There is no question about it- these are very trying times and sales coaching needs to focus more on innovative if not shrewd approaches in order to maintain present levels of performance. Sales gurus contend that the professional must be dynamic and flexible as he faces the challenges and threat in the market. They have to be a lot more imaginative and persistent in their approaches in order to win additional share in an already tight and shrinking market. In this prevailing sales arena, only the resilient and persistent ones are expected to survive.
There is a fundamental sales strategy that when implemented would definitely hit the jackpot for the professional. This tried and tested technique will deliver positive results within 90 days.
This sales strategy is as simple as it can possibly get. When you are finished covering it, you may ask how this can possibly help your cause. But then again, this strategy has repeatedly been tried and tested and has continued to ring success to a lot of salespeople. Further, this technique is also a popular solution adopted by most experts and is extensively used in sales coaching sessions.
It has been proven in many instances that one-on-one sales performance mentoring is the fastest way of getting results from your assets. This approach affords the opportunity for a two-way interaction between the mentor and the protégé as they explore ways to improve on the performance. The mentor provides the overall framework and roadmap to a successful undertaking. On the other hand, the professional integrates the techniques shared to him by the sales coach while he considers the overall situations in the field. He may or may not advocate some modifications with the close supervision of his mentor. This technique encourages the collaboration between the sales coach and the sales professional by observing a two-way type of mentoring.
To become successful as a mentor, there are certain guidelines that have to be followed. We will focus on the most essential of all the guidelines that can deliver the strongest impact on the performance.
Spend sufficient time with each of your sales representatives. You can do this either by phone or in person. The frequency of the interaction must be a least twice a month. Depending on the nature of your business, you may even choose to have weekly one-on-one consultations with the members of your team. The meeting shall cover the “what was” and the “what will” of your activities. Generally, you will do cross referencing of actual results in the field and compare this with the established action plan or program. Results of the comparative analysis of the previous events will serve as the basis on the action on the plans for the succeeding week. You then have to decide if there is a need to adjust the sales target or make room for some intervention activities in order to meet the target for the upcoming week.
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