How to make coaching work for your sales team • TechCrunch

The advent of SaaS and cloud-based software services have all but wiped out the traditional sales model, but not many companies are actually helping their sales teams adapt to this new world order.

Sales training statistics paint a bleak picture. Even when leaders know their employees need support, they often don’t provide the right kind of support. Some organizations don’t offer sales training at all, others just fall short. According to one study, about 44% of salespeople felt their training “needed improvement.”

How can sales leaders and other stakeholders improve modern sales education?

It’s important to recognize that today’s sales teams are problem solvers rather than closing deals – soft skills are more important here than technical skills. You need to develop flexible ways of thinking and problem-solving, be able to deal with the ever-present uncertainty, manage time well and be resilient.

Every sales team is made up of very different people with different soft skills, behaviors and mindsets. Because of this, personalized approaches to learning and development initiatives, such as B. One-on-one coaching, so be transformative.

Personalized coaching programs hit sales professionals where they need to help them become better versions of themselves. To realize the power of personalized coaching, sales leaders and other stakeholders should create a coaching culture that supports sales professionals at every level of their career.

Here’s how:

Identify a sales coach

In general, there are two types of business coaches – external and internal. External coaches are usually certified third-party partners. Conversely, internal coaches work for the company and may be sales managers, HR managers or other managers.

While both types of coaches can be effective, internal coaches face some obstacles and need to be proactive:

1. Commit to confidentiality: Coaches need to create psychologically safe environments in which employees can voice concerns such as professional weaknesses, interpersonal challenges, and known prejudices. If employees fear repercussions from their coaching, they are not being honest and the coaching is not developing its full potential.
2. Prevent Role Confusion: Internal coaches may interact with employees outside of regular coaching sessions, so they need to set clear expectations about how the coach-learner relationship differs from other professional relationships.
3. Practice objectivity: While in-house coaches have the advantage of understanding a workplace’s cultural nuances, politics and strategy, they must avoid institutional bias and approach coaching sessions impartially.

Determine an employee’s vision for success