In the dynamic realm of high-end selling and strategic account management, the role of coaching often takes a back seat. Let’s shed some light on the transformative power of managers as proactive coaches.
The Unique Challenges of High-End Selling:
High-end selling involves intricate complexities that demand a personalized approach. During my training sessions, I like to remind learners that they are playing chess, not checkers. Unlike checkers, swift action doesn’t always result in victory. Chess is a complex game with an astronomically large number of possible moves. Within this complexity, there are a set of a few simple principles, which if applied effectively, will result in victory. Each move must be understood in the context of the array of future moves and counter moves it makes possible. The skills required in complex selling are not developed overnight. Nor are the nuances fully understood without patience and practise.
The Coaching Gap:
Many change initiatives for sales and SAM teams sound exciting. They promise tremendous results. Unfortunately, they are destined to miss the mark for one often overlooked reason: they forgot to get the buy in of the front-line managers. Front-line managers are crucial to the success of change efforts because they hold the key to behaviour change in the sales team. They are the ones who immediately see the impact of the sales team’s behaviour on the customer’s perception of value and on sales results. They are also in the best position to appreciate the hard work and commitment of the sales team. There’s an adage that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. The relationship between managers and the sales team is crucial to unlocking the team’s full potential. In most cases, however, managers have never been trained on how to coach. They often move into these roles because they were good practitioners, not because they know how to coach. The result is top management invests in change efforts without realizing that it is front line management that holds the key to success.
The Power of Proactive Coaching:
A colleague recently shared with me that he didn’t appreciate the impact coaching would have on friendship. Many managers have very friendly relationships with their team members. In some cases, particularly with SAM teams, these friendships could span decades. My colleague explained how it became crystal clear to him during the coaching that he had to choose between being an effective coach and being a friend. It became awkward for him to hold his friend accountable to the changes he knew he needed to make while showing up at social events with an expectation of lightheartedness. Eventually, my colleague did successfully conclude the coaching objective and was able to move back into a straight friendship role. This is an example of the seriousness with which coaches must undertake their responsibilities.
People generally rise to the level of what’s expected of them. This is true for children as well as adults. In psychology, this is known as the Pygmalion Effect. According to Wikipedia:
The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon in which high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area and low expectations lead to worse. It is named after the Greek myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell so much in love with the perfectly beautiful statue he created that the statue came to life.
When salespeople know that expectations are simply the flavour of the month, they will sit on the sidelines and wait for the initiative to fade. When they realize their managers are serious and the behaviour change is being measured, they quickly get on board.
Manager as a Coach:
When managers function as coaches, they foster a positive and supportive environment. Coaching isn’t something that’s seen as remedial. Instead, it’s an ongoing practise aimed at helping the great become greater. All the great performers in every field have coaches. They don’t seek out coaches because they are failing. They seek out coaches because they want to keep on excelling.
Strategic Account Managers (SAMs) shoulder multifaceted responsibilities, necessitating a tailored coaching approach. To be successful as a SAM coach, managers must develop the habit of formal 1:1 meeting with their team. Each team member must experience the coaching as an investment in them to help them continually reach the next level of their performance. It should be a cooperative and collaborative exercise not a punitive one. Objectives should be mutually arrived at. Feedback should be thoughtfully provided. Successes should be celebrated.
As objectives are agreed upon, managers should be careful to identify “laughably small” changes that SAMs and sellers can commit to. The importance of a laughably small commitment cannot be overemphasized. It is the key to real and lasting change. Ultimately, every business is run on the personal habits of its employees. When people are under stress, they resort to their habits. These habits, repeated often enough, become high speed wiring between the brain’s synapses. It becomes increasingly different to operate another way. True change ultimately rests on the foundational habits of the team. Making big changes is almost impossible because it becomes too easy to explain why the new way is too cumbersome, time-consuming, or draining. Ultimately, old habits prevail. By forming laughably small commitments, it becomes easier to continue with the commitment than to make excuses for not doing it. In the area of physical fitness, committing to putting on one’s running shoes every morning or sitting on the exercise bike every day is a far more potent commitment because 1) it can be kept, and 2) once it’s kept it’s just as easy to continue to the next step. Within a matter of weeks, an old habit gives way to a new one. In the sales and SAM worlds, committing to asking one more clarifying question is superior to committing to becoming an active listener.
Overcoming Resistance to Coaching:
Managers will often resist coaching because they don’t know what to do. The first thing managers need to do is commit to the process. This commitment will manifest itself as 1:1 meetings are scheduled in advance, on a regular cadence, for the year, with each member of the team. Within that cadence, managers need to:
1. Create a baseline evaluation of performance against expectations for key competencies and skills.
2. Set up personalized coaching agreements to support each member’s goals and specific areas of needed development.
3. Interact with each team member in the 1:1 meeting with a focus on the area identified in the coaching agreement.
4. Keep supporting the team member until the desired outcome has been achieved.
5. Celebrate the achievement. Formally close the coaching agreement.
6. Identify a new area to work on and set up a new coaching agreement (also mutually arrived at)
7. Wash, rinse, repeat!
Conclusion:
Managerial coaching is an often-overlooked key in maximizing the potential of high-end sellers and SAMs. All change efforts can be accelerated and optimized for sustained success in an ever-evolving business landscape by adopting a proactive coaching approach. Rather than seeing managerial coaching as an afterthought, it should be seen as a pre-requisite to all training efforts.
If you haven’t already, consider investing in a coaching program for your managers, recognizing the transformative impact it will have on high-end selling teams. Reach out to me if you’d like to explore what such a program might look like.
