Managing, Onboarding and Coaching in the “Real World”

Managing, Onboarding and Coaching in the “Real World”

Opening Statement: • Good sales reps are becoming more and more difficult to find • When you find one….don’t lose them! • It requires having a great company • An effective hiring process. • A strong Initial Sales Training program • …And a great Cocahing & On-Boarding process!! Jul 22, 2013 - The front page headline is "Sales rep wanted: Inquire Anyplace."

Coaching & On-Boarding is an extension of the hiring process… Especially a quality sales rep in 2015 Finding the right candidate is the first step Having the right things to offer is essential to attracting the right candidate

Some assumptions: You’re a quality company…that has a well-defined cause and purpose! You offer quality products and solutions You have created a positive working environment (with growth potential) You have a fair compensation package…that rewards the right behaviors You have a great sales management team…who are also great at coaching and development

Great Quote:

During the interview process… Let the candidate know in advance that you would like them to come in prepared to conduct a role-play…selling the same product or service that they were selling in their previous job. You play a real life customer (if needed, let the candidate explain to you the specifics of their product or service) Their performance will let you see how closely their approach aligns with yours

Give realistic expectations up front Let the candidate know exactly what they are about to sign up for…this includes: A full job description (their role) In addition to understanding their sales quotas, there should also be a full explanation of their day to day activities Exactly what you expect from them …and exactly what you’re going to do to help them be successful! (your role) Week by week for the first two months

Do you have an effective IST program? After HR goes through the initial orientation with a brand new hire…what type of training do you provide? How long is it and what do you cover? How much product training do you provide initially? How much paperwork and fulfillment training do you provide? How much sales process training do you provide (Hopefully, you have a specific sales process that everyone strives to follow)? Is it all classroom? Or, does some of it take place in the field? Do you have their sales manager train them…or is it with a sales trainer? Either way, does the front-line sales manager play a role?

The #1 Reason why people quit their Job: Relationship with bossEmployees don’t need to be friends with their boss but they need to have a relationship. The boss is too much of an integral part of their daily lives at work for an uncomfortable relationship. The boss provides direction and feedback, spends time in one-to-one meetings, and connects the employee to the larger organization. To have a toxic relationship with the person an employee reports to undermines the employee’s engagement, confidence and commitment. A bad boss is also the number one reason why employees quit their job.

After IST…are you expecting “Robo-Rep”? Many companies expect their new sales reps to start playing at a veteran level as soon as they come out of IST…or expect them to be able to start hitting quota immediately. This is not a reasonable expectation There must be a reasonable ramp-up period By the way, if the sales rep has both “Ability” and “Desire”…if they’re not successful …it’s on you!

This is where the Real Coaching & On-Boarding process really begins… Once they are in the real world…this is when it starts! Setting reasonable expectations is the key to success It’s not ONLY about the sales numbers - It’s about activity (#’s of appts, CNA’s, solutions, etc.) - It’s about skill development (each step of the sales is a separate skill) - It’s about bringing them along one step at a time…in a reasonable period of time. Sales reps will learn to “Expect what you in Inspect”

Coaching to the Sales Call Process…Do you have a Trained Eye? • During the Olympic Games there are events such as diving, figure skating, or as shown in this picture, gymnastics…where the sport requires judges to assess each athlete’s performance! • To do this well, they must have a “Trained Eye” which means they need to know exactly what to look for during the event • The same holds true for you when you are observing your sales rep on a sales call in front of a business owner…do you have a trained eye? Page 14

Where does the “Train leave the Track?” • As you can see looking at the Sales Call Process Chart on the right…if the sales rep executes the sales interaction properly…it’s like following a train track • These are the same elements of the process that we will look for when observing actual sales interactions • Here is The Coaching Guide…our train track… and Sales Call Process flow Page 15

Introducing the “Coaching Guide” • During this exercise you will have the opportunity to observe a couple of sales scenarios-using the Coaching Guide • It is designed to be more “objective” than subjective • Mark “NG” if it didn’t apply • Follow along and simply “check off” what the rep did or didn’t do • On the right side, the coach can write exactly what they heard…after the call they can assess the areas of strength and area for development • Our recommendation is to reinforce areas of strength by giving specific feedback on what was done well…and focus on only “one area for development” at a time! • We’ll discuss how to give effective feedback in an up-coming session Page 16

Our Philosophy: Focus on the Process…not the result! Sports professionals do it, medical professionals do it, airplane pilots do it, etc…why not sales professionals? When you focus on the process…the sales results happen automatically! It also keeps the pressure off of the sales rep when they interact with clients Note: Business owner’s know when the sales rep does not have their best interest at heart!

The first week after IST… Set your goals for the week…for example: The goal might be learning how to “Properly plan and prepare to call on ten businesses” The front-line sales manager will help the sales rep plan the first three accounts while the sales rep observes…then, the sales rep will attempt to plan the next seven with some supervision (and feedback) from the front-line manager. Note: Even though no sales were made that week….this was still a very successful week!

The second week after IST… The second week after IST focus on the “Call Opening” The goal of the Call Opening is to either gain an appointment or gain permission to proceed to the Needs Analysis step Help the sales rep set a goal for a specific number of appointments for the second week (be realistic!) Again, this may require some demonstration from the sales manager

By the third week, the new hire should be seeing “live customers” The goal should be to help the sales rep master the specific steps of the sales call process Again, this may require a combination of demonstration calls, joint calls and observation calls This is where you will start to identify specific areas of strength and areas for development

Delivering Effective Feedback cont’d “Three types of in-field coaching & feedback methods” When you begin the Coaching Process with your sales reps in the field, there are three common ways to go about giving feedback: • The Demo Call This is where you demonstrate and actually conduct the sales call “live” in front of a customer, then give feedback on what you did on that call. 2. The Joint Call This is where you and the rep conduct the call together…each taking a different part, then give feedback on what you both did. 3. The Observation Call This is where you are strictly an observer…then, give feedback on what they did on the call.

Ken Blanchard’s Sea World example • One last point on coaching to one step at a time. Ken Blanchard (Author of the “One Minute Manager”) uses a great example of how they train dolphins at Sea World to jump 15 feet out of the water over a rope…any idea how they do it? One small step at a time! Here’s how:

Start tracking their progress… This is an example of our “Sales Rep Skill Tracker”

Suggestion: Review at least twice per month • Upper Management tracks the front-line sales managers progress with each rep • Focus on specific sales reps that seem to be stuck on the same step for an extended period of time • Brainstorm effective ways of helping sales reps master each step Focus on the selling fundamentals!

Critical point!!! Celebrate each success with the sales rep! Remember, you’re focusing on the process…help your sales reps master the steps of the sales call process and the sales results will take care of themselves! Every time your sales rep masters the steps of the process…make them feel like they just climbed Mt. Everest!!

By the fourth week, the new hire should be ramping up… However, it may be several months realistically before the new hire sales rep is playing at a veteran level Their sales expectations (quotas) should ramp up at a realistic pace as well Remember, their drinking from a fire hose during the first weeks of learning a new job Expectations should be realistic

Most sales reps will quit within the 3 months to 6 months range Again, if you have determined they have the “Ability” and the “Desire”…and they don’t make it…it’s on YOU! Ken Blanchard’s “Situational Leadership” model is a good way to think about the stages a new hire sales rep goes from rookie to veteran!

The Suggested Coaching Schedule Let’s take a look at the suggested “Coaching Schedule” for Front Line Sales Managers Note: On Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday Managers should be able to touch four sales reps per day! A great goal would be to attempt to help one sales rep master one step of the Sales Call Process every day…imagine where your team will be in a few months!

Pre-Call Check: • Pre-Call Check: • What do they sell? • Who do they sell to (target groups)? • What are the buying factors their potential customers “care about”? • Why are they the best choice? • What Call Opening and Needs Analysis questions have you developed?

Post Call Debrief: What are the main focus areas? What are their key selling points? What is their capability and capacity? What are the overall business needs and objectives?

Final Reminders: Coaching never ends!! Just like professional athletes, doctors, airplane pilots, etc…learning never stops. If you revert back to focusing on results vs. process…don’t be surprised to see even the most seasoned sales reps start to skip steps of the process (your fundamentals) Focus on the process and the sales results will take care of themselves Stay disciplined….and have fun!!!

Managing, Onboarding and Coaching in the “Real World”