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Teach them to think
Solutions-focused coaching results in proactive and high-performing sales teams.
Coach your sales to find their own solutions
RECENTLY, I was delivering a programme for the government sales unit of a national telecommunications company about selling in price-conscious markets.
I quoted Socrates, who said, "I cannot teach anyone anything, I can only make them think," and there were some sceptical looks among the account managers.
"We need to learn how to qualify leads," I imagined them thinking.
I elaborated: "It might be more helpful if you thought through this situation rather than me giving you a solution, because what works for me (and other sales professionals) may not work for you. Let me help you think this through."
Then, I had the unit working together in a group exercise and they experienced the benefits of solutions-focused sales coaching.
Here are some powerful questions you could ask that will help your sales team overcome day-to-day challenges and find their own solutions:
Platform
Start with building the platform, where your sales team is now (not qualifying leads).
You could ask: "What do you want to achieve? What would be the payoff for solving this problems?" How will you know that we have made some progress?
"Future Perfect"
Help your sales team see how the future will be different when the problem is no longer there.
You could ask: "What if this problem went away overnight? How would you know? What will you be doing? What would be the first small signs?"
Counters
These help your sales team members start seeing the strengths they already possess, that will help them move towards the solution.
You could ask: "When does this solution happen already? What are examples of the solution happening already, complete or in part? Which parts of your 'future perfect' happen at the moment? What are you already doing that's helping? What's working for you?"
Affirm
Even the most challenging situations have positive examples of coping that can be drawn out and affirmed.
You could say: "I'm impressed with how you reached the decision-maker." You could then ask: "How did you do that? When you've faced situations with gatekeepers before, how have you handled them?"
Scaling
Scaling questions can help measure how close your sales team is to desired goals, ranging from the "worst the problem has ever been" (zero) to "the best things could possibly be" (10).
You could ask: "On a scale of 0 to 10, if 10 is the 'future perfect' and 0 is the complete opposite, where are you now? What tells you that you are at 'n' on the scale rather than a 0? What is the highest you've ever been on that scale? When was that? How did you do that?"
Small actions
The goal is for your sales team to repeat what has worked in the past and gain confidence in making improvements in the future.
You could ask: "Suppose you were one point higher on the scale. How would you know you were one point higher? What would you be doing more of, less of, or differently? What's the next small step for you to take?"
Review
Asking your sales team members to summarise their action plan will result in greater accountability and ownership.
You could ask: "What actions will you take as a result of our conversation? How can you stay on track?" Reassure them that by sticking to the plan, you are positive they are going to succeed!
Working with sales leaders and professionals, I have noticed that solutions-focused sales coaching helps teams focus on what's working, and results in more autonomous, proactive and high-performing sales teams.
Solutions-focused coaching results in proactive and high-performing sales teams.
Coach your sales to find their own solutions
RECENTLY, I was delivering a programme for the government sales unit of a national telecommunications company about selling in price-conscious markets.
I quoted Socrates, who said, "I cannot teach anyone anything, I can only make them think," and there were some sceptical looks among the account managers.
"We need to learn how to qualify leads," I imagined them thinking.
I elaborated: "It might be more helpful if you thought through this situation rather than me giving you a solution, because what works for me (and other sales professionals) may not work for you. Let me help you think this through."
Then, I had the unit working together in a group exercise and they experienced the benefits of solutions-focused sales coaching.
Here are some powerful questions you could ask that will help your sales team overcome day-to-day challenges and find their own solutions:
Platform
Start with building the platform, where your sales team is now (not qualifying leads).
You could ask: "What do you want to achieve? What would be the payoff for solving this problems?" How will you know that we have made some progress?
"Future Perfect"
Help your sales team see how the future will be different when the problem is no longer there.
You could ask: "What if this problem went away overnight? How would you know? What will you be doing? What would be the first small signs?"
Counters
These help your sales team members start seeing the strengths they already possess, that will help them move towards the solution.
You could ask: "When does this solution happen already? What are examples of the solution happening already, complete or in part? Which parts of your 'future perfect' happen at the moment? What are you already doing that's helping? What's working for you?"
Affirm
Even the most challenging situations have positive examples of coping that can be drawn out and affirmed.
You could say: "I'm impressed with how you reached the decision-maker." You could then ask: "How did you do that? When you've faced situations with gatekeepers before, how have you handled them?"
Scaling
Scaling questions can help measure how close your sales team is to desired goals, ranging from the "worst the problem has ever been" (zero) to "the best things could possibly be" (10).
You could ask: "On a scale of 0 to 10, if 10 is the 'future perfect' and 0 is the complete opposite, where are you now? What tells you that you are at 'n' on the scale rather than a 0? What is the highest you've ever been on that scale? When was that? How did you do that?"
Small actions
The goal is for your sales team to repeat what has worked in the past and gain confidence in making improvements in the future.
You could ask: "Suppose you were one point higher on the scale. How would you know you were one point higher? What would you be doing more of, less of, or differently? What's the next small step for you to take?"
Review
Asking your sales team members to summarise their action plan will result in greater accountability and ownership.
You could ask: "What actions will you take as a result of our conversation? How can you stay on track?" Reassure them that by sticking to the plan, you are positive they are going to succeed!
Working with sales leaders and professionals, I have noticed that solutions-focused sales coaching helps teams focus on what's working, and results in more autonomous, proactive and high-performing sales teams.
