KISS Rule: Weekly coaching + motivators + structure = winning results!
Posted on November 13, 2017 by Andrea Kiss, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
You thought the KISS rule was simple? It is! But you've got to connect coaching with motivators and follow a structure to get the winning results!
Coaching is critical to getting winning results for your sales teams. That’s why you include it in job descriptions for sales reps and managers. But as sales leaders we get impatient to close business or prepare sales forecasts and often skip to the deal at hand to figure out how to reel it in.
Follow the KISS rule: Keep it Short and Simple (and my last name!) Here’s why and how to get started so you see winning results!
1. Book a weekly coaching session for 30 minutes with everyone
Make it weekly so that you can deliver just-in-time observations AND deliver what your Millennials NEED. (“I noticed when you enthusiastically presented the proposal to the customer, the customer was eager to share their opinion. We didn’t get to hear what he had to say about it. What could you do next time to hear the customer’s perspective?” “What else?”)
Keep the time to 30 minutes so the topics can be clear and actionable. Check out the results that Rogers documented. They share the ROI of 30-minute weekly coaching to their call centre results. Research from CEB shows that sales reps who receive as little as three hours of coaching per month exceed quota by 7%, increasing revenue by 25% and average close rates by 70%.
Millennials demand feedback and coaching more than previous generations. They are hungry to know specifically what they need to do to get better – right now. Dedicating time and honoring that time to coaching not only underscores the value of each rep and manager, but genuinely helps the rep connect to their purpose and engages them deeply in the business.
Remember the coaching session is for coaching behavior that supports winning results, not a forecast review!
2. Start with motivators then coach with a structure.
Before advancing any important sales cycle, you know what the customer goals are. Same goes for coaching. Know what your manager/rep or coachee wants – by asking!
Make the structure dead simple. Document each session in an easy to access place that you can return to at each coaching session. For my clients, I include three parts to my tracking document:
· Goals/vision/motivators (over time I add values and strengths)
· Weekly topics qualified with the acronym TOMS (Topic Outcome Meaningful Successful)
· Weekly actions the coachee decides to be accountable for
Vision/goals/motivators What does the coachee really want? Then, to go a bit deeper on what’s fulfilling “What’s important about that?” Just like a sales call, don’t stop there! “What else?”. Easy, right? Don’t stop there. Seek to discover personal motivators as well as external motivators. Strip out any buzz words, jargon or fluff – just the real words from the manager.
· E.g.#1a: ‘I want to be the top performing manager in Canada. To be recognized as the best by president and peers. To earn promotion. To lead others. I love to inspire others.’
· E.g. #2a: ‘Make quota. To make bonus of $### this quarter. So I can buy that new car….and then I can roll into driveway at my girlfriend’s place and take her out.’
This becomes your big “A” agenda you can champion for your coachee (just like Ara Parasghegian) Each of your subsequent coaching sessions can tie to their ultimate motivators.
· E.g. #1b: Topic: Sales manager is concerned that recent team meetings haven’t been effective.
“Tell me and I forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
Instead of telling the SM best practices, remind them of their vision to be the top performing manager in Canada. Try some of these open ended and questions from a place of curiosity “What does it look like when you are the top SM and running an effective meeting?” or “What’s an effective team meeting sound like?” “What’s another perspective?” or “What assumption are you making about your current meetings?”
I’ve created a coaching toolkit for the managers that I coach. It includes powerful questions to help reps clarify what’s fulfilling, what’s important, what other perspectives options there are. Message me if you are interested in trying it out.
I’m curious to hear how weekly coaching supports you getting winning results and what kind of structure works for you.
