Words: Troy Harrison
Sales managers earn value by improving their salespeople’s performance through ‘profitable behaviour change.’ In this instance, ‘profitable’ means benefiting both the company and the salesperson financially, and ‘behaviour’ refers to how salespeople approach their roles, whether externally with customers or internally with colleagues.
Regardless of whether you manage low, high, or mixed performers, your job is to help them reach full potential. High turnover is harmful – it weakens company culture, damages morale, strains customer relationships and affects your mindset. While dismissal is occasionally necessary, it should be a last resort after you have done everything possible to support improvement. This is where ‘profitable behaviour change’ is essential.
‘Profitable behaviour change’ occurs in three stages: training, coaching and accountability. Too many managers skip the first two and go straight to accountability – hiring, demanding results and firing when targets are missed, which is ineffective, unfair and unprofitable.
Training
Training is the structured transfer of knowledge in a teaching environment. It ensures salespeople understand processes, methodologies, products, services, company culture and business operations. Unlike coaching, training is structured and sets a foundation for skills, techniques, and business expectations.
Training should begin in a salesperson’s first 90 days and continue indefinitely. Ongoing training reinforces past lessons, introduces new techniques and adapts to evolving customer preferences. Sales training will not solve every issue, but it is crucial for building skills. Without continuous reinforcement by management, the effectiveness of training diminishes. Any sales training program should align with company culture and reflect market trends.
Coaching
Coaching is far less structured. It is an ongoing process of skill refinement with no set curriculum. Effective coaching involves observing salespeople in real-life scenarios and identifying areas of improvement to help refine their approach.
A common coaching mistake is stepping in and taking over a sale instead of allowing the salesperson to learn from experience. Watching a call go wrong is painful, but managers must resist the urge to intervene. If you take over, you only help with one sale and not long-term improvement.
Another mistake is dictating rather than persuading. Coaching should not be an authoritarian process of ‘You must do this,’ but rather a persuasive one – ‘If you do this, here’s how you will benefit.’ Use your sales skills to guide your team towards better methods.
Accountability
The least enjoyable but necessary part of profitable behaviour change is accountability. Holding someone accountable means identifying deficiencies, communicating that these issues are unacceptable and demanding correction. Deficiencies could be in activity levels, skills application or workplace behaviour.
Accountability does not always mean dismissal. It could involve losing a territory, entering probation or facing other short-term consequences. Except in extreme cases such as dishonesty or mistreating colleagues, you should only enforce accountability if the individual has already received training and coaching. If they continue to resist improvement, termination may become inevitable.
‘Profitable behaviour change’ is the best way to enhance team performance. By applying these three steps outlined, you can create a stronger and more successful sales force.
A version of this article first appeared on Cleanfax.
