RSSCoaching does not have to be like sales
Dec 10, 2009 Sales Related
In my opinion the field of coaching behaves similarly to the field of sales: gather data about a problem, ask responsible, caring questions, and then provide a solution. Similar to sales, coaches like to say that they really do care, that they don’t give answers, that they only provide data on relevant solutions. And yet, to me the models are quite similar, if not identical.
Coaches lose at least 50% of their clients after the first round of coaching. Just like sellers, coaches blame the clients.Where do the clients go? They weren’t ready to change/buy; they maintained their status quo; they used a competitor.
But that’s not the problem. The problem is that the coaching model (and here I’m going to buck the conventional wisdom) merely works within the bias of both coach and client, in the same way that placing a solution and asking information-gathering questions works within the bias of the seller’s bias and ability to fix a problem with their solution.
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A ‘Need’ Doesn’t Mean A Buying Decision
Jun 15, 2009 Decisioning & Change Management
A prospect of one of my coaching clients - the sales manager of a small manufacturing company – joined our coaching call at the request of my client Joe. Joe wanted me to use my Buying Facilitation method on the manager to find out why he hadn’t purchased a sales training program after 6 months of conversation, given he had an ’obvious need’, and the two of them had a ‘nice relationship’. I don’t know what my client told him to get onto the call, but the man showed up with great humor.
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Tags: Business with integrity, Buying Facilitation®, client relationship, coaching, Facilitative Questions, need, relationship sale, sales cycle, sales training, unrecognized need
Sales Coaching: Choosing the right coach. Targeting the right outcome.
Jul 18, 2007 Decisioning & Change Management
I recently got a call from a young man whose boss suggested he find a sales coach, adding that he’d have to pay for it himself so that it would have value for him.
I have a few thoughts here:
- Why is the manager delegating his/her responsibility for employee/salesperson success to an outsider who s/he doesn’t know and has no authority over?
- Great! That means the manager isn’t biased around the route to success so long as the salesperson is successful;
- The manager is replacing or blending group sales training with individual skills enhancement to give each seller the ability to discover their own favored model for learning and success;
- The manager should be a co-sponsor, and fund the endeavor as soon as the seller starts to bring in addition revenue and enhanced results;
- The manager should be part of the final session to ensure s/he can follow up and continue the work of the coach, and understand how best to supervise the coachee to ensure the learning gets carried forward.
Tags: change, coaching, consultant, Facilitative Questions
