Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions: A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives

About the Author xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

CHAPTER ONE The Death of Management 1

Becoming an Executive Sales Coach 1

But I’m Already Coaching 3

Making the Shift from Sales Manager to Executive Sales Coach 3

The Missing Discipline of Sales Coaching 5

Defining the Role of a Sales Coach 6

A Coach versus a Mentor 7

Nine Barriers to Coaching a Sales Team 8

Consultant, Trainer, or Coach? 12

Managers Don’t Have Time to Manage 15

Understanding the Commitment to Coach Your Sales Team 17

Get a Coach for the Coach 19

Five Core Characteristics of the World’s Greatest Sales Coaches 21

CHAPTER TWO The Coach’s Mindset: Six Universal Principles of Masterful Coaching 25

Management’s Eternal Conundrum 26

Hitting Rock Bottom 27

You Can’t Coach What You Fear 29

The Strong, Fearful Leader 30

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 1: Make Fear Your Ally 32

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 2: Be Present 36

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 3: Detach from the Outcome 41

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 4: Become Process Driven 45

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 5: Be Creative 49

Universal Principle of Masterful Coaching No. 6: Become Fully Accountable— for Everything 50

The Top 19 Excuses Managers Use to Justify Why Salespeople Fail 51

CHAPTER THREE Six Fatal Coaching Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 55

Coach the Relationship with Their Story 56

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 1: Believing the S.C.A.M.M.— A Manager’s Most Elusive Adversary 57

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 2: Wanting More for others than They Want for Themselves 63

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 3: Are You Coaching Your Salespeople or Judging Them? 68

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 4: Coaching Isn’t about the Coach 70

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 5: Share Ideas, Not Expectations 71

Fatal Coaching Mistake No. 6: Mismanaging Expectations: Are You Preparing Your Sales Team for Change? 73

CHAPTER FOUR Tactical Coaching 77

Who Do You Coach? 77

A.G.R.O.W.T.H. Success Indicator to Determine Personal Coachability 78

Don’t Coach the Squeaker 80

Coaching the Whole Person 80

Developing Sales Champions from the Inside Out 81

What Do You Coach? Coach the Gap 82

Do I Coach Them or Train Them? 84

What Exactly Can You Coach? 88

The Top 10 Characteristics of Highly Effective Salespeople 89

CHAPTER FIVE The Seven Types of Sales Managers 91

The Seven Ps 91

The Problem-Solving Manager 93

The Question is the Answer 97

Solution-Oriented Questions 98

CHAPTER SIX Ignition On! Now They’re Inspired 101

The Pitchfork Manager 101

Push versus Pull— A Simple Model of Motivation 103

Let Your Salespeople Tell You What Motivates Them 104

Ask Your Salespeople How They Want to be Coached 106

Motivate through Pleasure Rather than Consequence 107

Communicate from Abundance Rather than From Scarcity 108

Make Acknowledgment Unconditional, Measurable, and Specific 110

Make Your People Right, Even When they’re Not 113

Create New Opportunities Rather than Make People Wrong 116

CHAPTER SEVEN Assumptive Coaching and Dangerous Listening 119

The Pontificating Manager 119

Eight Barriers That Prevent Masterful Listening 121

Listening through Filters— A Manager’s Lethal Weakness 122

Just the Facts, Please 125

Encourage Silence 125

Focus More on the Message than on the Messenger 126

Listening to Someone or Listening for Something 127

Make People Feel They Are Being Heard 129

The Presumptuous Manager 131

Don’t Believe Everything You Tell Yourself 132

Get Out of Your Way and Out of Your Head 133

Be Curious 140

CHAPTER EIGHT Vulnerability-Based Leadership 143

The Perfect Manager 143

Express Your Authenticity: Become Vulnerable 146

Embrace Your Humanity 147

Evidence of an Emerging Culture 148

Vulnerability and Trust 149

The Passive Manager 151

Embrace Healthy Conflict 153

Call Them out Using the Coaching Edge 153

Take a Stand for Your Salespeople 154

Declare What You Really Want for Your Sales Team 156

The “I’m Sensing That” Statement 158

The Proactive Manager 161

A View from the Sidelines 162

CHAPTER NINE Facilitating an Effective Coaching Conversation 169

Preparing for the Coaching Session 169

The Anatomy of a Coaching Session 170

The Coaching Prep Form 171

Strategic Coaching Questions 175

The L.E.A.D.S. Coaching Model 176

The Management Conversation 179

The Coaching Conversation 183

Going Deeper— Breakthrough Coaching 191

How Much Coaching is Enough? 203

CHAPTER TEN The Art of Enrollment 207

It’s All about Connection 207

Making an Impact 210

Leaving Your Legacy as a Manager 211

The Art of Enrollment 212

Enrollment is a Universal Phenomenon 214

Creating the Possibility for Change 215

The Six Steps of an Enrollment Conversation 216

Case Study: Enrolling Someone to Improve their

Quality of Work 218

Case Study: Enrolling Someone to Become More

Accountable 222

The Written Word: Crafting a Compelling Message 226

CHAPTER ELEVEN The Seduction of Potential 233

Potential is the Holy Grail 233

The Seduction Begins: The Ether of Potential 235

The Hard Cost of Complacency 236

You Can’t Build a Business on Potential 237

When to give up and Let Go 239

Master the Art of Abandonment 240

The Top Trigger Points of Seduction 241

CHAPTER TWELVE Develop an Internal Coaching Program 243

Identifying a Turnaround Opportunity 244

Holding Your People Accountable 248

Week One: Introducing the Turnaround Strategy— An Enrollment Conversation 248

Week Two: A Minor Setback or Imminent Failure 252

Week Three: On The Winner’s Path 257

Week Four: A Successful Turnaround 264

Designing an Executive Sales Coaching Program 266

How to Turn Around or Terminate an Underperformer in Less than 30 Days 270

Fire Them and Then Hire Them 277

Tips from the Coaches’ Playbook 278

Conclusion 279

Final Thoughts on Being an Executive Sales Coach 279

Appendix 283

The Playbook of Questions for Sales Coaches 283

The 80-20 Rule on Coaching Questions 313

Index 315