Effective Sales Leaders Coach from the Sidelines

How often did you see Nick Saban take off his headset, put on a helmet, run onto the field and throw a touchdown?

Or sack the quarterback.

Never. Not once. 

Nick is known as one of the best college football coaches of all time. He led the Alabama Crimson tide to multiple SEC championships. He also won coach of the year five times during his tenure.

If a multi award winning coach never hops into the game with his team, why do you as a sales manager feel the need to?

Swooping in and closing deals.

Rescuing every rep from their own self-imposed failures.

Accepting excuses.

Making sure everyone knows you are the best sales rep ever to walk this earth.

You my friend are the epitome of a player coach.

You want to play in the game more than you want to lead your team to success.

Building a Coaching Mindset

But, Wesleyne. If I don’t close the large deals then we won’t hit our quota. I have to be in the trenches.

Let’s think about Nick Saban.

If he throws a touchdown, who is on the sidelines strategizing the next play?

No one.

His focus is on the one play right in front of him, not what he should be focused on which is his next five moves. 

When you only focus on the one big deal needed to hit your quota this month, you are missing the other five sales reps on your team that need to be developed.

So stop.

Stop swooping in and closing deals for your reps, coach them by providing them with the strategies they need to execute.

Stop giving excuses for your lack of performance and take responsibility for actions. When you stop giving excuses you will stop accepting excuses. 

No one cares how amazing you were as a sales rep.

Stop Being a Player Coach

As my children tell me often, “Mom, those were the olden days in the 1900s. Things are different now.”

The selling environment we are in today is different than the one you sold in.

Provide your team golden nuggets of wisdom and allow them to apply them however they see fit. Don’t bleed all over them by expecting them to exactly what you did.

Effective managers led by impact and influence.

They don’t do the work for their team, they coach them to success.

The transition from player coach to a true sales coach takes time and effort on your part.

Stepping into a Sales Coach Mindset

Here are three small steps you can take this week

1. Talk less, listen more.

Allow your reps to take ownership of their meetings. You should observe and provide feedback afterwards. This is important because it gives the rep the confidence to take ownership of the meeting without fear of being minimized in the eyes of their prospects.

2. Let people fail.

Allowing someone to fail teaches them a greater lesson than always rescuing them. After they fall down, then together you work out a path forward so they don’t make the same mistake agin.

Remember, it’s okay to lose, but it’s not okay to lose the same way twice.

3. Invest in yourself.

Learning is a continuous process. The more books you read, podcasts you listen to and training you attend, the better you will be as a leader.

Don’t wait for the right moment to start, start today.

You are in your management position because someone saw something in you that you may not have seen in yourself.

Don’t allow your own insecurities or fears cloud the true coach you desire to become. 

Every time you catch yourself playing in the game, stop and ask yourself “If I do this, what will I miss.”