The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Recently, I have been spending a lot of time talking with managers about their underperforming salespeople.

I want to help leaders win, and having AEs who are not performing is a huge problem for most. This made me reflect on how leaders hire and where they spend their time. Unfortunately, many leaders spend a lot of their time with AEs who have a “talent” deficit.  

You can’t go back to the same dry well looking for water. No matter how much time and energy you put into the well, water will not suddenly appear.

Still, many leaders think they can change the person, and they keep putting time and training into them, hoping they will suddenly “get it”.

Successful leaders coach.

Period.

It’s a skill that is absolutely necessary to succeed in sales and sales leadership. Sellers who don’t receive coaching and feedback get off track, pursuing the wrong leads, prioritizing the wrong activities, and focusing on the wrong goals.

In contrast, sellers who receive good coaching tend to stay on track, finding and connecting with strong prospects, focusing on potential, and realized key accounts, meeting and exceeding their goals.

And leaders who receive ongoing training on improving their interpersonal, business, and leadership skills have teams everyone wants to be a part of.

Not all leaders are natural coaches, but all leaders can learn how to coach.

Here you are again. It’s Monday morning, and your team looks like a pack of zombies. They’re physically present but mentally checked out.

Sound familiar? If so, your team’s engagement levels may be in a slump, which means it’s time to breathe some new life into your workplace culture.

Here are six tactics to boost motivation and performance. Your team will thank you.