There is nothing more important than developing your sales effectiveness. One of the best ways to unlock your potential is by acquiring a personal sales coach.
In this article we will explore the importance of unlocking one’s potential and how a personal sales coach can help you do that. We’ll also cover the benefits of working with a personal sales coach, such as how they can help support your accountability, motivation, and behavioral changes. Finally, we’ll look at skill development and help you determine the key areas of focus in personal sales coaching.
Every salesperson has untapped potential, but many sales reps don’t recognize how much they could improve, so they have the same year over and over again. If you have a sales leader or a sales manager that notices your latent potential, you are lucky to have someone who can help you activate your true abilities. If you are missing a person who can help you improve your sales effectiveness, you may want to acquire a personal sales coach.
Understanding the Role of a Personal Sales Coach
When we talk about a personal sales coach, we are referring to a professional sales coach who is not your sales manager or your sales leader. Instead, this person works directly with their individual clients. Your personal sales coach isn’t likely to engage with your company.
A personal sales coach is not the same thing as B2B sales training. While B2B sales training is important, coaching provides an approach that is designed to help you to work on improving your sales results by focusing on your strengths and the areas that, if improved, will help you to reach your goals and your quota.
The importance of personalized coaching is that it provides you with someone who has the ability to recognize the key areas where you can improve and the sales strategies and tactics that will allow you to increase your win rate.
Benefits of Working with a Personal Sales Coach
There are many benefits to working with a personal sales coach. The two that make the biggest impact are their ability to personalize attention based on your individual situation, and that they act as a built-in accountability partner, helping you make important behavioral changes long term.
Personalized Attention and Tailored Strategies
Your personal sales coach will spend time with you exploring the skills you have mastered and the ones you need to work on. Your sales coach may use a competency audit to determine which skills and attributes to focus on so you can make the most progress quickly. What makes a personal sales coach is that they give you time and attention.
It is incredibly important that your personal sales coach has the sales experience to be able to provide you with personalized strategies that will improve your performance when you are sitting across from your contact and, more likely, their stakeholders.
Here is an example of what a personal sales coach might do to help you with an area you want to improve: You are having trouble getting the right people into the sales conversation. Your personal coach may advise you to explain to your clients that if people are left out of the conversation, it may create problems building consensus.
Accountability and Motivation
One of the more important roles of a coach is keeping you accountable when it comes to the behavioral changes you must make to be able to improve the outcomes you are focusing on. You should be prepared to report what you did differently and how it helped you create the desired outcome.
One way your personal sales coach will motivate you is by asking you what you want. No one can actually give you motivation, as you already know what you want, but a good sales coach will remind you of your goals and your sources of motivation.
Key Areas of Focus in Personal Sales Coaching
While each person’s strategies and behavior changes are individual, there are certain key areas that all sales coaches help you with.
Goal Setting and Achievement
Your sales coach will help you set realistic and challenging goals. This may stretch you at first, but your sales coach will be able to recognize what’s possible and whether you need more time to reach your goals.
Most sales coaches will check in on your progress weekly. Your coaching sessions will give you an opportunity to share your recent successes and challenges, giving you a chance to have a conversation about where you still need help.
Overcoming Sales Challenges
Your sales coach will have a good idea about the common challenges salespeople tend to have in B2B sales. For example if you struggle to get a first meeting, your sales coach is likely to ask you to improve the value proposition you offer the client in exchange for meeting with them.
Improving Sales Techniques
Your personal sales coach will focus on specific techniques (e.g., closing techniques, negotiation, value creation, insights and other important skills) that will help you increase your sales effectiveness and your win rate.
Finding the Right Personal Sales Coach for You
There are a number of ways to find a personal sales coach, but no matter where you locate someone, be sure to do your homework. Anyone can claim to be a sales coach, but not everyone is qualified to help you.
Research and Referrals
There are many sales coaches. You may need to research to find a sales coach who has the knowledge, experience, and skills you need in them. You might also ask others for a referral of a sales coach they used. You may also ask coaches you’re considering to provide testimonials from salespeople they have coached.
Evaluating Experience and Expertise
The most important factors in a coach are the time they spent in B2B sales and the time they have devoted to coaching salespeople. You should ask questions about their coaching methodology, their philosophy of coaching, and any coaching training they have had.
Compatibility and Coaching Style
It is important that you and your coach are compatible. This is an important relationship, so you may need to ask for a conversation or an introductory session to explore your compatibility. If you are not comfortable with the coach’s style, you are better off looking for another coach.
Conclusion
A personal sales coach can help you to see your blind spots and activate your untapped potential by helping you with the skills, attributes, and sales techniques that will have the biggest impact on your performance.
If you are ready to acquire a sales coach, do your homework, and interview a number of potential sales coaches to find the one who is the best fit.
There is nothing more important to your result than improving and developing yourself over time.
