The 5 Biggest Sales Management Coaching Blunders

Written by Steven Rosen

Do you want to increase sales performance?

Transforming your sales managers from good coaches to great ones can dramatically impact sales. In fact, sales coaching is the No. 1 management activity that drives sales performance. The only problem is that managers have not been taught how to effectively coach. Coaching is a skill that takes time to perfect and unless they’re effectively coached or trained, managers make all types of mistakes.

As the head of sales or as a frontline sales manager you can greatly enhance the performance of your sales team if you can develop great coaches.

Coaching Blunder #1 – “Telling vs. Asking Coaching”

As a sales manager you probably were a top sales rep. You may still see yourself as a problem-solver, like “If I solve this rep’s issue then she/he can make the sale.” So you are likely to tell the salesperson how to solve the issue. “Telling” does not create self-managing salespeople. In fact, there are numerous downsides to the tell-first approach.

First, you are not empowering your sales reps, who may perceive you as micro- managing them. Second, you are also fostering a dependency on you to be their problem-solver. This creates endless emails and phone calls and it results in “needy” reps. And third, you are not developing them. One of the critical areas for development is the ability to be a self-manager.

Be aware of when you are in “tell” mode and remind yourself when you have fallen into this bad habit.

Coaching Blunder #2 – “I’ll-Get-to-It Coaching”

Time management is a challenge we all face. With emails, meetings and administrative work what is a sales manager to do? If you desire sales results, the easy answer is to do the activities that will drive the greatest revenue. We generally do the “busy work” first since it is the easiest. It feels good when we are up to date on our emails. The stress is reduced when we have all our reports in on time and we have followed up on all our messages.

But all those activities don’t contribute to the bottom line. If great sales coaching can have a direct impact of up to 19% more sales, why is coaching not the #1 priority?

Stop making excuses and get out of the office. Get out in the field and make coaching your #1 priority. Your boss will thank you and your reps will make lots of money.

Coaching Blunder #3 – “Laundry List Coaching”

Personal growth and change is a challenge for all of us. We all have strengths and areas for where improvement is needed. Managers who create a laundry list of areas for development will have little success. It is too difficult for sales rep to make wholesale changes in how they sell. Development is about working on improving one or two things; once the salesperson has demonstrated the acquired skill or behaviour you can move on to the next area.

From a sales rep’s perspective imagine getting a field report listing all of the things you do wrong? Some reps would not even read the report. Many will read it and wonder where to start. Others may read it and be completely overwhelmed.

Great coaching is about focus, focus and focus. Helping sales reps improve in one area can have a major impact on their performance.

Coaching Blunder #4 – “One-Size-Fits-All Coaching”

One of the key pitfalls sales managers fall into is taking a “one-size-fits-all approach.”

How many times have we witnessed a sales rep working in autopilot? The rep delivers the same sales pitch to each customer in the same way. As coaches we fail to see when we go into autopilot, taking the same approach with each rep.

Do you ever find yourself coaching all your reps the same way? Your feedback to each rep is the same? You have fallen into the rut of one-size-fits-all coaching. Coaching differs from training. With training, everyone learn the same information or skills. Coaching on the other hand is about diagnosing each rep’s particular area for improvement. It is about adapting your coaching style to the individual and about developing individualised development plans.

Coaching is a one-to-one sport. It is about growing individuals to develop to their full potential.

Coaching Blunder #5 – "Way to go Coaching”

One of the key blunders managers make is failing to secure a commitment to change. They have done a perfect job coaching by asking all right questions and by reaching agreement on areas for development, but they forget to get buy-in on how the problem will be fixed. When the manager and rep agree on an area for development it is critical to have the rep buy in to what steps must be taken to get there.

This requires a simple three- or four-point plan which includes what the sales rep will do between coaching sessions. The key is to have reps develop their own next steps and your role becomes one of holding them accountable. Without this in place the odds are that there will be no change in rep behaviour or skills on the next coaching session.

Great coaching means great performance. Sales organizations that embrace a coaching culture and invest in their frontline managers’ ability to coach will have a competitive advantage and outsell the competition.

Steven Rosen -
	Steven Rosen, MBA is Canada’s Sales leadership Coach and the founder of STAR Results. Steven helps companies transform sales managers into great sales coaches. He works with sales executives to develop high performance sales organizations. Steven is an authority in the area of Sales Management and has authored many articles in the area of sales management coaching and on driving sales performance. He was awarded the Top Sales Article in 2009 by Top 10 Sales Articles. Contact Steven at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 905-737-4548Read More >>
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