Secrets Of High-Performing Sales Coaches

Coaching in general is a hot topic, but when it comes to sales, it's important to realise that the coaching that sales reps need is very different from the kind of general coaching that's appropriate in other areas of business. Learning how to effectively coach sales reps is an integral part of sales management training, and while some general coaching skills are good to have, there are specific skills that are much more important for effective sales coaching.

Defining and Achieving Goals

Good coaches help their sales people define their own goals; great coaches help their reps create and execute action plans that will allow them to achieve those goals. That includes helping trainees develop habits and behaviours that contribute to and increase their sales success.

Know When to Give Advice, and When to Back Off

In some training circles, the prevailing school of thought is that coaches should avoid giving direct advice, because it's more important that the “coachee” receives general advice and coaching that will enable them to figure things out on their own. But in sales, situations often arise where giving direct advice enables a trainee to make a sale they would have lost otherwise, and in the sales industry there's no room for lost opportunities. A good coach has to know when direct advice is needed and warranted, and when it's better to step back and let their trainee use their own judgement to solve a problem.

Essentially, this is about understanding that sales coaches have two different jobs: one is to provide general support and advice that helps a trainee improve over time, and the second is to provide specific, direct advice when it's needed to help a trainee take advantage of an opportunity. So, sales coaches need to be able to give both immediate and long-term advice, and know when each kind of advice is appropriate.

Inspiration and Motivation

Good sales coaches understand that motivation isn't the same for everyone; people are motivated in different ways by different things, and a great coach is someone who can help each and every rep tap into their own personal source of internal motivation.

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3 Ways To Develop Your Team's Customer Service Skills

In any industry, a business must work continually to improve their service team’s skills with customer service courses and training. Some of the most important assets are really personality traits, which aren't necessarily easy to teach, but even so they're skills that can be developed and improved upon.

Empathy and Patience

When a customer contacts a service representative, it's typically because they have a complaint or query. Some customers are angry and some are impatient; regardless of the situation, a rep needs to handle each with a high level of diplomacy.

Skill development: empathy means stepping into someone else's shoes, and understanding why they feel the way they do. A great rep is naturally empathetic, a skill that can be learned to some degree. One way to develop empathy is by getting to know people from different backgrounds and understand what is important or less important to them.

Empathy naturally helps to improve patience, too, but just as important for a service rep is understanding what can make them lose their patience. Knowing what those cues are can help them stay calm under pressure.

Communication Skills

Service reps must be able to communicate with customers clearly and concisely so that customers understand what's being said. They also need to be able to use positive language and remain calm and cheerful in any situation, no matter how irate a customer becomes. Listening is also an essential skill: each customer is different, and each customer interaction will vary; a great rep can quickly sense a customer's mood, and adapt their service strategy accordingly.

Skill development: dealing with customers involves active listening, which means listening to what a customer says, and clarifying and rephrasing what has been said by repeating that back to the customer. This confirms that each party understands what's happening, and ensures that the customer feels heard.

Knowledge

Customers rely on service reps to help them solve their problems, so reps need to have good working knowledge of the business's products or services. A rep should be able to solve most problems, and know what to do in cases where solving a problem requires special knowledge or skills. This skill is one that customer service training should cover in depth and on an ongoing basis.

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