Sales Performance Coach: 6 Logical Reasons Your Business Urgently Needs

What is your sales team’s current win rate?

Would you want it to increase by 28 percent?

Then implement and utilize a dynamic sales coaching program. Your team will perform better, and your business will benefit from increased revenue for years to come.

Sales performance coaches have the experience and skills necessary to help your team achieve its maximum potential. If you aren’t sure how a sales performance coach can help you achieve your sales goals, then this article is for you. 

Read on for six logical reasons your business urgently needs a sales performance coach.

What is a Sales Performance Coach?

A sales performance coach helps salespeople learn, practice and master the implementation of sales techniques and theories.

Many people think that a sales performance coach imparts knowledge and then goes on their way. Problem solved, right?

Actually, it’s much more involved than that. It involves modifying behaviors and forming strong, effective habits. Instead of only teaching information, coaches need to stick around to help the team perfect the information in practical applications.

Top sales training programs actively engage with sales staff. This helps them understand how their knowledge can inform their decisions on the job and in turn boost performance. It takes time, and it’s a process. 

This process will likely start with a basic level of instruction, but it’s going to go way beyond that. 

That’s how your team of professionals will transform into a team of experts. And with a team of experts, imagine how your sales figures will increase!

Things to Look for in A Winning Sales Performance Coach

Whether you’re choosing a professional coach, a training seminar or an online course, there are several things to look for. If you want to choose a winning sales performance coach or program, pay attention to these six considerations!

Should They Have A Particular Area of Specialization?

As with all things in life, it really does depend. 

Generally, though, the answer is yes. It is certainly good for a sales performance coach to have an area of specialization, but that won’t always matter.

Some coaches are able to adapt their coaching programs to any industry. It’s always ideal to choose a coach who is an overall good fit and has particular expertise in your industry. However, if there’s a coach who seems like an awesome fit, but they don’t have direct experience in your field, they still might be the best choice. 

It depends on the breadth of their experience and the flexibility of their coaching program.

The Coach’s PersonalityThe Coach’s Personality

Don’t underestimate the importance of personality when it comes to choosing a winning sales coach. If they can’t match the personality of your team, then they won’t achieve the results you desire. 

Since effective coaching requires buy-in from both sides, your team needs to want to work with the coach. If their personalities don’t align, then there could be diminished results.

Plus, people tend to get defensive when they’re skills are questioned. They don’t like to feel accused of being unproductive or labeled as poor performers. That means your coach has to approach everyone in a way that feels comfortable.

Assess your team to identify what type of coach would best connect with them. You can ask your team for their input, too, which will help them feel invested in the entire process. Perhaps you can even use team members to help you make your decision once you narrow down some coaches.

The Coaching Career Length

There are definitely excellent sales coaches who haven’t been coaching for long. But as a rule of thumb, a longer career is going to be a good sign. It’s certainly not the only thing that matters, but it can be a good first sign.

If a coach seems excellent and has high quality references, don’t dismiss them simply because they’re career isn’t as long.

The longer a coach has been successful in their career, the more likely they are to have the skills and knowledge you need. A long career means they’ve worked with more companies or clients, so they’ve had more opportunities to test and adjust their program for optimal results. 

A long career filled with surprises means that the scope of your goals will be similar to others in the past. That can mean quicker, more effective results. 

Does it sound like your sales team could benefit from an experienced sales coach?

Good news! You can work with Selling Revolution–click here

Actual Work Experience

A coach is a salesperson, but a salesperson isn’t always a coach. That means just because someone has experience in sales doesn’t mean they will be a good coach.

Most good coaches will have some experience to back up their program, though. 

Experience is a start, and then the coaching skills need to be layered on top. If you can find a coach who has relevant experience, that’s going to be a great sign to pay attention to. Just remember they also have to be a good coach.

A good coach is excellent at walking people through their sales processes until they’re experts. 

Experience alone doesn’t make a coach, but coaches need some experience to build a program on.

The Coach’s Approach

There are some sales coaching best practices to be aware of. When it comes to their approach, you’ll want it to be backed by research and modified by data. 

The skills your team learns and practices should have something behind them. There should be research that indicates those practices work. And the coach should track your company’s data throughout the process. 

Otherwise, how will you know if it’s working? 

And how would you know how to modify the program moving forward for better results?

They Should Share Excellent Ideas

They Should Share Excellent Ideas

Sometimes sales training seminars and sales training courses online have lots of catchy slogans that promise results. They talk about their excellent ideas, but there never seems to be more information coming. 

If there’s no real proof that a sales performance coach has such excellent ideas, it might not be the right coach for you.

Sales coaches should share their expertise and practical advice and pointers. They shouldn’t just talk about how they will. And what they offer should be specific and actionable. Otherwise, we’d suggest you keep looking.

Reasons Your Business Urgently Needs a Sales Performance Coach

We know it can be hard to self-assess. That’s why we’ve identified these six reasons your business urgently needs a sales performance coach. Each reason can be associated with several signs to look out for. 

Individuals on your Sales Team Needs to be Empowered

Oftentimes, your sales team already has the knowledge they need to succeed. It’s the confidence that is lacking. Confidence is built by experience and ultimately success. It’s a positive feedback loop.

Since it’s more a matter of doing than knowing, a sales coach will help empower your team. Using practice and real-life scenarios to perfect techniques will bring your team the empowerment they need to succeed. 

Looks for signs that your staff doesn’t feel empowered or lacks confidence, such as hesitancy to make decisions. 

When your team succeeds, you do too.

Your Business Shows a Decrease in Sales Workforce

If you can’t retain employees, it’s a red flag. 

If employees are jumping ship, resulting in a decreased sales workforce, you need to pay attention to the signs.

Why are they leaving? Have you been investing in them, setting them up for success?

If employees don’t feel as though they’re growing, they won’t be satisfied. And if they aren’t growing and improving, neither will your sales figures. 

It’s better for everyone if your company can invest time and money into your staff’s expertise and performance.  

Individual Sales Performance is Deviating in Results

It’s often the middle of the pack that serves to gain the most from training. 

Your top performers are going to perform at that high level regardless. They already figured out how to win, and they’ll likely continue to do so. 

And on the other hand, your bottom performers are likely going to take disproportionate amounts of training to achieve the results you desire. Or they won’t ever be able to. Sales isn’t for everyone.

When your individual sales performances are deviating in results, look at the middle. Try to bolster the middle to achieve more uniform results across your team. They’re the ones who are most likely to respond significantly to an investment in their performance. 

A sales coach can focus on the middle for you and provide them with the training and coaching they need to reach toward the level of your top performers.

Cold Calls are Getting Colder

Have you tracked your cold-call success rate? Is it diminishing?

That’s a sign you need a sales training program to help your staff improve their techniques.

Sometimes all they need is more practice, but oftentimes they need important guidance during that practice, too.

You Cannot Identify Potential EmployeesYou Cannot Identify Potential Employees

Another symptom of a lack of training opportunities is having a hard time attracting and identifying potential employees. 

If your job posting is adequately enticing, you shouldn’t have a problem identifying potential employees. If you are struggling, it might mean you need to invest more time and resources into your staff.

A great first step is to improve their training and coaching. You can’t stop after training. Practice has to be continuous to lead to real results. 

You Cannot Identify Organizational and Individual Strengths

Sometimes all it takes is an outside perspective to gain clarity. It helps when that perspective is backed by experience and expertise, though, which is why you’ll want to choose the most reputable sales performance coach. 

When you get real-time feedback from an unbiased and fresh perspective, you’ll be able to identify your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. The same is true regarding your staff’s strengths and weaknesses.

If you don’t have this perspective, then you’ll always be lagging behind the curve, unable to assess your team and make changes in a timely manner.

Conclusion

There are many considerations to keep in mind when evaluating your need for sales training and coaching. It’s important to remember that it requires investment to achieve improved results. If you invest in your team, providing them with the resources they need, then it’s going to benefit everyone at the business.

Are you ready to work with a sales performance coach? If you’ve identified your need for one after reading this article, then we’re here to help.

We’d love to hear from you. Click here to book a call with Selling Revolution!