Become Your Own Sales Coach


By Steve Radford

Dave Stockton was among the top professional golfers in the 1970s. He won 10 PGA tour events, including two majors. The year before he joined the Senior Tour, Stockton was the guest speaker at our company's customer golf tournament at Camelback resort in Arizona.

Stockton spent the day, playing a hole or two with each foursome and joined the group for dinner that evening. We all enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time with a successful pro golfer and Stockton was very gracious in sharing golfing tips and stories from his years on the PGA tour.

Before that event in Arizona, I was a terrible golfer. After the event, I was still a terrible golfer but, thanks to Stockton, a somewhat better sales manager. The lesson I took home with me came during a demonstration on the practice tee. A group of thirty or so attendees formed a half-circle around Mr. Stockton while he hit practice balls and offered tips to improve our games.

At one point, Stockton asked someone from our group to yell out a shot as he reached the top of his backswing and said he would hit that shot. He started his backswing, they would yell "low slice" and he would hit a low slice. "High hook" and he would hit a high hook. He hit a dozen shots, each one as specified. The skill demonstration was impressive but the tip he gave regarding effective practice was what I took home and put to use.

Stockton commented that most golfers go to the driving range and hit a bucket of practice balls quickly, without much thought. Tee it up and whack it. Tee up another and whack it. Good shots, bad shots, whacking away and learning nothing. He said that practicing in that manner is a waste of time. Instead, he suggested that you should hit a ball and consider the result. Was it what you wanted? If so, stop and examine everything you did. How were your feet positioned? How were you gripping the club? What were you thinking about? How did you follow through? If the result was positive, tee up another ball and try to duplicate everything you did to achieve that result.

The tip didn't improve my golf game but it occurred to me that the lesson could be applied to selling. Sales people often go through their day making sales calls, visiting clients and calling prospects without thinking about what could be learned from each experience. Throughout my career, I have heard people say that sales is a numbers game. That statement is partially true. If you never pick up the telephone or call on a prospect, you won't make many sales. And some short comings can be disguised by extra effort. But to a professional sales person, it is much more than a numbers game. Every call has a purpose. Every movement is deliberate and productive.

After a successful call, a great sales person will pause to evaluate their work. Exactly what made the call successful? How did they greet the receptionist? What did they say to the client as they walked down the hall toward the meeting room? How were marketing materials handled? What flavor of breath mint was consumed before getting out of the car?

Conversely, when a call goes poorly, the great sales person will analyze it to insure a better result on the next one. Was there a question that could have been answered more clearly? Was he or she careful to listen and understand the prospect's needs before trying to offer any solutions?

Most sales calls are made when nobody is watching. That is to say there is no sales manager or trainer nearby to offer suggestions. Great sales people may call their boss or another colleague if they cannot see a solution to a problem but the daily advances in performance will come from introspection and self evaluation. Average sales people keep making the same mistakes until the next time their boss rides along or until they go to a seminar. To be your best, learn to be your own coach.

Radford is Vice President of Sales for Sterling Personnel in Dallas, Texas.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

 

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