Are you looking to hire a sales coach to improve your career, leadership, life, business and sales results? Well, I’m going to tell you right now that there are many sales coaches in the field and it is hard to know where to start or what to look for when hiring a coach. There are highly qualified sales coaches like myself and then there are others who just jumped on the sales coaching bandwagon so they can profit from you even though they have not proven themselves to be worthy of getting you as a client.

Knowing this, how can you find the best sales coach for you and your organization? Simply ask the questions below…

Here Are My Top 7 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Sales Coach:

1. What is your personal track record of success in sales?

I was ranked #1 sales performer in the U.S. for 4 years at two global Fortune 500 Companies. I generated over $135 Million in Sales Revenue. I know what it takes to become a top sales professional.

This is not true for many sales coaches as they do not have the credentials of being a #1 performer in a large organization multiple times. And, many sales coaches do not have extensive experience building, developing and managing sales forces.

But what if those are your goals? See the concern? If they have not walked the walk, and proven they know what it takes to achieve great sales results, how can you expect them to know what it takes to achieve extraordinary results?

2. Will you customize your sales coaching programs around my particular needs and goals?

Many sales coaching programs simply place all individuals and businesses into the exact same sales coaching process. They do not take into consideration the immediate challenges at hand, nor do they focus on customizing the program around the strengths of the individual or organization, while identifying and addressing weaknesses.

Before you hire a sales coach, ask how they customize their sales coaching program. If they don’t have some good examples to share, run fast, or face receiving cookie-cutter coaching which will greatly impede your results.

3. What is your general sales philosophy?

Many of the old persuasive selling techniques really are a thing of the past. They don’t work. Yet, many sales coaches are still teaching people just like you to persuade, push, be very aggressive, and to forcefully change the mind of others. This will make both you and the prospective client feel uncomfortable and will automatically lead to lost sales.

If you want to increase your sales potential then you need a sales coach who understands how to create a genuine, natural, customized sales philosophy for each individual they coach. If they don’t, watch out.

4. What professional coach training do you have?

You may find a sales coach who has a respectful sales background like me. But, in many cases they’ll have very little, if any professional coaching training. There is a big difference between calling oneself a coach, and having 100’s of hours of face-to-face coaching training. If they do not have this training, you may not receive all the support you need around motivation, focus, changing your mind set, accountability, and being able to support you towards success in your entire life. If you hire a sales coach who does not have professional training, do not expect the same results. You will not be supported holistically around all the intangibles that help people reach extraordinary results.

5. How did you become a sales coach – and why?

Find out if the sales coach made the conscious choice to become a coach for the right reasons, or if they burned out of corporate America or fell into the position as a back up because they lost a job. You want a coach who loves coaching, sales and changing lives. Look for a coach with whom you connect with. Look for a sales coach who truly cares about your success and loves the work he or she does. If you do not sense a great deal of passion in their voice when they describe how they became a sales coach, talk to another coach.

6. Can you show me new and innovative ways to increase sales?

If the sales coach is not aware of how to use social media, blogs, website marketing, SEO, AdWords, effective article writing and publication, LinkedIn and other similar tools to grow their own business, how can they help you to grow yours?

Technology is always changing and there are ways to use it to increase your sales results. Find a sales coach who is using these tools on a daily basis to grow their sales coaching business. Find a sales coach who can show you how to generate leads, contact new prospects and network effectively in the modern era of sales. If they don’t use these tools, keep on looking.

7. Do you have a coach?

I’m a sales coach and I still work with a coach. I get a tremendous amount out of it and I am convinced of the value of coaching. How can you be a coach, but say you don’t need a coach yourself?

As soon as you stop learning, growing, improving and developing, what kind of an example are you showing for your own clients? Find a sales coach who has a coach, believes in coaching, uses coaching to continue to become a better coach, a better entrepreneur, and a better person. Find someone who inspires you to do more and doesn’t just coach you, but leads by example. If they don’t have a coach, just ask them why. This is an important question to ask and I’m guessing you will decide to move on pretty fast after they say they don’t need a coach or don’t have one.

Find a sales coach who is right for you by asking these questions. Follow these tips and you will ensure you partner up with the right sales coach for you to achieve amazing sales results.

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There are different views as to whether a sales person requires a sales coach.

They are people who have doubts if a coach can be of much help to improve performance of an insurance agent. Yes, there are many agents who are self starters and self motivators. They are fuelled by their burning desire to go extra miles in order to succeed in their business. Many insurance agents succeed through their hard work. They put a lot of efforts in their business. They reach out to as many people as they can.

However, if you are looking for a breakthrough in your performance, you need someone to challenge your thoughts so that you can form a new belief system that will change your performance . You need someone to tell you your blind spots so that you can see more clearly what is preventing from going beyond your perceived limitation. You need someone to hold up the mirror and give you an honest reflection so that you can see your whole new self.

These jobs are best performed by a coach. You need a coach to systematically guide you to overcome road blocks and conquer obstacles on your journey to greater success. A good coach will be able to use his practical experience to help you discover your performance gap and achieve breakthrough.

Yes, you have the choice to buy a book to learn how to enhance your performance. However, what you learn from the book, though may be helpful, is meant for the majority of the readers. The book will not be able to provide you with advice that is unique to your situations. Everybody has different levels of strengths, weaknesses and potentials. You need a personal coach to design an improvement system specifically for you.

A coach is another pair of eyes that tell you things you don’t see yourself. A coach provides you with insight, objective critique and actionable feedback from an outside vantage point. You need a coach to combat your greatest enemy i.e. complacency. We are creatures of habit. We tend not to look for alternatives and we choose to do things that we can do without giving much thought. We need a coach to shake us off from the chair, take us out of our comfort zone.

If you are already in your peak performance, do you still need a coach?

The answer is “Yes” if you are not contented with what you have achieved and always looking for ways to perfect your skills. Even tip-top athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps use coaches. They need coaches for one simple reason. They need a breakthrough to bring themselves to the next level. In order to do so, they need experienced coaches to tell them what else they can do to push the limits.

A good coach places his interest before yours. His success is dependent on yours for both of you share the same goals. He can be your good friend who listens to your joy or sorrow. He motivates you when you get discouraged and alerts you to get ready for the next challenge every time you triumph. He shares both your heartbreaking and record breaking moments.

Your coach and you form a powerful partnership where both of you take each other seriously. Both strive to give the best in order to achieve your common goals. A coach to you is like the wind beneath your wings helping you soar higher ground and see things in broader perspective.

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