Sales Coaching
-
Top 13 Requirements to Help You Soar as a Sales Manager
- January 17, 2019
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In my last article I shared the top 8 requirements for becoming a great salesperson. Wow, did that resonate with people and there was a great discussion about it on LinkedIn. In addition to that, I received a number of emails asking, what are the requirements for becoming a great sales manager?
I’ll share those in a moment but first, since they were so popular, a few more “do you remember the first time” questions:
-
How Getting Feedback and Making Adjustments are the Keys to Sales Improvement
- December 5, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Becoming great at selling – or anything else for that matter – is about making adjustments. In order to make an adjustment you need feedback – something you see, hear or feel that informs your ability to adjust. Take Baseball for example. When I watch my son hit he receives instant feedback from every swing of the bat. He usually crushes the ball and that suggests that no adjustment is needed. If he tops the ball or pops it up it is probably an issue with timing. If he peels the ball to the right, he probably opened his front shoulder too early. If he squares the ball up but doesn’t drive it he probably failed to use his legs. He also has 5 private coaches who coach him or, in other words, provide feedback.
That brings us back to selling. Salespeople need feedback too.
-
Golden Nuggets from the CSO Insights 2018 Sales Talent Study
- October 25, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I had a chance to review the CSO Insights 2018 Sales Talent Study and extracted some fascinating data. I thought it might be interesting to take their data, overlay some of Objective Management Group’s (OMG) data, and see what we can take away from that.
-
How to Achieve Short-Term Explosive Growth from your Sales Team
- September 14, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Explosive Growth. Positive Momentum. Better Morale. Greater Confidence. Improved Capabilities.
Wouldn’t you just love using those phrases to describe your sales force?
We know from the data in this article that according to Objective Management Group (OMG), sales managers who spend at least 50% of their time coaching have salespeople who are 28% more effective.
We know from OMG’s data in this article that sales managers who are effective at coaching have salespeople who are 16% more effective.
And we know from the same data that sales managers who spend at least 50% of their time coaching AND are effective at coaching have salespeople who are 49% more effective.
That’s 49% more effective!
So what would a 49% bump mean to you and your company and what will it take to get there?
-
Finally! Science Reveals the Actual Impact of Sales Coaching
- September 7, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You must have heard the joke that 73.6% of statistics are made up!
I have read and even reported that sales leaders who coach their salespeople see a boost in revenue of around 27%. It sounds like a realistic number but I have not seen any science to back it up. Until now. Check this out!
-
Do the Best Sales Managers Have the Best Salespeople?
- August 27, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
We all see the effects that strong leaders have when they surround themselves with either strong, mediocre or weak people. What happens when strong leaders inherit a mixed team? What happens when they hire a mixed team? What happens when we ask the same questions about weak leaders?
I dug into a subset of data from Objective Management Group’s (OMG) evaluations of the salespeople who report to more than 15,000 sales managers to determine whether the best sales managers actually have the best salespeople. I was surprised and disappointed by what I found. Check this out!
-
Latest Data – Strong Salespeople Score 375% Better Than Weak Salespeople
- July 18, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Some of you might have seen Bryce Harper’s incredible last-minute barrage of home runs in the 2018 All-Star game. It’s one of the highlights of summer! Today I give you a barrage of my own with three killer videos and a powerful data-packed article.
-
New Data – Are Experienced Sales Managers Better Sales Managers?
- June 25, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week I wrote a revealing article which showed that Sales Managers are even worse than I thought when it comes to coaching their salespeople. That article stimulated this great conversation on LinkedIn.
Following that article I dug further into the same 9,000 rows of data to look at the role that tenure and experience have on sales management effectiveness. Who do you think are more effective – newer or more experienced sales managers?
-
The Latest Data Shows That Sales Managers Are Even Worse Than I Thought
- June 18, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Today we’re diving into sales management and specifically, the Sales Management Coaching Competency. What you read will surely disappoint and shock you and might even cause you to puke in disgust.
-
10 Reasons Why Parents of Toddlers Make Better Sales Coaches Than Sales Managers
- May 24, 2018
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Toddlers watch Sesame Street, play with blocks, take baby steps, constantly ask ‘why’, eat food that has been cut into tiny bite size pieces, love to start with dessert, and love to have fun. Their parents make sure they are comfortable, help them overcome their fears, work to prevent resistance and emotional meltdowns, and teach them as they go about their business.
What does any of this have to do with sales and sales leadership? Read a bit more and I’ll explain.