For sales management, effectively coaching reps of widely varying skill levels in different locations is nothing short of a juggling act. As a result, it’s not uncommon for coaching to occur infrequently, sometimes not at all, which is undoubtedly one of the factors contributing to sales team turnover. When reps aren’t successful and aren’t given the opportunity to develop the skills needed to become successful, they leave.
We’ve talked previously about ensuring new sellers are successful as soon as possible, but let’s dive into how to effectively coach all sellers. Geography and schedule are common hurdles when it comes to coaching a dispersed sales team. Thanks to technology, both have become far less of an issue. With sellers managing appointments, calls, meetings, and prospecting, not all these items end up on a convenient calendar for sales management. This is where the logistics come into play. If you’ve managed a dispersed sales team, you know how difficult it is to consistently find time to connect with an individual seller (or multiple sellers) for a coaching session.
Skills development through asynchronous practice and coaching solves this problem by eliminating the need to coordinate calendars and propose alternative times when conflicts arise, especially when teams span multiple time zones. When scenarios are distributed to individuals or teams, they can practice their responses at their convenience. The same goes for managers as they provide coaching, suggestions, and feedback. Rather than taking precious selling time away from your team, empower them by facilitating skills development in between meetings, during off-hours, or during unexpected free time.
Time away from selling is a rep’s worst nightmare, don’t disrupt them with scheduling logistics and unnecessarily over-structured skills development programs. Keep it asynchronous, short, and sweet, but most importantly frequent and relevant. This approach effectively develops skills for new as well as seasoned sellers alike.
Sales management is tough enough, stop juggling skills development.
