What have you found to be the biggest barrier to first line sales managers coaching reps to be?
Bandwidth - not enough time36%
Don't know how to coach45%
They aren't proficient at developmental feedback
They can't role model the behavior themselves
They aren't held accountable for coaching9%
Other9%
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CSO9 months ago
It's actually all of the answers above; however, if coaching is a priority and accountability is in place, it will happen and you will overcome those obstacles.VP of Sales8 months ago
The biggest barrier to first line sales managers coaching sales reps is having the experience or the training to conduct an effective coaching session. If you don't know how to do something, you're more likely to avoid it. Or if you've tried it and it didn't go well, you'll be hesitant to try it again. Many times, sales managers say things like, 'My reps are just not coachable.' When I hear that, I wonder, is it really the rep who's not coachable, or is the manager not skilled at coaching? It's a two-way street. If a sales rep, who you believe is deeply concerned and invested in their career, is not responding to your coaching, the first step should be to self-reflect and ask yourself if you truly know how to coach effectively. From the rep's point of view, it's crucial to understand their unique perspective and personality.I was fortunate to learn the GROW coaching model at Xerox, which I've used in my mentoring and coaching ever since. The model, originating from John Whitmore's book 'Coaching for Performance,' provides a solid framework for coaching. GROW stands for Goal, Reality, Obstacles or Options, and Way Forward. This model helps a sales leader have a framework in mind, knowing where they are and where they're going in the conversation. The model can be adapted for very junior reps, where the leader might adopt more of a directive approach, as well as for senior reps, who often avoid coaching, thinking they don't need it. However, senior reps can sometimes become complacent. When coaching senior reps, it's not about telling them what to do; it's about asking them what they believe the next step should be. It's in moments like these, if or when they offer a less than satisfactory answer, that real coaching can begin.
Director of Sales Enablement in Telecommunication8 months ago
I teach a sales manager coaching course. What we’ve found is that the big obstacles to good coaching are not the usual suspects. The first one is that managers don’t deliberately prepare for a coaching moment, they too often start telling versus asking. The other is that they talk too much, rather than asking questions. The best coaching is where the person being coached is encouraged to come up with solutions to desired outcomes.
Lots of barriers. Yes, not enough time is a huge issue but it also depends on the manager and their skillset. If they were a top rep put in a manager position, then often they will lean towards just closing the deal themselves and not really coach their rep through the cycle. If they are more of an analytical driven manager they are going to lean into doing all the forecasting, spreadsheet operational parts of the job before focusing on the development of their reps because the operational part is easier to do than the "inspirational" coaching part for them. With the leaders and teams I work with the biggest problem they initially have is that the leaders don't know how to best support their reps. What they " think the rep needs" vs. what they actually need are two different things. So often they miss the mark when they actually do carve out the time to coach their reps. Each rep and leader is wired differently, what they need and what drives them is different. Once leaders know how to identify the needs of their reps, everything else becomes easier. The coaching cadence, the communication, the deals.