A Successful Sales Manager Can be a Great Deal Coach

BY JAY SPIELVOGEL, VENATOR SALES GROUP, LLC

Jay Spielvogel is CEO of Venator Sales Group (GAWDA member), a sales consulting and training firm specializing in boosting Welding and Gas distribution sales performance. Contact him at: Jay@ venatorsalesgroup.com T he greatest challenge most distributor sales managers face is the lack of time to deal with all the management, sales strategy, training, recruiting, and other operational tasks their job demands of them. Compounding this challenge is that many sales managers are time constrained due to an inefficient process which includes jumping into high value opportunities or accounts and acting on behalf of their salespeople to clean up account issues, take over difficult cylinder rental contract negotiations or simply acting to close challenging opportunities. Add in the typical reporting, forecasting and other internal work heaped on sales managers, and you’ve got the primary culprit that keeps sales managers from being great coaches and leaders. Unless a proactive approach is implemented, sales managers easily fall into this pattern, since they are former “A-player” salespeople who pride themselves on their sales and account relationship skills. Much like the coach of a sports team, a good sales manager must have a strategy and process for coaching their sales team from the sidelines, rather than jumping onto the playing field and running the play themselves. It is nearly impossible for the coach to run the team successfully while also playing the game. Great sales coaching starts with a sales manager truly caring about the development of their direct reports and a plan for coaching them on how to achieve that success, especially when it comes to deal coaching.

Most distributor salespeople are trained to look for positive account signals, such as having a “great” relationship with an internal champion. Unfortunately, salespeople often ignore the challenges that may exist within the account, such as a technical or financial stakeholder that is an advocate for the competition, an existing contract in place, or a committee of decision makers that tie buying decisions to an existing vendor relationship.

HOW DO SALES MANAGERS EFFECTIVELY COACH THEIR SALESPEOPLE TO THINK MORE CRITICALLY AND TO ACT MORE CONSULTATIVELY?

At Venator, we use a process called “interrogating reality,” which digs below the surface of an opportunity to find out what is going on behind the scenes. In other words, to discover the intangibles that often go unrecognized and create obstacles in managing the account or closing new business.

To properly interrogate the reality of a sales

opportunity, a manager needs a process for debriefing the salesperson to uncover critical information that has yet to be discovered. When done effectively, the manager helps the salesperson gain a 360-degree perspective on the opportunity, including any possible landmines that may exist. The ideal process entails consistent management debriefs that examine the realities versus what a salesperson wants to believe is true.

Below are three core components that should be included in a successful deal coaching process.

1. An ability to uncover critical business-driver information that may have been overlooked during a previous sales call through debrief questions.

Some example questions include: • Is the need or issue affecting other departmental timelines or goals? • How is the issue impacting the company operationally and financially? • Did they ever approach the existing vendor with their concerns? • Is there pressure on their department to fix this? • Has the issue scaled outside of their company? • Is it affecting their customer relations or their ability to grow their business?

2. A method to ensure that the salesperson has a comprehensive perspective on all stakeholders that will be involved in the decision, as well as a stakeholder map to discover interrelationships between all key stakeholders.

Some sample questions a manager can use to help a salesperson navigate stakeholders include: • What other departments are impacted by this? • Have you met with these different stakeholders or obtained any information about their personal issues, concerns, and vision? Is there consensus regarding the issue? • Have they had discussions internally about the issues or the fact that they are looking at us to replace the existing distributor? • Is there a formal budgetary or vendor change process and who controls it?

3. A process for exposing any roadblocks or landmines that will stand in the way of closing the sale or compromise account success.

Some sample debrief questions in this category include: • What are other priorities that could interfere with this initiative? To properly interrogate the reality of a sales opportunity, a manager needs a process for debriefing the salesperson to uncover critical information that has yet to be discovered.

• What does the prospect see as the biggest roadblock?

Budgetary constraints? • If there was a possible stumbling block that they see or that their management may present, what is it? • Are they looking at alternative solutions or other distributors? And if so, who? • Are they giving the existing distributor a shot at fixing the issues or adjusting their prices? • What is the plan if the existing distributor comes back with their “A-game” to save the account?

Using a debriefing and coaching process, a manager can coach their salespeople, rather than feeling the need to run onto the playing field to play for them. The manager can help develop well-structured account-specific strategies and tactics that allow the salesperson to interrogate the deal reality and effectively close more sales on their own. With an effective coaching strategy, the organization can scale and everyone wins.

Venator Sales Group is a Sales Consulting, Optimization, & Training firm with a laser-focus on improving every aspect of a client’s sales culture and sales performance. Founded over a decade ago by high-performing, professional sales practitioners, Venator combines a strategic sales management approach with real-world understanding of the factors necessary for success in today’s selling environment. Venator helps companies turn around inconsistent or lackluster sales performance by infusing a sales culture based on accountability, compliance, and critical thinking.