79 79 Balancing Challenges, Performance, and Mentorship While we’ll have a separate article on reten- tion, it’s important to consider the fact that talent development is an ongoing process. Our top performers emphasize again and again the need for challenges and recogni- tion of their performance. Mentorship and coaching are valued because top sellers are constantly trying to improve themselves, and when a company and a manager can display interest in supporting them, it leads to improved performance and greater satis- faction. Remember, coaching doesn’t neces- sarily have to come from the sales manager. One notable comment from one of our top sellers mentioned that the most significant part of their onboarding (i.e., it made the biggest difference for them at that stage) was being helped by those with seniority. More experienced sellers can act as a guide by sharing how they’re so successful. How- ever, this also needs to be balanced by the realization that this isn’t the right fit for ev- ery hire; another respondent felt they would have benefited greatly with more direct at- tention, specifically from their manager. Are You Utilizing In-Field Observation to Offer Coaching? We have found that there is often a false per- ceptionthathiringtoptalent,whoareamong the best at what they do, means these hires don’t need coaching. That’s simply not the case. While a few of our respondents indi- cated that managers rarely or never went in- field with them, most of our top talent panel received in-field observation and coaching between once monthly and once every two months and valued it greatly. "My manager knows my strengths and weaknesses. She helps me with both in a way that works for us. She knows what I am motivated by and knows what takes me off track. She uses that info and really does a great job at helping me be the best version of myself." Top sellers know in-field coaching is not the result of a failure on their part. On the con- trary, like professional athletes, they are de- serving of a strong coach who can help them identify what they are doing well so they can do more of it, and also spot areas in which theycanimprove. Evenhighlytalentedsales- people are only human, and everyone can improve on something. These meetings pro- vide the opportunity for a salesperson to get an outside perspective on their real-world performance, and the ensuing conversation can guide them to become even better than they were before. Of course, this can be ex- tremely important during onboarding. "My manager is more than happy to come out in the field with me and often does. When I was newer it was crucial that my manager was ok to do this as I did need the help and support." Onboarding presents a critical time for new hires, when they’re learning the how and why of their role in the company as well as how to best nurture a prospect toward closing the sale. By having a hands-on style