There’s a reason that sales people are often among the most highly paid workers in a company. Sales is the life blood of any corporation or business. If there are no sales, that business isn’t going to be open for long.
An increasing number of companies are realizing how important their sales people are, and that is helping to bring up the demand for quality sales coaching both within the company, and from speakers and special trainers coming in from outside of the business, as well.
The Benefits Are Measurable
Workers notice when a company cares enough to invest in them. Multiple studies have shown that workers who frequently receive coaching tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than those who aren’t. In addition to this, good sales coaching improves the skill set of all a company’s workers. Better workers means better results, and that means more money added to the bottom line.
When a company combines fair commissions for their sales people, that means more sales puts more money in their pockets, as well. Add in more money with a higher job satisfaction and more employees are going to want to stay with the company. Employee retention not only keeps talent in-house but saves on expensive job searches and the lost revenue from inexperienced sales people learning their trade.
While every sales person can benefit from good coaching, there’s no question that the most benefit comes to those middle or “average” sales people. A study that was performed and published by the Sales Executive Council that average sales people who have shown potential but don’t consistently tap into it tend to be very coachable, are willing to improve, and companies who invest in coaching them up often see up to a 20% jump in overall sales. That is a very good pay-off for any sales coaching investment.
Look At Sales Coach Styles
Hiring a sales coach, or multiple sales coaches, can be a hefty investment. This is why it is so important for a company to do their due diligence and find coaches who specialize in the style or methods a company wants to emphasize. Talks given by Zig Ziglar and Grant Cardone are going to look radically different. Both are giants in the selling world, but they also represent very different styles of selling.
Neither one is necessarily right or wrong – but knowing how a company wants to represent themselves is important. You don’t want hard and harsh closes in an industry where that style doesn’t work, and vice-versa for the “kill them with kindness” approach to soft selling.
Companies shouldn’t shy away from coaching. Time and time again it appears the middle 60% of most sales forces profit from being coached. Even mediocre coaching shows a 6-8% boost in sales, while a great fit can hit 20%. Those are good numbers either way, and show the wisdom and long-term benefit of a company investing in their sales force.