Let's Join The Sales Rep's World for a Minute
Being a sales professional is not for the faint of heart.
You might find yourself spending hours hearing "no" from your prospecting efforts and then suddenly you have an interested one and you have to jump right into excited, consultative selling mode. A few minutes later an upset client calls and you have to jump into customer service/negotiator mode.
Tactically, salespeople need to pivot from one skill to another all day long. From sales, to admin, to sales, to customer service, back to sales.
Emotionally, the roller coaster is a crazy ride.
- You have your incredible highs from closing that deal that you've been working on for days or weeks or months
- You have your rock-bottom lows when you lose a deal unexpectedly
- You have high anxiety when your sales numbers hit a slump and you need to get them up
- You have high anxiety when your sales numbers are at a high, because you need to keep them up
Sales leader, I'm not writing anything here that you don't already know.
Here's are two key ways you can help.
One important part of your role is to model CONSISTENCY. Consistency is essential in sales and you want to show them how it's done by living it yourself. A great way to model this is with consistent touch points each day, each week and each month.
Another important part of your role is to support them WHOLLY. You want to provide them leadership, yes, but you also want to provide TARGETED SUPPORT that will bolster them, give them confidence, make them better at what they do. And ultimately, shine in their roles.
A key element to both CONSISTENCY and TARGETED SUPPORT is hitting the FOUR MAJOR TOUCH POINTS.
The LeDev Advice
In my sales leadership career I have found that there are four major touch points every sales leader should have on a regular basis with their reps. Many leaders do one, two or maybe three of these well, but they tend to miss one or more each time. Missing one will not provide the well-rounded support your reps need to be their best.
In this article we will review each critical touch point - what they are, what purpose they serve, and what your goal should be with each one.
SIDE NOTE #1: I'm going to call them what we called them in my last company. You may have other names for them. Whatever you call them, make sure the intent and impact of each one is there.
SIDE NOTE #2: I've listed them in no particular order because any one of these is not more important than the other.
SIDE NOTE #3: I'm going to suggest an ideal amount of time spent and cadence for each one, but your team size will dictate how much and how often you can do these. If you have 8 or fewer direct salespeople you should be able to carry out each of these as described below and still have time for fire-fighting, department meetings and personal development. If you have more than 8 you may need to do these less frequently or make them shorter. WHATEVER YOU DO, I wouldn't recommend cutting any of them out. They all have a specific purpose and provide a different value.
All right, here we go - the FOUR essential touch points of a leader.
The Goal Planning Meeting
The What
Goal planning is a review of the rep's tactical plan for the week in order to build their pipeline and hit their goals. It's a very specific and detailed "here's my plan" conversation.
The When and Where
Typically goal planning is done each week. It can be on Friday afternoon for the following week, or on Monday, and encompasses their tactical plan for the week.
Some leaders prefer to do this each day (either at the end of the prior day or first thing in the morning) which works as well.
Some leaders do this in a live meeting and it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes.
Others have their reps email a goal planning form, or have the form on a shared document that they can review. Similar to a live meeting, it should only take you 10-15 minutes to review the plan and share your thoughts/feedback.
The How
It should be something that the rep does themselves and reports in to you. Things like:
- Who are they calling? How many calls will they make?
- What is their strategic focus for the week?
- What markets are they tackling?
- What resources will they be using to prospect?
It is very tactical and should be detailed (prospect names, specific goal metrics, etc).
The vibe is "ok, what's your action plan to get the business flowing this week?"
The Why
Goal planning is intended to ensure that your sales rep has a proactive, organized tactical plan for the week. It should give both of you confidence that your rep has a solid handle on the key action items needed to grow their book of business.
For you, the leader, it's a great opportunity to get them focused and excited for the week. A "let's do this!" dialogue will help them with their confidence level, which we all know is critical in a sales role.
Another why for you as the leader - Meeting with each team member gives you good visibility on (and control over) the tactical plan your team has to get business in the door. This will give you more confidence, too!
The Pipeline Review
The What
The pipeline review is a review of what's in their sales pipeline - what leads are they actively working and where are they in the closing process? Ideally, each lead is reviewed and discussed. The rep shares their plan for the "next step" to move them further down the pipeline funnel.
The When and Where
Typically pipeline reviews are done each week. It can be anytime during the week and should be done on the same day each week.
These should be done live - an email or other written exchange won't accomplish what is needed for this meeting to be successful.
Depending on the size of the book, it should take 30 minutes. If you are just starting with a rep it will likely take longer, but once you get a weekly cadence going it will be faster because you will have a good feel for what's in the pipeline.
FOR BIG PIPELINES
In some industries pipelines can be big and not manageable in 30 minutes. In those instances you can do two things:
- Target the leads that are "closest to the money" and review as many of them as you can. Then move back in the pipeline as far as you can in 30 minutes.
- Do an overview of the # of leads at each stage of the pipeline and discuss areas of opportunity (ex: you observe that there are lots of leads sitting in the "#leads attempted" bucket. Spend the 30 minutes diving into strategies to move that group forward)
- Flip-flop #1 and #2 each time so that you have both types of discussions with your rep
The How
The leader and the rep review each pipeline together and brainstorm what's possible. Here's an example of a pipeline agenda:
- Leads reviewing your proposal or offer
- Where are they in the decision-making process?
- When is your next follow-up? What is your call plan?
- What are the chances they will accept?
- Leads you are actively talking to
- What is your plan to get them to the proposal stage?
- When is your next follow-up? What is your call plan?
- How serious are they? What are the chances you can close them?
- Leads you are prospecting
- How many of these are strong prospects?
- What is your plan to reach them?
- What does your talk-track sound like?
The Why
The pipeline review is your chance to help them move their pipeline along. Let them role-play their talk tracks with you, brainstorm angles to reach or close leads, and overall give them confidence in their approach.
For you, the leader, it gives you an opportunity to gauge their confidence level in the pipeline they've built, help unblock some of their roadblocks, and get a true picture of what's possible to close in the coming days/weeks/months.
The Coaching Session
The What
The coaching session is an observation session, either a side-by-side or a ride-along, that's intended to help the rep build their overall skills. Like a sports coach, the leader is watching them "do their thing" and identifying specific areas of improvement that, when addressed, will make them better at what they do. They then provide tools to help them build specific skillsets.
The When and Where
Coaching sessions are typically done once or twice per month. For newbies, twice a month or even weekly is needed. For more tenured reps, monthly is enough.
These are mostly done live, but they can also been done in other creative ways. For example, if voicemail messages are an area of opportunity, the leader might pull 10-20 voicemail recordings and review them, then propose some coaching for the rep.
The length of time each session takes can vary. Ride-alongs of course can take a day or more. If you are shadowing a rep at a desk, it can be 30 minutes, 1 hour, or several hours depending on what you want to observe (personal note: for deep coaching I've been known to shadow a rep for 4 to 8 hours at a time. Feels like a lot but you definitely can get to the bottom of things very effectively!)
The How
The leader spends time observing the rep doing the job. They can either do general observation and let the rep "do their thing", or they can target something specific (ex: why don't you cold call for an hour and I will observe?)
At the end of the observation session, the leader provides feedback on what they saw.
- Be sure to point out the great things you saw them do!
- For the areas of improvement, pick the top 1 or 2 items (save the rest for another time if you have more) and discuss some suggestions for how they can work on getting better
- Make sure you send them a detailed email recap and provide them tools for improvement
The Why
This is the time you are helping them grow by developing their skillsets. Because you are taking the time to observe them, you are providing them a PERSONALIZED coaching plan that is both empowering and effective.
For you, the leader, it gives you an opportunity to see first-hand what their gaps are. You may even observe some trends across reps and can then organize a larger training for the group.
Important note: Don't skip this one for the veterans! They will tell you they don't need it, but they do. What elite athlete do you know who doesn't have a coach? If you tailor the session to be helpful to them, you will find areas that you can help them and they WILL find value in your time together.
The 1 on 1 Meeting
The What
The 1 on 1 is a more personalized meeting that covers relationship building, engagement, and long-range growth. It can also be a time to review longer-term progress towards goals (monthly, quarterly or yearly).
The When and Where
1 on 1's are typically once a month and normally last 60 minutes.
These are always done live and, if in person, should be in a neutral space that provides privacy. Or it can be done in a more friendly setting like a coffee shop or a lunch spot.
The How
The rep is invited to bring their discussion items and gets priority. This should be their safe space to share anything they want with their leader. The leader should let the meeting flow - be ready to listen, support and provide solutions.
It's an opportunity to discuss long-range goals and larger developmental planning (for example: if they want to be a leader)
You could also use this meeting (this is how I did it) to look at monthly, quarterly or yearly progress towards goals. How is their book of business doing against the long-term goals and what needs to be done to keep it going? Where do they want their numbers to be in the future? NOTE: if you don't fold this into your 1 on 1's you will need a separate monthly performance meeting.
The Why
The 1 on 1 is your chance to really get to know each other and to build trust. Giving them undivided time to spend with you will help them see the human, approachable side of you, which your relationship needs in order to flourish.
For you, the leader, it gives you an opportunity to get to know them on a more personal level, too. Get to know what makes them tick, their "why", and help them see that you care about them as a person. Knowing the person will make you a better coach.
Final Thought - Putting it all Together
Going back to the beginning of this article: modeling consistency is important because it's hard when you are a rep. As the model, you want to show what-good-looks like by planning, scheduling and consistently executing on each of these four touch points.
That being said, you also want to model attentive listening and flexibility. What that means in this context is that sometimes you will experience "touchpoint mashup", which is perfectly OK. For example:
- you go into a pipeline review and you find your rep emotionally distracted. Well, time to take a pause and give them some 1 on 1 time
- you are in a pipeline review and you see that there's a gap in one element of the pipeline. So, you decide to switch to coaching (ex: "looks like you are super low on # of leads you've reached. Let's spend the next 30 minutes cold calling. I'll listen in.")
In other words, its OK to be fluid with these if needed. And of course, reps will be out sick, on PTO, etc, which means you will have to reschedule some of these. My pro-tip for you: make notes of the types of meetings are you are having and review them quarterly. Make adjustments next quarter if you see a gap in one touchpoint.
The Wrap Up
Sound like a lot?
If you aren't doing any of these regularly, gaining consistency will feel overwhelming at first, but don't let that scare you.
- Pick one, take the time to communicate the change to your rep, and start small
- Incorporate one touchpoint, then another once everyone is comfortable with the first one
- Get a cadence going, try it for 6 months, ask for feedback, adjust, and see what happens
Speaking from LOTS of experience here - if you do this right your relationships will be stronger, your reps will be more confident, and your business will thank you for it.