Should I Hire A Sales Coach?
I received this question the other day and I started to reply and then realized that the answer would be really useful for many of my readers…
I follow your regular updates with interest. I’m doing some work on goal setting at the moment both personally and for clients. One of the personal goals I’m toying with is the idea of hiring a personal sales mentor/coach.
I was interested to know if this was an area that you had an opinion on?
Do I have an opinion? I think all my readers will know that I must have. To try and help, I have broken the question down into several sub-questions…
Who should hire a sales coach?
- Salespeople who want to increase their skills, their sales strategies and their sales approach.
- Non-salespeople who want to ensure that their sales systems and processes are the most effective that they can be.
- Sales managers and team leaders who need to recruit, manage and motivate sales teams, both small and large.
- Sales leaders and business owners looking to develop powerful sales systems and productive sales teams.
When should I hire a sales coach?
Better question. Now, this is where I disagree with many people because many people would say, “All of the time!” Not surprisingly, most of them have coaching services to sell!
For many people, constant sales coaching loses it zing and may suffer from co-dependency issues. Personally, I think most if not all people involved with sales would benefit from having a coach or coaches at times but not all of the time. Maybe most of the time but certainly not all.
Coaching is great for salespeople looking to break through barriers, stretch for new sales goals, get unstuck orwho are taking on new projects. Here are some classic examples where a sales coach can help?
- Setting new goals, life plans and strategic direction.
- Setting out a sales and new client acquisition strategy.
- Developing new sales skills and sales processes, practising sales techniques and approaches and trying out new methods.
- Creating realistic systems and plans for achieving unrealistic goals.
- Getting out of comfort zones and motivation traps and re-motivating and re-energizing salespeople not firing on all cylinders.
Who should hire a sales coach?
- Salespeople and non-salespeople taking on new challenges where support or experience is limited.
- Team leaders, sales managers and sales leaders facing promotions, new responsibilities and new challenges.
- Anyone wanting to achieve quantum leaps in their sales results…. fast!
When should I not hire a sales coach?
- When you don’t want one.
- When you are looking for someone to sympathise with your “plight”.
- When you don’t believe in them.
- When you want them to do the work for you.
- When it’s forced upon you.
- When you don’t want to hear the truth (although this is, of course, just when you do need one!)
What are my alternatives to using a sales coach?
Sometimes there aren’t any but sometimes there are many options available and all of them may well be right at one stage or another of your sales career. Here are just a few alternatives…
- Self-learn from your own experiences.
- Read a book, listen to an audio, watch a DVD, join a sales progamme.
- Set up a Sales Champions group.
- Buddy up with a friend.
- Attend a seminar or a training course.
How do I choose my sales coach?
- Do some research, join some newsletters and watch some videos from sales coaches.
- Get referrals and advice from friends and colleagues who have used a sales coach.
- Ask some sales coaches some questions and facilitate a few conversations.
- Find someone you can trust and who has credibility and the credentials to help you.
- Make sure that they challenge you… this is not about blowing hot air up your rear end.
- Choose someone who inspires you.
- And feel free to use different coaches for specialist situations. This is not a one-size-fits-all scenario.
Will you be my sales coach Gavin?
Great question. I don’t know yet.
For many years, I have wrestled with the constant challenge of not having enough time to do everything that needs to be done. I only have limited time and only a small amount of that is allocated to very (very) committed clients who want to achieve extraordinary results in their sales and in their lives. If you have a desire to be average or, worse still, mediocre I’m not interested.
If you want want to consider coaching with me, spend some time reading the blogs and watch some of the free videos. Better still, read a few of my books, listen to an audio, watch a DVD or attend a seminar. If that juices you up and you’re up for making a quantum leap in your sales or taking your sales teams to the next level then use the contact form to tell me why you think I should work with you and we’ll take it from there…
The Business Supremacy Summit, 2010 With Doug Richard…
“Dedicated to the Exponential Growth & Success of SME’s – Spend a day Immersed in Leading Edge Growth Strategies with World Leading Entrepreneurs!!!”
Thursday 1st July – Madejski Stadium, Reading, Berkshire
Hey readers, I thought that you might be interested in this event that I am speaking at. If you read on to the end you will see how to book and please note that there is a code that will get you a discount as you have been referred by me so make sure that you use this…
From BBC’s Dragon’s Den, see Doug Richard live on stage! Sharing “The Mistakes Behind The Scenes: How to succeed when you don’t know what you’re doing!” Making a business go from “Potential to Exponential” Don’t Miss it! See Sahar Hashemi – Co-founder of Coffee Republic Live on Stage Sharing “Switched on” – How to keep the entrepreneurial spirit as you grow!
Joining Doug & Sahar on main stage are: Leading expert in Explosive Sales performance – Gavin Ingham & Reputation, Networking & Referrals Expert – Rob Brown. Gavin Ingham will be sharing his Sales Explosion Secrets Live on main stage and Rob Brown will be sharing his knowledge on “How to Build Your Reputation” – The secret of becoming a “Go To” choice in a crowded marketplace.
And that’s just for starters…
We are running exclusive hard hitting interactive workshops in the main hall all afternoon, all featuring the most current topics that leaders, business owners & entrepreneurs face when addressing & planning for business growth.
Come and spend an explosive, business changing day in the company of 100’s of other SME’s and immerse yourself in today’s most powerful business growth techniques & strategies with world leading enterpreneurs. Our experts will show you how to drive your sales and business forward, against all odds and thrive!
Covering all the essential elements for business success from Sales Explosion Secrets, Breakthrough Marketing Techniques, Motivational Leadership, Streamlining Strategies for rapid profit acceleration to “The Entrepreneurial Mindset” that will change your business life!
Quite simply this is a must attend event for anyone serious about increasing their sales & growing their business…
We look forward to welcoming you at the event.
Book now to secure your place and don’t forget to use my special discount code “GAVIN30″.
Win! Win! Win!
Book now and win the chance to dine with Sahar and Doug and our keynote speakers on the day (that’s me by the way… 
). Every ticket purchased will be entered in to a prize draw to win the chance to dine with our Special Guests on the day in the exclusive Glass Boardroom. The winner will be announced the week prior to the event!.
Off the main stage our delegates will be treated to 8 exclusive hard hitting interactive workshops in the main hall all afternoon, all featuring the most current topics, Leaders/Business Owners/Entrepreneurs face when addressing/planning for business growth.
Choose from…
- “Business Turnaround”. The complete “how-to” workshop.
- “How To Get An Extra 60 Minutes Out Of Your Already Hectic Day”. You can find another hour in your busy day and this workshop will transform the way you look at your time and what you do with it.
- “Secret Of Successful Networking”. The right strategy, the right events, the right execution, the right conversations, the right people, the right results.
- “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Jourmailst?” How to harness the power of the press to raise your business profile.
And then at 400pm you can choose from…
- “The Influential Presenter”. The insider secrets of presenting with power (this one’s with me so highly recommended!)
- “Cyberpsychology”. The answers to gaining huge profit increases using social median in “the right way”.
- “The Right Brand”. Show the world you mean business by using the simplest of marketing messages in the most powerful of ways.
- “The Flip Top Head Phenomenon.” Get inside the heads of your leadership teams and build a powerful business using psychometric profiling for serious results.
Book now to secure your place and don’t forget to use my special discount code “GAVIN30″.
Invest 15 Minutes A Day And Double Your Sales Results?
As a motivational speaker and seminar leader I speak with tens of thousands of sales and business people every year and my blogs and articles are read by far, far more. Speaking with so many salespeople and business owners gives me a unique insight into what drives people to do what they do and to behave how they behave.
I really enjoy this aspect of my role as I am, and always have been, intrigued by how and why people behave the way that they do. It’s certainly one of the reasons that I became a motivational speaker and author in the first place. And I have a few questions that I like to ask of nearly all of the groups that I speak to in nearly all of the seminars and keynotes that I run…
These questions are the ones that I think are really important, the ones that I think salespeople and business owners should really think about and the ones that will make the most profound difference for them, their sales, their businesses and their lives. Of all of them one of the most interesting and enlightening is…
“When did you last read a book on sales and selling?”
It’s a great question and one which I ask in various different formats depending upon the size of the group, the subject and the audience. It’s also one which I never cease to be amazed by the answers that I get. Here are typical responses from a typical sales conference audience…
“Hands up if you are currently reading a sales book.” Roughly 1-2%.
“Hands up if you have read a sales book in the last month.” Roughly 5-10%.
“Hands up if you have read a sales book in the last 6 months.” Roughly 20%.
“Hands up if you have NEVER read a sales book.” Roughly 25-50%, dependant on the group.
Wow!
I have worked with sales teams in banking, IT, telecoms, recruitment, financial, engineering, car sales, retail, consultancy, training, estate agency, investment, catering, legal, accountancy and virtually every other industry that you can think of and my conclusion is…
Most salespeople do not read enough about sales, business and personal development and this is holding them back from the success that they want.
There are many reasons that they give me for this…
- They do not have the time.
- They do not like reading.
- They don’t know what to read.
- They don’t believe that reading will make any difference.
- They don’t believe that the techniques they read about will work in the real world.
- They cannot be bothered.
- Their boss wouldn’t buy any books for them.
- They tried it before and it did not work.
- It wouldn’t work for their business or in their market.
- And on and on…
This decision is a huge shame and one which is holding back hundreds of thousands (nay millions) of salespeople all around the world from achieving the sales and business results that they want and deserve…
Top sales professionals in all industries read to stay on top of their game. Top sales professionals in all industries read to stay abreast of new ideas, strategies and techniques. Top sales professionals in all industries read to set themselves apart from their competitors…
Top salespeople read to learn new sales techniques and strategies to give them the sales edge. Top salespeople read for education, inspiration and motivation. Top salespeople read because they know that reading allows them to harness the power of OPE (other peoples’ experiences) and accelerate their sales results.
Many experts have remarked that reading for a mere 15 minutes a day could make you a subject expert within only a matter of a few years. Reading for a mere 15 minutes a day consistently could double or treble your sales. Reading for just 15 minutes a day could return you tens of thousands of pounds, dollars, euros, goats… whatever currency you’re trading in… over the coming months, years and decades.
Reading for 15 minutes a day could help you to achieve more sales, more job security, more professionalism, promotion, a bigger house, a nicer car, financial security, early retirement…
Here’s why reading sales book, business books and personal development books is so important for your personal and professional success…
- You only need pick up one or two new sales strategies, tips or ideas from any one sales training book to get a phenomenal return on your time.
- Seeing something you already know in a different light or perspective can catapult your sales to a whole new level. It’s not what you know but what you do with that knowledge that counts.
- Reading regularly helps to maintain a “can-do” attitude when others around you are not being as positive as they might be. This is particularly pertinent in today’s negative environments.
- 15 minutes a day reading is an investment in yourself which will help you to value yourself, your job in sales and your professionalism.
- Reading sales books gives you time to think about how you can improve what you do and how you can get better results.
- Reading improves your sales skills, your sales techniques, your sales ability and your earning potential.
- And much, much more…
Start by making sure that you are subscribed to my free sales newsletter which brings you sales and personal development strategies straight into your inbox every week; then dust off your old sales books and start reading.
Not got any old sales books? The buy some new ones! Check out my books and recommended reading lists now.
Why Repetition Is The Key To Improving Your Sales Performance And Your Sales Results
A few things have happened recently that got me thinking about something very serious, something that could make a huge difference to your sales results and your sales performance…
Last week I went out for a meal with some friends and one of them had brought along someone whom I had not met before. This person was in IT sales. They were in their mid to late twenties and had been doing it for about 3 years. Judging by their conversation, description of their job and a few other factors I guessed they were doing ok… comfortable in their job but no sales superstar.
He had no idea that I was into sales training or was a sales motivational speaker and during the meal we talked about various things but towards the end of the meal this chap (let’s call him Pete) mentioned that he was a bit bored of his job. He is finding it “so so”. He explained that he has to keep doing the same things over and over.
Every day he goes in at about the same time. Every day he leaves at about the same time! Every day he makes the same kind of sales calls to new and existing prospects and clients. Every day he structures his calls the same way and handles challenges with the same lines. Every day he sends out similar marketing and sales emails and information. Every day he updates his prospect database. Every day he researches the internet. Every day he has the same sales conversations about the same products, the same services and the same solutions.
Every week he attends sales meetings which apparently are always run by his sales manager and are all nearly the same. Every week he sets the same kinds of sales targets with the same kinds of clients. Every week his manager runs similar mini sales training sessions. Every week he goes to see similar customers, with similar challenges, similar needs and wants and similar objections.
He is getting bored.
- Pete has a job – field sales.
- He has a car – a small BMW.
- He’s getting a salary and commission – I’d guess £30k + £20k + car (tops).
- His sales performance and results are ok.
- He is not getting sacked or made redundant any time soon – not that I know of anyway!
But there’s something not right here. Something not right here, at all. Pete’s sales performance and results should be sky rocketing. He should be on his way to £100k+ and promotion but he’s not…
The problem is that Pete has Sales Repetetits! That is – Peter gets bored by any task that he has to do over and over.
In my experience many salespeople have Repetitis. Salespeople with Repetitis get bored and moan about having to repeat the same tasks over and over. This in turn leads to lack of motivation and causes them to lose focus and to start to go through the motions. This in turn will impact their sales performance and results. Salespeople going through the motions do not make successful salespeople. Salespeople going through the motions will gradually lose their edge and become less effective. Salespeople going through the motions will not make great cold calls, nor will they run strong sales meetings nor make powerful presentations.
Sales training tip: Salespeople who are going through the motions usually think they’re ok but they’re usually wrong. Salespeople going through the motions often have a nasty shock coming.
Let’s look at why solving this inability to deal with repetition is essential not only for your sales perfornance and sales results but also for your long-term personal and financial success…
Firstly, as Anthony Robbins says, “repetition is the mother of skill”. The more you do of something, the better you get at it. Period. As a sales superstar in training you want to sweat the basic stuff.
How well you plan and prepare matters. How you conduct yourself matters. How you formulate your conversations matters. How you present your solutions matters. In today’s YouTube generation many people want to be titillated and amused on a minute-to-minute basis and do not have the stickability, the perseverance or the focus to really get good at anything, particularly not the basic stuff.
If you want to make real money out of sales you need to learn to focus so that you can repeat things over and over, constantly improving and sharpening your winner’s edge. You’re own mini-sales training programme if you like. Only by doing this will you become a truly world class salesperson. Only by doing this will you increase your sales performance and your sales results. World-class cold callers obliterate also-rans. World-class salespeople outsell and outmanoeuvre also-rans. World-class negotiators squash also-rans. World-class presenters destroy also-rans.
What’s more, whatever your job, repetition is unavoidable. Doctors see person after person after person with minor ailment after minor ailment after minor ailment. Police officers deal with drunks, drivers and burglaries time after time after time. Firemen and women fight routine small fire after routine small fire after routine small fire.
By doing this they become expert at what they do. But what if, instead of this, they all started going through the motions? What could they miss? What disasters could befall them and others? How culpable would they be?
What would you have to say if the fire crew attending your house didn’t get to your house as fast as you would have liked because they thought it was going to be another simple call?
I rest my case. Repetition is essential in any role. Repetition is essential for skills development and improvement. Repetition is essential to keep you sharp and on the edge. Repetition is essential to increase your sales performance and your sales results.
What does Tiger Woods do when things aren’t going as well as he would like? He goes back to practicing his basic shots… over and over. What do top snooker players spend hours and hours practicing? Basic pots and cue control, that’s what. What do pianists spend hours practicing? Basic scales and more scales.
As a salesperson, like in any other role, if you want to be world-class you need repetition. You need to sweat the basic stuff. If you have a case of Repetititis, mild or severe, then the only cure is to deal with it now…
Next time you find yourself repeating daily tasks keep your focus on how you can improve. Ask yourself some good old sales training questions like, “How could I be more effective?”, “How can I improve my sales performance?”, "How can I increase my sales results?" and “What can I learn here?”
Once you get over Repetitis you will be amazed by how much you can increase your sales performance and sales results with simple stuff that you might until now have thought of as “boring”.
One way of improving rapidly is to create your own sales training and development programme focusing on core sales skills, techniques and practises that until now you might have thought too boring…
The Bruce Lee Sales Training Academy
"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus."
Bruce Lee
I guess you all know who Bruce Lee was… probably the most famous martial artist that ever walked the earth. Like many film stars who died young and under slightly suspicious circumstances Bruce Lee’s appeal and fame has outlived him and will continue to do so.
I’ve been a bit of a Bruce Lee fan for years now but not necessarily of his films per sae. When I was younger I was really into martial arts and read a lot of books on and by famous martial artists. Bruce Lee intrigued me. Most commentators talk about his charisma on screen or his famous moves but that wasn’t what intrigued me. What intrigued me was his focus. He was famous for it.
Bruce Lee lived and breathed martial arts. He trained for hours every day. He read every book that he could get his hands on. He talked to and sought out experts to learn from. With friends he talked about martial arts for hours and hours, day in and day out. He even designed, wrote and tested out his own martial arts system, Jeet Kune Do, which lives on and is taught around the world until this day.
So what’s my sales training point…
It’s easy to write off sales superstars as having charisma or as being lucky and maybe some of them do have these things. But neither of these attributes are things which are inside of your control. Far more important however is focus which you do control 100%. Maybe changing your habitual levels of focus isn’t easy but it can be done. Here’s some sales training thoughts for helping you to focus…
How focused are you? No seriously! How focused are you right now on a scale of 1 to 10. Most salespeople are not focused enough. Sales superstars are focused 100% on the job in hand when they’re selling.
How much time do you spend focusing on improving? When did you last read a sales book? How many sales experts who sell more than you do you spend time with? Which areas of your sales have you been working on recently? How can you get a group of friends together to mutually improve your sales?
Don’t wait for your manager, or me or your luck to change…
Had Bruce Lee been a sales training expert he would probably have said, "Being a sales superstar does not happen by chance. It requires hard work, commitment and focus."
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