What distinguishes a nominal sales coach from an outstanding one? It is not just their professional experience but also certain traits that inspire and allow them to hit the jackpot.
Below mentioned are ten traits that you should look in a transformative sales coach while hiring.
1. Excellent communication skills
Effective communication is not just about conversing well but also about articulating ideas in a structured way, helping sales people refine their pitches and providing feedback. A sales coach can either express his ideas directly through role playing exercises or indirectly via presentations.
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2. Proven experience
It takes years of hard work and resilience to become a sales coach. They bring in years of proven sales experience that helps them build strong customer relationships, close deals, and gain in-depth understanding of negotiation. In addition, they focus on not just theoretical concepts but also on practical application of strategies to drive exceptional results.
3. Strong Listening skills
Effective listening is an art that should be mastered by every sales coach. While active listening concentrates on reading between the lines and acknowledge underlying gaps faced by sales team, empathetic listening fosters open communication and makes sales representatives feel heard and supported.
4. Emotional intelligence
Sales reps often go through a plethora of emotions from closing deals to facing rejections. In such scenarios, sales coach helps you with their encouraging coaching style. They provide personalized guidance to sales reps by putting themselves in their shoes and train them on handling rejections while maintaining their confidence and calmness.
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5. Data driven thinking
A great sales coach uses data driven approach to improve results. Analyzing KPIs can help coaches identify area of improvement while offering tailored coaching solutions instead of one-size-fits-all approach. Appropriate use of CRM and data analytics can do wonders for your business in the long term.
6. Adaptability and flexibility
Instead of applying a universal approach on every individual, a sales coach should offer personalized coaching based on different market conditions. They should recognize strengths and weaknesses of every sales representative and then accordingly tailor the training material and sales strategies for them as per their needs.
7. Problem solving ability
With their innovative problem-solving skills, sales coaches analyze challenges in the current sales process and develop solutions to continuously improve sales performance. Their out-of-the-box thinking helps sales reps close deals and analyze solutions logically.
8. Understanding of new tools and technologies
A sales coach should be updated with the latest tools and technologies from CRM software to predictive analytics. Sales automation tools such as Salesloft aid in email follow-ups and lead qualification thereby reducing the time on administration tasks. In addition, data driven tools such as Tableau, Power BI help coaches in making informed decisions.
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9. Passion for continuous growth
A great sales coach exhibits a growing mindset through continuous learning and hard work. They should be passionate about learning new methodologies such as AI backed automation techniques, digital selling etc. Moreover, their focus on enhancing their public speaking skills, advanced negotiation techniques make them become knowledgeable mentors.
10. Patience and perseverance
An extra-ordinary sales coach exhibits patience and perseverance to understand that mistakes are learning opportunities and no one becomes an expert overnight. A patient sales coach pushes sales representatives to push themselves and celebrate small wins to stay motivated. By providing their valuable feedback, they help sales reps to gradually improve their performance and apply skills in real life scenarios.
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Conclusion
By hiring a sales coach who showcases the above-mentioned qualities, you will build a high performing team exceeding sales targets and driving high revenue.
Now the question is: Does you sales team have the right sales coach to turn every challenge into an opportunity? It is the right coach that makes all the difference.
