Sales Coaching is Like Baseball

Understanding the Sales Force

Sales Coaching is Like Baseball - How do You Rate?

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.

Pujols 2 Where are you when it comes to the all important topic of Sales Coaching?

I'm in the middle of training several sales management teams on the finer points of coaching.

What's always fascinating for me is the transition that these teams go through on their way from point A to point B.

Frequency

They start with: "I coach my salespeople all the time."

Then I hear: "Well, I don't coach them quite as often as you say we should."

And then: "Oh, that's much more often than I do it now. I don't have time for that."

Then: "Wow, if I coached that frequently it would have quite the impact!"

Methodology

They start with: "When I do coach, I'm pretty good at it."

Then I hear: "That's exactly how I coach!"

And then: "Well, I don't go that far."

Then: "That's much deeper and wider than I go."

Also: "I never get to those kinds of outcomes with my salespeople."

Finally: "If I could coach like that and do it that frequently, all of my salespeople would be awesome!"

Role Playing:

They start with: "Those are how my coaching role plays sound."

Then I hear: "Well, I never have my salespeople play the prospect's part."

And then: "My role plays don't last 20 minutes."

Also: "I can't get them off price and onto the issues that really matter like you do."

Finally: "You do that so easily. How can I learn to do that?"

Sales Coaching is like baseball.

"Oh, I played baseball."

Really? Whiffle Ball in the back yard? Sandlot? Little League? Babe Ruth? High School? American Legion? College? Cape Cod League? Independent League? First Round Draft Pick? Signed by a Major League Team? High Minors? Cup of Coffee in the Bigs? Utility Player on a Major League Team? Every Day Player? All Star? MVP? Hall of Fame?

When it comes to coaching, most sales managers have done the baseball equivalent of Sandlot - they messed around at it and had some fun.

I want the sales management teams I work with to perform the baseball equivalent of at least All Star. They excel at it every day and have a major impact on their team's ability to win.

Where are you or your sales managers when it comes to the all important topic of Sales Coaching?

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Tue, Aug 03, 2010 @ 07:01 AM

COMMENTS

Dave:

I love this discussion with my clients. Typically we have to spend a lot of time in this area even with the most seasoned managers. The most common learning that comes out of this is the following:
- They are not coaching often enough.
- That coaching is a process which they never learned.
- What they are typically doing is feel good sessions?
- Their people are usually not walking away with anything different than what they started the session with.
- Managers do not understand the purpose of meeting regularly is to identify patterns and you cannot do that without debriefing and pre-briefing regularly.
- There is a misconception that top sales people do not need coaching.

Keep up the good work.

Howard Shore
Activate Group, Inc.

href="http://www.activategroupinc.com/html/codes">Accelerating Growth!.

posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 at 8:09 AM by Howard Shore

i use this analogy all the time. In baseball, even little league - you coach before, during and after the game, with each aspect having a set purpose. And practice is a big part of developing skills & winning habits.

Most sales coaches, coach only during the game, tend to be all over the place with comments, and rarely use practice to improve. Model the approach of a baseball coach and your sales game improves

posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 at 10:26 AM by Jim G

I often use a medical analogy.Would you feel comfortable having an operation with a surgeon, in terms of expected performance/outcome who did not undertake regularly attend clinical refresher training to keep bang up to date? The answer is inevitably 'No'and the follow up question "Why then are we comfortable with sales managers who infrequently if ever coach their sales people and/or sinply do not have the skills to do it?.

posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 1:05 AM by Ray Bigger

Adding to Mike's comment, out here in Singapore (Asia) it is indeed a rare event to hear of a sales manager going out on dual calls , let alone the real time 'kerb side' role play. In fact it is almost a dead art and worryingly so

given the coaching in the 'office environment is also sub standard.

posted on Friday, August 06, 2010 at 9:09 PM by Ray Bigger

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Sales Coaching is Like Baseball - How do You Rate?

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