How do you make great sales people become even better?

 

"Great sales people" are performing at over 120% of target level.

 

They are skilled, knowledgeable and active,
they have good attitude to their customers,
their company and their products.
Given, that this is your definition too,

then the first Management Job is NOT to de-motivate them,

avoid getting in the way,
do not attempt to 'manage' their Performance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Top Performers even higher is the most difficult of Sales Management Tasks;
it requires the highest levels of Leadership and Coaching skills.

These are both "Interactive skills" that is;

We DO Coaching WITH others,

We do NOT DO Coaching TO others.

The Sales Manager,

Coaching extraordinary performance from Top Performers

needs EXTRAORDINARY Diagnostic skills,

if you want to coach Tiger Woods (or any Tour Golf Pro)

you need to know more about some aspects of golf then they do!

Then it is:

• Measure,
  

• Compare,
  

• Feedback,
  

• Modify behaviour,
  

• Rehearse New behaviour,
  

• Apply and review.

 

 

 

It is a JOINT effort,
a Sales Person performing at 120% does not HAVE to improve they are already succeeding.

Therefore, the Leadership style should be Delegating/Supporting their work. 
Moving them to “Coaching” requires THEIR agreement.

 

YOU do not have the 'management right' to Coach a Top Performer;

you may only Coach them with their consent.

 

When I review, why Top Performers 'go-off -the-boil' and start losing their ‘edge’,

in 90% of cases it is through mismanagement.

Distractions, defocus, or simply treating them the same as the rest of the team

sheep dip training, accompanied sales calls where the Sales Manager interferes,

random changes of Accounts and new Product ‘drives’.

Five rules for Developing Top Performers




1. Never do anything without their agreement, or at least their acquiescence

   
   

2. Maintain their Performance by Delegation and Supportive Leadership

   
   

3. Coach by a "Know thyself" process by clear measurement and simple feed back

   
   

4. Rehearse in Realistic Simulations

   
   

5. Thoroughly OBJECTIVELY review any live sales call in great detail

 

BMAC Consultants offer Support to Sales Coaches in the form of Tools, Frameworks, Training and ‘Coaching the Coach’ Contact Brian MacIver brian.maciver@gmail.com for details and samples

 

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