"Supercoaching" for Sales Managers

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This article looks at what many leading coaches believe and do - and why it enables them to be at the top of their field. It is based on "modelling" a number of top coaches and identifying what made them different. It then covers how you can apply the key points to improve your own coaching skills.

Some thoughts to consider.   Do you think that the sales training courses which your company use are effective?   If you are happy with the sales training you may want to save yourself time and stop reading here.   Should you believe that there is room for improvement, read on.   You may also be asking yourself why the training is not as effective as you would like it to be.   Continuing with the questions - would you like to have a more productive and professional sales force? (and probably need to spend less on Sales Training?)   The secret lies in genuinely developing the all Sales and Field Sales Managers into "Supercoaches".   I say "genuinely developing", because coaching has always been considered a part of these jobs and yet it is not often done well.   So much training in coaching skills has been done over the years, indeed we have been involved in delivering it.   Given this, why aren't there more examples of good coaches in business - and in sales in particular?    This feeling was one which I had had for some time and recently I decided to model a number of top coaches in sport, theatre and business to find out what it is that makes them so good at what they do.   I was curious to discover how this could be translated into a model of coaching which could be used to improve performance in business.

If you could improve the quality of the coaching you give and also within your sales team just what effect will it have on the bottom line?   By adopting the principles of "Supercoaching" you can contribute to this.   Look at the alignment model shown in Fig.1.

This presupposes that the closer you are to the centre, the more significant the impact of any change or development work.   Getting right into the middle, the identity and beliefs and values you are into what we term the core self.

This is the most critical part within any of us - and for any major change we make to last it will be because it either supports this self or it is felt to be better than existing levels.   As you make changes in these levels they will influence those further out from the core until, ultimately they enable us to make a difference to the environment where we operate.

When you have been involved with any training in coaching, what levels has it addressed?   The probability is that it was tackling capabilities with some reference to behaviours.   In itself, this does not have to be a problem.   However, to get real and lasting change we need to align all of the levels so that our sense of identity, beliefs and values are going to support work that we do on the outer ones.   Therefore, if the beliefs of the manager do not align with the newly acquired capabilities and behaviours these are less likely to become a permanent part of the repertoire.   Additionally, most sales training and field sales coaching is focussed on the capabilities and behaviours, again missing the fundamentals needed to create and maintain lasting change.

A major finding from the "Supercoaches" was how similar they were in their views and descriptions of their Core Self.   This was particularly true about their beliefs about themselves and others and also their values.   Hardly surprising, you may, rightly think.   It is probable that there is a strong similarity between the Core Self descriptions within the management teams in most organisations.   After all, what is it that creates and leads a "Company Culture"?   However, is the mix within the team, and the Sales management in particular, close to that of the "Supercoaches"?   What are the beliefs about ability, and desire, of people to continue to learn and develop?   What is the sense of identity for managers?   Are they seen as developers and are they recognised and rewarded as such?   Or, is their role to get results out of their team and if anyone is not up to it, remove them after the usual period of warnings etc.?

Many of the methods used by the "Supercoaches" are not radically different to the standard approaches to coaching at the behavioural level (Fig.1), although there are some points where they are.   Looking at the lessons learned, there are ten areas to consider.

1. A sense of purpose.

The coach has a strong sense that they have a key part to play as a developer, helping others to fulfil their potential. Their identity is around feeling that they are doing something worthwhile and that it is highly satisfying seeing others achieve. Whether top coaches in The Royal National Theatre or in sports such as hockey, the do not expect great volumes of thanks. The quote from David Whittaker, the Great Britain hockey coach, about watching the team being awarded their gold medals at the Seoul Olympics sums it up well, "I didn't expect them to get down from the podium and rush over to say that they couldn't have done it without me. It was nice that, later, many of the players said thanks."

2. Beliefs.

The "Supercoaches" have strong beliefs about themselves and others. They believe that they have a lot to learn and will continue to do so. Equally, others can continue to develop. They are very positive in their beliefs, with few limiting ones. (i.e. the "I can't.....", "I don't think...." range.)

3. Openness.

Supported by their beliefs about continuing to learn the "Supercoaches" are all open to new ideas and challenges. In fact, several contact me to enquire what else I have found out and we continue to work together and learn from each other. Another aspect of their openness is that they are flexible in the way they work with people, varying their approach to ensure freshness and to be certain that things work for the coachee.

4. Safety-first.

This was one of the strongest beliefs and also a key behaviour for all of the "Supercoaches". They work hard to enable the coachee to feel safe and secure in the session so that it will be OK to stretch themselves and to take risks. This is underpinned by constantly supportive behaviour. Does this apply in your company?

5. Result Oriented.

A stage which matches the organisational world! The "Supercoaches" will have an outcome they want to achieve for the coachee and this will be agreed. A series of steps will be developed and a key aim of any coaching session is to make sure that something can be achieved in every session. The "Supercoaches" are flexible about the pace and order of events because they ultimately want to reach the main outcome.

6. Rapport and respect.

This underpins the whole relationship. It allows for an easy creation of the safe environment and permits good, open communication. The "Supercoaches" felt that if the rapport and respect was lacking then there was limited scope for effective coaching. It is a two way process.

7. Give space.

A noticeable behaviour of all of the "Supercoaches" was that they moved into what was in effect "Observer" mode when the activity started. They would give the coachee space to operate either by physically moving away or by becoming very still and quiet, almost as though they were not there. Some coachees wanted their coach to be visible and obvious whilst others were happy with them out of the way. Regardless of physical distance, the "Supercoaches" would leave the coachee to carry out the activity and wait before intervening.

8. Intervention.

After observing the performance/activity the "Supercoach" would behave in a manner which encouraged the coachee to analyse how they have done. Questions would be used far more than suggestions.

9. Feedback.

This is given directly and with a positive intention. The quality of the rapport and respect and the feeling of safety will enable this to be constructive. It is always about the performance and will move towards identifying actions to improve.

10. Leave on a high.

At the end of the session the "Supercoach" will often summarise the session and what has been achieved (see point 5 about the result orientation). Emphasising the successes and agreeing any intervening actions to be taken before the next session will maintain the safety for then.

Not all of the models were perfect and there are areas where they could become even better. However, within an organisational context, how many of these ten points are used. Within your own experience, were you coached in this way? Does your sales team get coached in this way? If so, great. If not, how much better will they become if the "Supercoach" approach is used?

ARE YOUR READY TO BE A “SUPERCOACH?”

Rate yourself for each of the statements		Score
1. How important is developing others to you?	1 -> 10 (low)-(high)
2. Do you believe that others have the ability to continually develop and learn new skills?	1 -> 10 (no) - (yes)
3. Do you believe that you have the ability to help others to develop and learn?	1 -> 10 (no) - (yes)
4. If something is not working the way you want it to, how flexible are you at taking a different approach?	1 -> 10 (not) - (very)
5. Are you a believer in following a procedure and a tested way of doing things - or do you enjoy generating options?	1 -> 10 (proc) - (opt)
6. Do you have faith in your own ability and ways of doing things - or do you prefer the reassurance from others?	1 -> 10 (reass) (own)
7. Do you see yourself as being the best seller in the team?	1 -> 10 (yes) (no)
8. Which gives you more satisfaction, seeing your name in lights or that of someone in your team?	1 -> 10 (own) (other)
9. When out with a seller, do you stand back andobserve or do you prefer to move in and take over?	1 -> 10 (move)(stand)
10. Do you use questions to develop the skill of your team or do you find yourself offering suggestions or telling?	1 -> 10 (tell) (quest)

100 - 70:    You are already operating as a “Supercoach” and, presumably, have a high performing team. You are used to seeing your team develop and exceed your own levels of performance.

70 - 40:    You have some of the qualities and beliefs of the “Supercoaches” and probably use them some of the time. At other times you will be inclined to direct and/or take over. What really gives you your buzz?

10 - 40:    You probably find coaching frustrating, hard work and wonder why you need to do it. Take heart, you can acquire the skills and the beliefs of the “Supercoaches”, particularly when you are ready to confront the limitations of some of your existing beliefs.

©Graham Yemm www.solutions4training.com    +44 1483 480656