Think for a moment about a manager in your career who made you a better professional.
What was it about them that helped you grow and uplevel?
While they surely had some expertise to share, no doubt it was their ability and commitment to give you their attention and coaching.
The Legacy of Bill Campbell: A Coaching Icon
When asked to name great business coaches, the name Bill Campbell often comes to mind. Known as "The Coach of Silicon Valley," Bill Campbell was a mentor and coach to some of the biggest names in tech, including Steve Jobs (Apple), Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, and Sergey Brin (Google).
The Coaching Philosophy
His coaching style focused on building trust, empowering teams, and pushing leaders to excel while remaining humble. Under his guidance, companies like Apple and Google became global giants, and his influence has been highlighted as a key factor in the success of many tech industry titans.
Empowering Leadership
Campbell was renowned for his ability to listen, ask tough questions, and give feedback in a way that empowered executives to become better leaders. His legacy in leadership coaching is so profound that he’s been called “the business coach of all business coaches,” his methods were detailed in the book Trillion Dollar Coach.
The Importance of Coaching in Leadership
If you’re a leader, coaching is one of the most powerful ways to manage your people to help them develop and succeed. Effective sales managers do more than just track numbers and hit quotas—they mentor, guide, and coach their teams to success.
Evaluating Coaching Abilities in Candidates
So, when you’re looking at candidates for your manager roles, pay attention to their potential coaching abilities. Sales managers who possess coaching strengths are better equipped to unlock the potential of their teams, drive engagement, and foster long-term growth.
The Role of Reflective Coaching
Coaching-focused managers don’t just instruct—they help salespeople reflect on their performance, identify areas for improvement, and develop a growth mindset.
But what qualities should you look for when evaluating potential managers?
Utilizing the Management Talent Assessment
At CSS, we utilize the Management Talent Assessment, a scientifically validated selection instrument that includes a wide variety of questions to measure the natural talents and abilities of a sales management candidate. The MTA provides talent intensity scores and accurately predicts a person’s potential success in a sales management position.
Of the ten talents measured in the MTA assessment, there are several talents highlighted below that are especially critical for coaching and developing salespeople and sales teams.
Relationship
Managers with relationship strength genuinely want to help others grow and thrive, and they work to create strong interpersonal relationships with people. They are curious about others, engage people with ease, invest in deep personalized connections, and form bonds across the team.
They find natural success in coaching and sharing information and expertise and gain intrinsic satisfaction from helping others learn, grow, thrive, and develop. They understand the power of recognition to improve performance and morale by rewarding what they want repeated and highlighting individual and team successes.
Interview questions to explore Relationship talent
- What is the best way to grow relationships with your employees? A strong answer will involve individualizing their approach rather than treating everyone the same. Listen for evidence that they get to know each person, understand their needs and talents, and coach them in the way that is best for them.
- How often do people come to you for advice? When was the last time someone has come to you for your opinion? Listen for a specific/recent experience of an individual who has reached out to them for guidance (work or personal). The key here is to listen for a specific event.
Business Acumen
This strength provides the platform for a manager’s ability to make strong business decisions. Leaders with business acumen establish and maintain clear expectations for success and what is needed to grow the business.
These are the managers who stretch themselves and their team and drive the team to achieve successful outcomes.
Interview Questions to explore Business Acumen talent
- Tell me about your relationships with your previous managers. Overall, they were good and positive. Their strong Business Acumen allowed them to manage up and down.
- How do you coach and motivate your team to achieve business metrics and performance targets? Listen for their ability to set clear expectations and help their team stretch and grow.
Positivity
This strength highlights how a leader views the world, their attitude, and their ability to institute change. Managers with this talent do not get caught up in negativity, and the word “difficult” is not in their vocabulary.
Instead, they choose to move forward through unexpected situations or potential roadblocks with an unwavering focus on what is possible.
Positivity sparks momentum in others to drive the team forward, and managers who have it encourage their people to pursue alternative paths and embrace opportunities.
Interview Questions to explore Positivity talent
- How do you motivate your team toward a common goal? Specific, positive ideas. Looking for ways that they create positive momentum.
- How do you respond when a peer or team member says, “It can’t be done”? You want to hear optimism in their answer. It can be done, and here’s how.
Arranger
Managers with arranger strength intuitively understand the strengths and weaknesses of their people and are adept at placing the right people in the right roles.
By giving attention to both people and process, they create a positive outcome and drive the team forward to successfully meet deadlines.
Interview Questions to explore Arranger Talent
- How do you tackle a job that is bigger than you think you can handle? A strong answer will include figuring out how to get others with the right strengths to help bring the project to completion.
- What is the best way to create a strong team? Look for putting the right people in the right seats in the answer.
Why Coaching Talent in Your Sales Managers Matters
Sales Coaching Increases Performance
- According to a study by the Sales Management Association, companies that provide effective sales coaching see win rates increase by up to 28%.
Coaching Improves Sales Quota Achievement
- CSO Insights report shows that companies with a strong coaching culture have 76% of their salespeople achieving quota compared to just 46% in companies with weaker coaching cultures.
Better Employee Engagement
- Gallup research suggests that employees who receive regular feedback and coaching from their managers are 3.5 times more likely to be engaged at work. This engagement can reduce turnover rates and increase sales productivity.
Coaching Reduces Employee Turnover
- A Salesforce study indicated that organizations that prioritize coaching reduce turnover by up to 20%. In sales, retaining high performers is crucial for consistent success, and managers who coach are more likely to keep their top talent engaged.
Sales Coaching Boosts Motivation
- A study by the Sales Readiness Group found that 60% of sales professionals say coaching helps them feel more motivated and confident in their abilities. When sales teams are more motivated, they perform better, leading to higher sales and better customer relationships.
The Lasting Impact of Coaching-Driven Sales Managers
Beyond the powerful metrics above, hiring sales managers with coaching abilities also has long-term benefits for your organization. They are the leaders who foster a culture of continuous improvement, build resilient teams, and are often the key to sustaining high performance in the high-stakes world of sales.
As you evaluate candidates, remember that a great sales manager isn’t just a top performer—they’re a coach who can unlock the potential of every team member.
