Your success as a sales leader comes down to 3 things – Results, Results and Results.
You get it and I know you live it. I have broken results into 3 zones. Depending on which zone you are in, it will have a dramatic impact on you and your team in terms of demeaner, stress levels, and motivation.
What if you could increase the sales in your region by 5%, 10% or even 15% by simply learning how to coach your sales reps to be top performers? What would that do the company’s bottom line? Imagine if you could drive an additional $2M, $5M, or even $10M in sales?
What would that be worth to you? Maybe it would be the bonus that would allow you to treat your family to something special. Perhaps a promotion to the position that you’ve been working towards for years. Maybe it’s that company recognition that catapults your career?
Great job if you ended up in the Crushing it Zone. You are in the top 20% of sales managers!
You ended up making a big bonus as have many of your sales reps. Your team is pumped going into the new year and you’re feeling good. You know that you are having a tremendous impact on your performance and that of your team.
If you ended up 90%-100% of quota you landed in the “Proceed with Caution Zone”. It could be worse. You are in the middle of the pack.
You and your team struggled to make your numbers, worked long hours, have been stressed and maybe a few are making their bonus.
WTF. If you ended up below 90% of quota you are in the “Danger Zone”
You must be frustrated, stressed and overwhelmed. This is a horrible place to be. You know that you can’t stay in the “Danger Zone” for another year! You might be out of a job.
It is highly likely that your team is disgruntled, there is turnover, and no one on your team made bonus. You may even want to fire a couple of your salespeople.
What to do?
One of my bosses used say “if it’s to be it’s up to me”.
If you want to live in the “Crushing it Zone” it is up to YOU. You need to ask yourself these 3 questions:
- What can I do better or differently?
- What can I do to consistently crush your sales numbers?
- What am I committed to doing to impact performance in the new year?
After 25 years of research, I have learned that the best way to CRUSH your sales numbers is not by paying your salespeople more money nor telling them what to do.
It’s by coaching and mentoring your salespeople to be top performers.
3 Pillars of Great Coaching:
Coaching Effectiveness
Research has shown that highly effective sales coaches out performed their lesser effective colleagues by 19%. That means going from 83% of quota to 102. Their salespeople are making larger bonuses.
Let’s say you are responsible for a $10M quota. That’s $1.9M more sales. Let’s say you have a 30M quota that $5.7M more sales.
The problem is that only 7% of sales managers are effectively coaching.
- Time in the Field
Many sales managers are too busy putting out fires to coach. They are dealing with hundreds of emails, texts and phone calls and are too busy to get out and coach. Does this sound like you?
Sales managers who put coaching first have been shown to have a positive impact of 17% more sales than those who don’t coach. Yes, really! If you get out more frequently next year, you can help your team go from 90% to quota to 107% to quota.
On a 50M business that means $8.5 million more sales.
That’s showing you the money!!!
The reality is that only 14% of sales managers are spending enough time coaching.
- Coaching methodology
Many companies don’t have or follow a well-defined sales coaching methodology. Which is too bad.
It has been shown that sales managers who follow a formal coaching methodology close 17% more sales. It is like sales reps who follow a selling process out perform their colleagues who wing it.
What if you followed your own coaching methodology and not wait for your company to implement one? Would you get better results?
What if you could coach your salespeople to close more deals?
Only 44% of companies follow a highly effective and well-understood coaching methodology.
The Bottom Line
Every study on sales effectiveness, sales enablement and sales performance clearly shows that effective, frequent and methodical coaching is the way to CRUSH Your SALES NUNBERS.
“Unfortunately, studies also show that a majority of SALES MANAGERS … ARE NOT GREAT COACHES, don’t coach often enough and lack a coaching methodology to impact their sales.
I am going to let you in on a little secret … it’s not your fault.
With more and more on your plate than ever before, learning how to coach isn’t at the top of your list.
BUT IT NEEDS TO BE YOUR PRIOITY THIS YEAR!
If you want to consistently live in the “Crushing it Zone”, all you need to do is improve your coaching effectiveness, get out in the field more often and consistently follow a proven coaching methodology.