The Work Never Stops — Even on Vacation

“It seems like I can never get away from work. My wife and I were recently on a vacation trip to Reno, Nevada. During the course of the plane ride, the person sitting next to me noticed I was reading Agency Sales. One thing led to another and he asked what I did for a living and what lines I represented. When I told him, he let me know that he was a manufacturer and he wondered if I thought his product might have any applications in the markets I served.

“Since that fateful plane trip, we’ve had several more long‑distance negotiation conversations resulting in me taking on his line for a trial period (he was quick to get my attention by offering a 15% commission). I don’t know how successful we’re going to be, but I’m optimistic.

“My message here is always be on the lookout for new opportunities and be sure to encourage a manufacturer to get your attention (and your time) by offering a healthy commission — even if it is for a limited period of time.”

One Rep’s Guiding Force

A former manufacturer, who’s been on the rep side of the desk since 2000, has used the following philosophy to guide him successfully for the past eight years. “When I worked with a network of reps, my goal was to have a salesforce in the field maximizing their time in front of the customer. I didn’t want someone who was warehousing products, buying/reselling products or doing a lot of unnecessary paperwork. I wanted reps who were happy to let bugs die on their windshields. That’s why when I opened my own agency, I approached manufacturers with the promise to be face‑to‑face with customers any time, all the time. That’s been my guiding force and it’s had an appeal for principals and has served me very well.”

Thinking About What You’re Going to Say

A rep contacted us last month to let us know how listening to a public speaker completely changed the way he deals with customers. “I went to hear a presentation by the Washington Post editor/reporter Bob Woodward. It wasn’t so much what he had to say as it was how he said it that impressed me. Especially when he was responding to questions from the audience, Woodward seemed to take all the time in the world to come up with an answer. Then when the answer was forthcoming he spoke slowly, clearly and accurately. There were no hesitations or stumbling over words. There was no letting his tongue work before his mind had formulated an answer.

“I’ve tried to emulate what he does and it works especially well with my own employees and my customers. I’m not making any errors and my messages seem to be clearly delivered. I think it’s all about taking your time. Consider for a moment how much trouble people get themselves into when they speak before they think. That’s something I’m not going to do again.”

Coaching Your Superstars

A little over a year ago, we reported on the success that MANA‑member Nelson & Associates, Inc., Santa Fe Springs, California, was enjoying following the implementation of an internal coaching process. Just months after the program was initiated, sales and morale were reported to be at an all‑time high.

That article was hardly the last time we heard about the importance of coaching. Earlier this year, MANA members were able to take part in a teleforum, conducted by consultant Nicki Weiss of SalesWise (www.saleswise.ca) on that very subject.

As the teleforum developed, Weiss defined coaching as “a process of providing people with support, encouragement and information, in order to raise their awareness so they can:

• Solve problems on their own.
• Take risks.
• Make decisions.
• Tackle new challenges.
• Learn from the experience.
• Focus on the future.
• Achieve results.

In order to maximize the potential in a coaching program, Weiss maintains that eight “cornerstones” must be present.

1. People (including reps) are creative, resourceful and wise — they have all the answers. Coaches ask questions. This is a mindset piece. It’s important to appreciate the fact that your reps are creative, resourceful and wise. They have the answers to questions and know the solutions to problems. To bring that out of them, your job as a coach is to create the questions that provide them the opportunity to present the answers. Sometimes a rep will say “I don’t know,” when, in fact, if they looked inside themselves, they possess the answer. With coaching they’ll recognize their strengths. They know what motivates them or what holds them back. They know when they’re selling out and they know when they’re great. You, as the manager, set the course for discovery.

2. Embrace a coaching mindset in order to address the whole person, not just their story. Reps who are effective coaches understand something very important about people — people bring their whole self to work. That includes their vision, their self‑esteem, and their passion. As a result, it’s important in coaching to focus on both the small and big issues. For instance, what if we have a rep salesperson who has difficulty asking the right questions? We might consider that a small problem. The larger problem here is that a failure to ask the proper questions might be standing in the way of the individual’s desire to be an extraordinary rep in all areas of performance. To address that latter issue, we have to identify exactly what is getting in the way. What happens to him when a customer is uncooperative and doesn’t respond to his queries? Your job as a coach is to help him think it through by serving as a sounding board.

3. Regularly scheduled coaching conversations deliver exceptional results. Sure, having regularly scheduled coaching sessions with your sales staff necessitates their taking time out from the field, but the benefits are more than worth it. The ‘in‑the‑moment’ conversations normally focus on the small items, not the typical “A-list” items that must be addressed. That’s why it is so important to have a set time for coaching. If you schedule the meetings and keep to the schedule, you’ll see an interesting dynamic develop. Agendas will be generated and followed and accountability will become an important part of the relationship. I’d recommend scheduling the sessions for 15‑30 minutes, at least every other week.

4. Coaching is a valued management and leadership capability. The rep firm’s culture understands, accepts, develops and supports the coaching mindset, skills and time required to be an effective coach. If you are the owner of the rep firm, then it’s your job to influence the agency culture to the extent that coaching is truly valued. Coaching lies at the heart of effective management. You don’t need coaching in order to achieve mediocrity, rather you need coaching to achieve top performance. No one achieves without constant coaching, and that doesn’t mean nagging. When you spend valuable coaching time with individuals, you provide them with a competitive edge.

5. The coaching relationship is a designed alliance. You, the coach, and the individual you’re coaching should agree on what the relationship looks like and what it entails. To do that, here are some questions that I typically ask:

• What would you like from me as a coach?
• What is important to your learning?
• What motivates you to get unstuck?
• What can I do to un‑stick you?
• When you’re excited, how do you want to celebrate?
• If you agree to do something and you don’t, or if you’re struggling, what do you want me to do?
• What are obstacles to your learning?
• What is the best way for me to convey a hard truth to you?

Getting the answers to questions such as these, allow you to design a relationship with your salespeople, which is exactly what you’ve always done with your customers and principals.

6.Coaching means action and learning. Action and learning combine to create change. To learn what that change is, when the coaching session is completed ask the following questions: What are your going to do? When? How will I know that you’ve done it? By getting answers to these questions, you create change and accountability.

7. Self‑management is a critical point. The coaching process can’t be all about you. It’s imperative that you as the coach remove your pride and ego. Don’t be judgmental. Prepare and complete your agenda and then get out of the way. If it’s all about you being right and someone else being wrong, it will never work.

8. Slow down. Remember that instituting a successful coaching program is not a race, it’s a process. If you keep at it, you’ll wind up where you want to be and you’ll be developing high‑performing rep salespeople. You’ll determine where your strengths and weaknesses are and you’ll be able to stay on top of what’s happening in your territory.