Your Sales Leaders talk to their people on a regular basis. They hold forecasting calls every other week. Pipeline reviews. One-on-ones. But something’s missing. Why are good sales people leaving? This post explores how sales coaching can improve retention.
Do You Really Know Why Good People Leave?
Top reps leave for greener pastures more now than ever in the past. Your competitors and recruiters are on the prowl. Here are some common excuses Sales Managers make when an ‘A’ player leaves:
- Our comp plan is broken – comp isn’t always the issue. It is an enabler, but typically not a solution. 3rd party exit interviews rarely list compensation as the reason for leaving.
- We hired the wrong person – Why…what happened? Was it truly a hiring mistake, or did you not invest in them?
- Expectations aren’t realistic – if this is the case, why hasn’t everyone left? Why are you still there?
- I am too busy to coach – busy doing what? Nothing is more important than coaching your team to a higher level
Good Coaching Will Make A Difference
Don’t be fooled by these excuses. Sales Managers blame turnover on things out of their control. But, it’s usually the Manager’s fault. Coaching takes time, effort, and skill.
There will always be other initiatives to be prioritized. These initiatives will fail without proper reinforcement and coaching. Front-Line Sales Managers bring the Sales Strategy to life for their team. They can only do this by coaching people to excellence.
Do Your Sales Managers Know How to Coach?
Don’t let your top people leave. And get more productivity out of your current team. Download the 5 Secrets to Coach Salespeople to Greatness.
This coaching guide explores each of the following five questions.
- How often should my Sales Manager be coaching?
- Who should they coach?
- How do you determine if coaching or training is the right solution?
- What makes a good coach?
- How do we design a great coaching program?
Right now what your leadership team considers sales coaching is probably not effective. Sales Managers aren’t trained to be good coaches. They are trained to managing processes. They focus on lagging results and managing the forecast. The 4th secret in the tool will explain the behaviors of great sales coaches.
Help Your Managers Become Better Coaches
In reality, your Managers don’t know their people well enough. Conversations are tactical and selfish in nature. Sales Managers focus on topics that benefit them vs. the player. They manage only what is right in front of their face. The 1st secret in the tool will help you develop a consistent coaching cadence
If your Q1 results aren’t where you want them, coaching may be the solution. Your Sales Managers relaxed after the end of year push. Now you are forced to play catch up. Did any sales people quit in Q1 after receiving their annual bonus? Was it a surprise? If your Managers are great coaches, this won’t happen. You can’t afford to lose more top performers.
Build Better Coaches Now
Great coaches get their people to perform better than they think they can. Are your Sales Managers doing this or allowing mediocrity to exist?
Sales Managers need to coach consistently. If they are not, you will lose your top people and lose productivity. Other top performers are getting courted right now. Use the 5 Secrets to Coach Salespeople to Greatness tool to design your coaching program. Stop the next talent exodus.
