, these top sales strategy tips could be the catalyst to help improve sales performance. Find out how a coach that constructively challenges your strategy and approach could be a key factor for success.

Sales Coach Tip #1

Eliminate Comfort Zone Selling to Improve Sales Performance

Many salespeople and often the companies they work for are slaves of comfort zone selling. They go through the same old “hit and hope” sales routine, hoping for the best but winning too little profitable business. This is the best place to start looking when considering ways to improve sales performance.

A prospective customer requests a presentation, proposal, demonstration or trial and most salespeople are keen to oblige. That’s a lot of commitment from a supplier. Effective salespeople qualify well and work to ensure they gain enough commitment in return, before they agree to dedicate time and effort.

Few companies stop to calculate the cost of each failed sales attempt, whether a formal tender or a less formal proposal. Consider the total hours lost in meetings and response preparation for a bid that fails. A skilled sales coach will ensure valuable time is spent wisely and only on winnable opportunities.

Sales Coach Tip #2

Profit is Sanity So Keep the Focus on a Margin Rich Sales Strategy

Now think how many of the bids you win are “margin compromised” as opposed to margin rich? Being the price leader in an attempt to improve sales performance may work for the budget shop, but it’s a very poor sales strategy if you sell value-add or critical solutions or services business to business.

Business critical purchases tend to be far less price sensitive than prospective customers would ever like to admit. The risk of a poor buying decision is too high for false economies. Yet supplier nerves often trigger unnecessary discount just to get the deal done and thus the margin is often compromised.

Before you weigh up the merits of using an external coach, think just how much you might be losing by pandering to false price pressures. A good sales coach is a catalyst for the behaviour changes needed to improve margin rich sales performance and any investment here should produce healthy returns.

Sales Coach Tip #3

Why Let Purchasing Departments Determine Your Sales Strategy?

The market too often expects suppliers to jump at any opportunity to bid. Many suppliers conform without really considering how well positioned they are to win or the business viability if they did. Suppliers that professionally hold their ground can gain significant credibility with prospective customers.

Too many salespeople just look for a solution match. Ticking the boxes against a specification, RFP or ITT is only one aspect to consider. Any good sales coach will ensure that the primary focus is on access to the key influencers and decision makers – the people who can make things happen.

Assuming the project is real and they will actually spend money with someone soon, there is always a danger you may only be making up the numbers. A smarter B2B sales strategy helps you weed out the false opportunities from the real ones to avoid situations where the odds are stacked against you.

Left to their own devices, most salespeople can become habitual and even if they work hard, they may not work smart. A skilled external sales coach will help them identify and avoid the false opportunities they might otherwise chase, whilst honing their ability to qualify, develop and win the true ones.

Sales Coach Tip #4

Serious Buying Decisions Demand Deep Consideration

Imagine your career relied on selecting the right supplier of a business critical service. How much would you be influenced by a likable salesperson and how much by their ability to correctly set and meet your expectations? Suppliers failing to grasp this will find it hard to improve sales performance.

We often hear that “people buy from people they like.” This is just too simplistic when it comes to value-add or business critical solutions or services. In such situations people will buy from people they hold credible to deliver to expectations. Anything else would put their careers seriously at risk.

And if people make serious buying decisions based on how confident they feel in a company’s ability to meet expectations, then why do so many suppliers waste time pitching their solutions instead of asking constructive questions and listening well in order to build strong relationships with the key players?

If you lack confidence it’s often tempting to slip into pitching mode rather than really engage your prospective customer. You may feel on safe ground talking about the features and benefits of a solution you know like the back of your hand. Your prospective customer may well be more bored than engaged.

If you can convince a genuine prospect they are in safe hands with your company, that you clearly understand their requirements and will deliver to the expectations that you set, then why would they not select you? Ironically, many salespeople only scrape the surface of sales opportunities and thus fail.

Sales Coach Tip #5

Specialist Niche Player Supplier or Large Generalist Supplier?

Small companies often have an inferiority complex, however with the right B2B sales strategy, a specialist niche player can often beat larger well known bidders. The key is to determine early on whether a prospect is prepared to break from the herd to go with a lesser known company with a better offering.

Prospective customers may operate within their own comfort zones and some will turn away from the better solution in order to ensure the safety of their own derriere. A good sales coach will help you separate prospects that will only ever play safe from those that are prepared to back the best solution.

And Finally, Back to Sales Coach Tip #1

When you think about it, comfort zone selling is in many ways at the root of all of the above issues. It is habitual, even self-satisfying in the short-term to be working so hard on so many opportunities. However it is far less rewarding in the medium to long-term when too little of any real value comes to fruit.

To eradicate comfort zone selling means raising the bar across the board. A business to business sales strategy evolution is more viable than a potentially disruptive revolution. It can be a mistake to try to change too much too soon. An experienced sales coach can help you move towards your goal step by step.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Harry_Hayden/926876

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6151502

Are you running a sales company and would like to increase the income of the company? Would you like the staff to perform better on a daily basis? Then you might want to read this since you will be able to find all the necessary information about how to increase performance within your business.

Sales coaching are most likely exactly what you need in order to succeed with your business. You will get information about what you can do to increase performance and you will have someone who can guide you through the entire procedure.

An experienced sales coach will be able to give you great advice regarding systems that should be used for the business and which strategies you should use to reach the goal. You will find ways to reach success that you didn’t even know existed. It will be a great experience for you as a boss but also for all your employees since you will be able to help them become better at what they’re doing.

When you’re planning to try sales coaching you should make sure to choose a company with plenty of experience and a very good reputation. You will be much more satisfied with the results if you choose a really good sales coach.

A sales coach will increase performance as well as profit and he or she will use various techniques to help your business. You will learn how to motivate your employees and you will learn a lot about positive thinking.

Everyone who would like to become a successful salesman should learn how to use the body language and a lot of enthusiasm to increase profit and that’s exactly what you will learn from sales coaching. You will also learn how to act when you meet a price shopper and many other things.

If you would like to find out how successful you and your company can become you should definitely try sales coaching. Everyone has something left to learn and that goes for you as well. You can always have use for some great advice and that’s exactly what you will get from an experienced sales coach.

Start looking for the best sales coach today and start the way to a more successful business as soon as possible. You will soon discover that it’s worth every penny you spend on this and you will start earning a lot more money as soon as you’ve learned everything about the best strategies out there.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4655935

Although a salesperson’s professional development is limited when it centres only on classroom learning many organisations still persist with it. At the risk of upsetting those in the learning and development field it has to be said that classroom learning has minimal impact in the medium to long term and by every measure the return on investment for the company is poor. At best the retention for the salesperson is 30% if active learning such as role play is part of the skills development and considerably lower at 5% if it is passive when the facilitator talks most of the time. When infield sales coaching becomes integral to the sales person’s development this figure can escalate to a staggering 90%. With up to 70% of top sales performers leaving because of dissatisfaction with their manager relationship sales coaching provides an opportunity to forge close working ties.

So why doesn’t every sales manager incorporate sales coaching for their salespeople?

Based on our research the reasons are:

1) They don’t know how
Many of you reading this may relate to this category. You were a very successful salesperson and so promoted to sales management with inadequate or no training for the role. You were not aware of infield sales coaching because it wasn’t part of the company’s culture

2) They don’t have a sales background
The sales manager came from another department within the company such as administration or operations. This is seen as a good career move and endorsed by senior management and is for a limited time of 2-3 years before the person moves onto another role. Because such an individual lacks sales experience they feel uncomfortable and incompetent in front of clients and prospects so avoid being in that position. A credibility issue with their sales team also becomes a problem

3) They don’t have the time
The sales manager becomes tied up with administration and other internal matters. They try to manage their sales team from their desk. To illustrate how serious a problem this is: one large national company with a network of business throughout Australia had each business unit manager also in a sales management role. Not 1 hour was invested in the field with one sales person over the previous12 month period.

Sales coaching needs to become part of a company’s sales culture just like coaching in sport is a part of the sporting culture. In fact to be effective sales managers need to spend at least 25% of their time with their salespeople in the field coaching.

Sales coaching is the key to achieving lasting sales improvement and is suitable for new people to sales through to sales veterans to reinforce knowledge and skills already known but not used effectively.

Sales coaching consist of 3 components:

1. Knowledge and skills
A common sales criticism of classroom learning is that it’s theoretical and won’t work in the ‘real world.’ However, when sales coaching becomes part of their development program the classroom theory is converted into practical know how. In fact when a specific skill is applied by the sales manager and then later duplicated by the salesperson, behaviour change and motivation are immediate

2. Objective sales competency levels.
When salespeople are measured against the 6 competency levels their true competency level can be identified. For the sales person to progress to a higher level the sales manager needs to use every teaching method available from seeing, hearing and demonstration to clarifying what to do and why.

3. An evaluation methodology to measure the outcomes.
A competency based training and development format is one of the best ways to measure skills performance.

The Curb Side Conference
This is the term used to describe how the previous sales call is reviewed for the purpose of developing or refining the sales person’s selling skills. The 6 step sales coaching process is used to achieve this outcome:

1) Briefly recap the sales objectives.
The objective/s for the sales call should have been set before the call. Recapping at the beginning of the curb side conference helps the salesperson to focus on the discussion at hand.

2) Provide a critique of the selling skills that were competently applied.
Use your sales process as the guiding template and leave out those selling skills that were incompetently or not applied. This is because you want to acknowledge and compliment the skills that demonstrated sales competence. For example “Mary let’s go over the last sales call and if it’s okay with you I’d like to give you feedback on the skills you applied competently.” The salesperson may want to interrupt and highlight the skills they didn’t apply or applied inadequately. When this happens you need to stop them and let them know they will have their turn soon. For example “I appreciate your concerns and we will deal with them shortly.” Emotionally you need to come from a place of caring and support which will then be reflected in your vocal tone. Sounding judgmental or frustrated could destroy your relationship with your salesperson.

3) Ask the salesperson to self critique their sales call.
Suggest to your salesperson to also use the sales process which will assist them to critique their own sales performance in a logical manner and then it’s your role to actively listen. They may focus too much on what they didn’t do or did incompetently so watch for this tendency. You may need to ask them to give you a balanced view. Actively listen for any skills they omitted or believe they applied well when in reality they didn’t do so. On conclusion of their self critique compliment them and move to the next step. For example “Mary you obviously have a great understanding of the sales process and I agree with your self assessment. Let me ask you, if you had the opportunity to…”

4) Ask the salesperson if they had the opportunity to do the sales call again what they would do differently?
This gives the salesperson the opportunity to uncover anything additional they may have previously missed and drawing on what they had learnt in step 2 will reaffirm those competencies.

5) Use the sales process and provide a summary critique of the salesperson’s selling skills.

When you go through the summary ensure it is weighted 3:1 in favour of the positive behaviours and skills that were competently applied. This will also build their sense of self worth as well as the learning experience.

6) Finish on a positive note and set the next sales call objective.
This has to be done from the heart and for example could be expressing how impressed you were with how the salesperson qualified the prospect. When planning the next sales call objectives one needs to be a skill development objective from step 3 or 4. Caution: whilst there may be many skills needing attention focus on one which you consider to be the most important. Overloading the salesperson with too much is counterproductive and isn’t the way we learn.

A last word or two…

• Curb side conference those sales calls where the learning will be the greatest
• Schedule regular monthly sales coaching even if it is as little as half a day and avoid cancelling. It will pay dividends. Staying in the office doesn’t create revenue but developing a salesperson’s selling ability does
• Ask your salespeople for feedback on your coaching. What could you do better?
• Sales coaching provides you with the opportunity to show sales leadership

If sales coaching is new to you or you are dissatisfied with current sales coaching practices contact Sales Consultants.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kurt_Newman/417035

A good sales leader coaches, while a poor sales leader simply directs. Most people who desire success focus almost entirely on themselves, not others. However, this is not the way to be truly successful. As a sales leader, team work is paramount and coaching, becomes a rewarding calling. Certainly, it takes work and may not have immediate returns. Yet in the long run, you get to build up a dream team, exceeding your group target beyond your wildest dreams. How do you develop sales coaching? This article seeks to demystify the area of sales coaching in 3 simple steps.

1. Getting your team members to articulate
A seasoned sales man knows how to ask the right questions to his customers. Similarly, a good sales leader coach must ask his team the right questions and get them to answer. This is truly a powerful tool as the personal articulation creates a self- realization. A good sales coach helps others learn how to analyze their own performance, take responsibility for their own development, find their own answers and gain the team members’ commitment to doing it.

2. Focusing only on one priority at a time
Most of us are highly ambitious and seek to accomplish a lot at a time. Perhaps in a bid for time, we often rush through the motion. However, to engage your team and for them to be able to give issues the focus they require to accelerate change, one should not have too much on the agenda. The team member has to learn the ropes and take time to internalise the good habits. Research has shown that simple repetitive tasks require a timeframe of approximately 21 days to condition!

3. Separating evaluation from development
Your team member may feel threaten if they feel that they are being appraised when you are trying to coach them. There is a time and place for everything, thus try to separate the development and evaluation aspect. In fact, some staffs that correctly identify areas to develop may be evaluated more positively. It is good for you to have a list of your team members, with their names, greatest strength, areas to develop and resources to share clearly tabulated in a list. This will allow you to picture your dream team clearly!

When these things are in place, sales coaching become your most powerful tool in achieving results and will far surpass a directive approach. The foundation is then built on trust and strengthening relationship. When coaching your sales staff, you are better able to gain an understanding of the areas where one is stuck and can broaden their perspectives, based on your experience and help to formulate a solution for their obstacles. Sales coaching require affirmation, time and effort. However, this is resources well-invested, and this will help you, as a person to develop lasting qualities for life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3854818