Sales managers or leaders do joint calls with salespeople pretty often. I hope often enough. What I find throughout the years is sales managers or leaders rarely coach the salesperson but rather they mentor them, or they enter the this-is-what-you-did-wrong mode and let-me-tell-you mode. Here’s what it looks like:

Sales Manager: So what do you think of the call?
Sales Person: It was ok, there are lots of things I’ve missed out on.
Sales Manager: It’s good that you are aware, for example, just now when the buyer said X, you should have, could have, might have replied with Y. (oh no!)

Sounds familiar?

Sales Managers or leaders must learn the art of questioning.
Here are some ways to be effective at sales coaching and debriefing the sales call.

Sales Manager: So what do you think of the call?
Sales Person: It was ok, there are lots of things I’ve missed out on.
Sales Manager: It’s good that you are aware. What exactly did you miss out on?
Sales Person: Just now when the buyer said X, I could have probed for more information.
Sales Manager: (do NOT go into – oh yea, and you should/might/could also do Z mode)
Sales Manager: How would you have probed the buyer for more information?

See how it works? That way the salesperson will think for themselves and they own the responsibility for the results of the call. Salesperson likes to be taught not told. As Sales Manager and Leader, we must be tactful in our approach. Gone are the days of bossing people around. We need to lead people – inspire them – coach them – for maximum performance and bring the best out of them.

Another scenario:

Sales Manager: So what do you think of the call?
Sales Person: It was GreeaAaT!!!
Sales Manager: It’s good that you are aware. What did you do best?
Sales Person: Well I manage to answer all the questions and the buyer really liked me.
Sales Manager: “Tell Mode” (Uh-huh… I don’t think so, just now when the buyer said X you could have probed further) — the wrong way to do it, but I often see this happening!
Sales Manager: “Prove Them Wrong Mode” (Really? Did you answer X properly?) — the wrong way to do it.
Sales Manager: Yes, I really like the way you handled Y. It was world-class. What would you do differently next time?

Sales Managers – stop talking … start coaching.

Unconventionally,
HANZO NG
Sales Ninja Grandmaster

Hanzo Ng is Sales Ninja Grandmaster, lingo for Chief Trainer of Sales Ninja Training, Asia’s #1 Unconventional Sales Training. Sales Ninja Training specializes in helping small-medium, listed and global companies transform their salespeople into the ultimate sales professional known as Sales Ninja. For more information on our sales, motivation, and leadership training, visit our website.

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