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Worst Mistake #1: No Feedback Without a doubt, the most common coaching feedback mistake that tele-sales managers make is providing no feedback. Sadly, some managers don’t bother to coach at all. They claim they don’t have the time because they are busy analyzing spreadsheets, working on projects, meeting with other departments…instead of working with their most important asset: those reps that make the sales and generate the revenues! Unless all your reps are hitting 100% of their objective, they need your coaching feedback. Make the time and do it. Worst Mistake #2: One-Way Feedback One-way feedback is when a manager TELLS the rep what was ‘wrong’ about the call. While fast and convenient, pointing out a flaw does little to modify the behaviour and typically puts the rep on the defensive. Identifying areas of improvement is necessary but a more effective form of feedback is to invite the rep to evaluate the call, “How do you think that call went?” or “Evaluate your opening statement”, “What would you do differently?” Let the reps coach themselves by being introspective. They take greater ownership for changing their behaviour. Worst Mistake #3: Mixed message – The Sandwich Feedback Once considered a superior form of coaching, the ‘sandwich feedback’ is an unmitigated waste of time and effort. This type of feedback is a seemingly balanced approach to coaching because it ‘sandwiches’ constructive feedback between two pieces of positive feedback. Unfortunately, your reps don’t balance the ‘good’ with the ‘bad.’ It’s human nature. Some only hear the positive and ignore the constructive which does nothing to improve sales behaviour. The majority hear only the ‘bad news’ which means the positives of the call are completely wasted. Don’t confuse your rep. If it is positive, relay it. Don’t dilute it with anything else. If it is constructive feedback, give it. One or the other; not both. Worst Mistake #4: Graded or Rated Feedback Rating or grading a call is an extraordinarily destructive form of feedback because it is entirely subjective. Grading occurs when calls are rated on a scale (e.g., 1-5) and are often weighted (an opening might have a more significant weight than objections handling). The call is monitored by the manager and then evaluated, totalled and final score is given. In a recent test, sixteen managers evaluated a recorded call using a scoring sheet. The grades had a stunning range stretching from 77% to 94%. This reveals the grotesque subjectivity of grading and indicates that any feedback is based on the varying whims of the listener. Well aware of the arbitrary nature of the assessment sales reps are left confused and resentful… and no better off. To make coaching feedback objective and meaningful, you must have clearly defined standards or levels of expectation for specific skills. Precisely define your selling process. For instance, step by step, delineate how to open a call, or handle an objection, or present an offer or close a sale. These ‘standard operating procedures’ begin with training. Evaluate a call relative to what has been taught and you will create objectivity. Your feedback will be more readily accepted and applied. Worst Mistake #5: Overwhelming Feedback Any given call probably has a half a dozen areas where improvements can be made. As well intentioned as a manager may be, touching on all these areas overwhelms the poor reps to the point where they don’t know what to do first … so they end up doing nothing. Confine your feedback to no more than two areas. Get the rep to master a single skill set (like an objection handling technique) before moving on to other areas. This builds confidence and creates solid foundation for learning. Worst Mistake #6: Aberration Feedback In a manager’s busy day, monitoring and analyzing a single call is the best that can be done. The challenge however is that the feedback you provide might not be indicative of earlier calls. Don’t waste your time or that of your rep by monitoring a single call. Monitor five or six. Look for a trend. Coach a trend, not an aberration. Worst Mistake #7: Little or no Positive Feedback Studies have revealed that negative feedback is given five times more than positive feedback. Sometimes, praising the positives of a call creates greater behavioural change than pointing out the ‘negatives’ of a call. Praise builds confidence and trust. It encourages them to make a greater effort. Make a deliberate effort to ensure some of your coaching sessions about positive feedback. Nothing else. Find something –anything- about the calls you have monitored and provide positive feedback. Cheer them on. Praise the effort. Shout it from the roof tops. Give your reps a victory. Worst Mistake #8: Inconsistency Some managers are inconsistent and arbitrary with their feedback. Sometimes they offer one tip and at other times offer another that seems contradictory. They say one thing to one rep and another thing to another rep. This happens because a clear standard or procedure has not been established and the manager is providing ‘off the cuff’ feedback instead of anchoring it to an established process, system or technique. The tips are seen as no more than ‘suggestions’ and do little to modify behaviour. Worst Mistake #9: Kid, Chide and Deride Other managers have a style of feedback that can be rather abrasive. For example, “Shannon…what the heck was that?” “Do you call THAT a close?” This type of feedback is meant to ‘shock’ a rep or appeal to their sense of pride. And sometimes that is precisely what is needed. Sometimes. A steady diet of kidding and deriding is destructive. Think before you provide this type of feedback. Does the rep need a kick in the butt or are you providing it because it is faster and easier for you? Worst Mistake #10: Not following up Here’s the plain truth: there is a tendency for reps to politely listen to feedback and then promptly go back to their old behaviour after the coach has left. Don’t let that happen with your team. The key is to follow up within a few hours by discretely monitoring a few more calls to determine if your rep has applied the feedback recommendations. If they have, give them praise. If they haven’t, go over the skill or technique again. Either way, your rep will recognize that your feedback is serious; that it is not going to go away. And this contributes to modifying your rep’s behaviour in a positive manner Summary Feedback is the method by which you change, modify and alter the sales behaviour of your tele-sales reps. Your constructive feedback is how reps learn and how they begin to apply a new skill set that will make them better at selling. Most tele-sales managers are good people but they are not good coaches. If you don’t know HOW to coach, learn fast. Your coaching feedback is your key to stunning sales results.
Articles by this Author:  The 2012 B2B Tele-Sales Trend Report What's Happening in the World of Telephone Selling and Marketing
What's... Read More >> The 5 Silver Bullets to Achieving Superior Tele-Sales ResultsThe key to achieving and exceeding your tele-sales revenues lies... Read More >>Comments (1)
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Good ‘coaching’ really boils down to good feedback. The better your feedback, the greater impact it will have on modifying and changing the sales behaviour of your rep; ergo, increases sales performance and revenue results. The trouble is many tele-sales managers are not aware of the net impact of their feedback on their reps. Here are the ten worst types of feedback and how to avoid them.
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