Ian Aubourg of East Greenwich is the Regional Director of Movement Mortgage, LLC. As a leader, he understands the importance of hard work, dedication and staying humble. In the following article, Ian Aubourg discusses coaching strategies to increase sales, success, and profits.
The 2021 Second Nature Sales Coaching Survey revealed that 96% of participants agreed/strongly agreed that effective coaching substantially impacted the performance of their sales teams. However, not all coaching methods were made equal. Thus, leaders should endeavor to implement nothing but the best strategies.
From using sales data to changing coaching styles to dedicating enough time, experts divulge the strategies that will propel leaders and their teams to the dizzying heights of success.
Ian Aubourg Discusses Utilizing Data to Optimize Sales Coaching
Coaches must cover many subtopics, overwhelming them when they attempt to choose the correct relationship. But it shouldn’t be like this.
Ian Aubourg of East Greenwich says that in many situations, gut feelings are the basis of all choices. However, sales coaching is different; picking a focus area should be aligned with data instead.
Using data effectively requires tracking monthly conversions to identify sales rep performance, team’s performance, and improvement areas. For instance, the collected data may show that close rates are decreasing while notice deal velocity is on the rise. By acknowledging this, leaders can examine reps’ email-to-meeting and demo-to-close rates to establish where they’re rushing.
Mixing Up Training Styles for Maximum Impact
Ian Aubourg of East Greenwich explains that once sales leaders have the data to hand, it’s up to them to bolster areas that could do with extra attention. To do that, they need to incorporate various coaching styles to complement the various techniques and skills required to sell.
Ian Aubourg says coaches in this niche should switch between the following styles:
- Tactical — This is the minute details about a specific part of the course, like beginning a relationship.
- Strategic — Otherwise known as big-picture guidance, strategic coaching includes topics like navigating a convoluted buying procedure, selling to a certain target audience, and so much more.
- Specific Skills — As the name suggests, it involves everything from rapport-building abilities to communication skills to questioning tactics.
Focusing on Reps’ Wellbeing is Never a Waste of Time
A Salesforce survey in June 2022 showed that one in three sales representatives say mental health in the profession has declined over the past 24 months. Of course, Ian Aubourg of East Greenwich notes that one of the main reasons for this was the coronavirus pandemic, but sales leaders can relieve the burden through well-intentioned coaching.
Eliminating judgment from the practice is the best start. After all, it’s the only way sales reps will trust their leaders enough to divulge how they really fare — and that can only happen when jumping to conclusions is pushed to the side.
While it isn’t necessary a hard-and-fast coaching strategy, it’s one of the most effective ways to empower teams to work hard, play hard, and boost sales.
Dedicating Enough Time to the Cause
According to the aforementioned Second Nature survey, approximately 37% of respondents set aside between 15 and 30 minutes for coaching, while 33% allocated between 30 and 60. Ideally, leaders should aim for short yet regular sessions — they’ll get the most out of their people that way.
The popular method is to use sales coaching as a tool to kickstart the sales year or during quarterly reviews. However, weekly sessions are much better; practice makes perfect, after all.
Involving Representatives in Coaching Processes
Salespeople work in the industry for many reasons, with independence being the main one. As such, they aren’t keen on being told what to do. Some may see that as a disadvantage, but the savviest leaders work with this character trait to create value-adding coaching processes.
Ian Aubourg says that representatives often respond well to being asked how they believe they performed, which metrics will allow them to self-monitor their progress, and how they think they can improve.
Leveraging the Best Members of the Team Throughout Improvements
Team leaders aren’t the only individuals qualified to coach sales representatives — they learn a surprising amount from each other.
Ian Aubourg explains that using the data provided by monthly metrics tracking, leaders can highlight specific individuals who are doing particularly well and ask them to give a presentation on their strategy. Their fellow representatives will be inspired to imitate them and maybe even stumble upon a more effective way to execute.
With the above strategies, leaders will achieve the outcomes they desire from their sales coaching efforts, including exceeded targets, reps who take ownership of their activities, and higher win rates.
