Effective Sales

Coaching
How Experts Leverage Technology
Introduction
Sales technology. Coaching. Effectiveness. In sales, we hear these buzzwords daily. What do they actually mean? How can we
bring these together in our day-to-day lives to create a high-performing culture of accountability?

We understand that being a good coach requires a combination of in-depth knowledge in a field as well as the leadership skills
necessary to empower and inspire a group. This definition applies to any coach, from baseball to business. In sales, coaches
have the advantage of being able to incorporate technology to be more effective. Armed with data and analytics, sales coaches
are better able to harness the attributes of their team and use that information to cultivate an effective sales force.

What is an effective sales force? In the simplest terms, it’s one that hits quota every quarter. Quota attainment doesn’t
magically happen though. An effective sales force understands how to prepare for every meeting, utilize data, and be
accountable for their results. This understanding enables them to approach every interaction, confident in their ability to be
successful in finding a solution for a prospect. They are effective business partners.

It all starts with coaching. If a coach can go beyond the standard-issue management activities and use technology to identify
problems and personalize their approach, their sales team will be better armed for success. The good news is, much of the data
needed to accomplish this already exists or is readily obtainable.

Reps who receive just 3 hours of coaching per month exceed their goals
by 7%, boosting revenue by 25% and increasing close rate by 70%. (CEB)
In this modern era of sales coaching, we must go beyond a one-dimensional approach. The good news is, the technology is
there to be leveraged to help coaches more effectively lead their team to success.

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 Introduction

Challenges to Coaching

We’d all like to be the Vince Lombardi of sales coaching, but there are particular challenges to
overcome. If it were easy, everybody would do it!

Time Technology Accountability

Sales coaching requires that coaches Coaching by the numbers doesn’t Companies often find it challenging
observe selling activity, but most always come easy, and not everyone is to hold managers and their teams
managers don’t have time to do this. adept at translating data to coach for accountable for coaching outcomes.
desired outcomes. As a manager, it’s essential to
document results.

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Challenge #1: Time

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 Challenge #1

Challenge #1: Time

How often do you provide
sales coaching?
The top two things you can do coach more effectively are actions you
likely drill into your sales team: prepare and create value. When you 15.5% 9.3%
have 10… 15… 20… reps, time management is essential. Spending more Bi-weekly Monthly
time preparing for one-on-one coaching sessions can save time in the
long run. Maximize their value by making sure the discussion is highly
personalized.
29.8%
Weekly
Expanding the avenues you use for coaching can also put time back in
your day. Regardless of your span of control or the size of your team,
there are ways you can scale coaching. Utilizing team leads, peers,
and group coaching put time back in your day and help your team grow
together.

In a 2018 survey conducted among the Moderns Sales Professionals

22.4%
community members we learned that, of those who are already
As Needed
providing coaching, 23% are doing it daily. How is that possible?
Leveraging technology to more effectively prepare, create value, and
scale coaching makes it so.

23%
Daily

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 Challenge #1

Preparation

Preparation
A coaching session is actually two sessions. The first session is get there, and a clear vision of how they will be held accountable. For
preparation; the second is the meeting itself. Having the relevant the coach, this dashboard makes follow up quicker and easier.
data at your fingertips saves everyone time in the long run. If you’ve
prepared and reviewed performance data in advance, you already A study by Altify found that sales
know where to provide specific coaching. This personalized coaching
session should optimize time spent and reduce the need to revisit the coaching can increase sales productivity
topic excessively. by 88%, yet 73% of sales managers spend
less than 5% of their time coaching.
“Coaching needs to come down to face-to-face
time and non-face-to-face time. Part of coaching Another time-saving approach to preparation is asking the salesperson
to pull specific numbers for you. An example would be average deal
includes “preparing to coach.”
size by quarter for a particular vertical. Increase ownership of the
-Richard Harris, Founder @ The Harris Group
results by asking the rep to prepare insights on the numbers. They
should bring to the meeting a hypothesis about what is happening
and how to improve or, if the outcomes are good, how they can
Use your sales engagement tools to pull metrics that are most
scale results. When reps go a level deeper, it involves them in their
imperative to your sales rep’s success. This will be unique to your
development and takes some work off of your plate.
business, but we’ll share some specific ideas in the next sections.
Once those metrics are selected, track them in a dashboard for each
salesperson. The dashboard will inform coaching discussions, giving
each rep a clear idea of what success looks like, a strategy for how to

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 Challenge #1

Creating Value & Scaling

Creating Value for reps visually in their dashboard. Seeing that achievement leads to
Sales coaching is one of your most important responsibilities as a higher engagement and improved results.
manager. Generic or ineffective meetings does not only waste you
and your reps’ time but also reduces your team’s overall performance. Scaling Coaching
You’re not going to achieve maximum value if they think you are No man coach is an island. There’s no reason for you should be the
wasting their time. You’ll also have to repeat yourself a lot, which we only one participating in sales coaching. In many cases, reps prefer
know is a huge time suck. to learn from their peers. The Association for Talent Development
discovered that learning from peers helped 91% of sales reps succeed.
Generate excitement around coaching sessions by creating value As a sales manager, why wouldn’t you take full advantage of this?
for reps. We personalize buying experiences; think of your reps Having other sources of coaching and feedback removes some of the
as coaching customers. Personalize meetings for them using pressure on you and creates more time in your day.
performance data, personal observations, and customer feedback.
Help them understand how specific changes will help them reach Throughout their day, salespeople are having similar conversations
their goals. Much like offering buyers a solution, your reps need to with prospects. The objections, questions, and feedback they hear all
understand the “why” of your feedback if they are to buy in. day are very similar. Trading sales experiences with colleagues helps
everyone become more successful. Peer-to-peer collaboration may
Creating value goes beyond walking through metrics together. The already be happening informally over lunch, but it benefits everyone to
process itself must be disciplined to demonstrate value for reps. Begin make it a formal part of your coaching program.
by establishing a baseline or starting point. After you’ve drawn a line
in the sand, create a schedule and begin logging key discussion points
from each session, track specific numbers to show progress, and utilize
a dashboard. The value of coaching sessions will be demonstrated

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 Challenge #1

Creating Value & Scaling

Real World Example:

Rich Fagan, Director of Sales Development at BetterCloud shared how
technology enables his sales team to share peer-to-peer feedback
anonymously. They built internal scripts to bring recorded calls into
their CRM platform. The program matches each recording with a
randomly selected feedback partner in the sales organization. It could
be an SDR, AE, CSM, or manager - that information is hidden. After
reviewing the call, a feedback form is completed and anonymously
delivered to the individual who made the call. A standard form is
essential, as it provides a consistent framework for feedback.

This feedback loop has several benefits. First and foremost, it saves
Rich time. He can listen as needed, but it reduces the volume and
frequency of “drop-ins.” Second, the process benefits both the parties.
No one is exempt from providing feedback, which means struggling
reps are listening to their peers’ calls and learn by example. In short,
it helps your “B” players to become “A” players. Third, reps like the
peer system. Understanding how different teams within the sales
organization are communicating to prospects is useful on both ends,
and the anonymity provides something of a safe space. Lastly, it
provides accountability. Not knowing who is going to hear a call keeps
them on their toes.

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Challenge #2:
Technology

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 Challenge #2

Challenge #2: Technology

“Technology can help us, but it’s not going to do “Technology allows people to do things more
it for us.” effectively, but it’s not the answer to everything.
-Richard Harris, Founder @ The Harris Group As a rep and a sales leader, the question shouldn’t
just be what piece of technology we want to use to
drive scale or efficiencies. Ask yourself ‘how does
Be really clear about what you want technology to do for you. It’s not
technology allow me to make human-to-human
going to replace a human interaction, but it will help you draw more
actionable insights. Think of your sales tech stack as a way to obtain
connection more effectively?’”
-Alea Homison, Vice President, Sales Enablement & Sales
data that will help you understand where to most effectively focus your
Development @ AlphaSense, Inc.
time to best help reps.

It’s worth your time to carefully evaluate tools, and choose only those
Tip: Once you’ve selected a tool, be sure to have a plan for getting your
that will address a problem and make an impact on the bottom line.
reps excited to use it. If you don’t have buy-in from your reps, it won’t
More is not more - don’t just throw every technology you find at your
get used. Once great way to do that is to have an internal champion.
reps.
Find a rep you can really get excited about the tool and let them act as
an ambassador to their peers.
Consider the following when assessing tools. Will it...

The following are some of our favorite additions to a sales tech stack.
…help reps do their job efficiently and effectively?
We’ll try not to get product-specific, and instead focus on technologies
…improve sales execution?
that add value to the sales coaching process.
…provide meaningful sales insights?
…drive revenue?
…allow management to coach in real time?

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 Challenge #2

Live Call Studio

Live Call Studio

Joining calls live is the new “ride along.” It is far more efficient to be
able to drop in at critical moments rather than sitting with a rep for
an hour hoping something interesting happens. SalesLoft’s Live Call
Studio enables managers to hear what’s happening on any of their
team’s live calls with one click of a button. You can do this incognito so
that the rep is more relaxed and natural, or by request with the (virtual)
hand raise from a rep.

When a rep is struggling with a question or objection, he or she can

click a button that acts as hand raise, letting you know they need
assistance. You can join the call and deliver the coaching the rep
needs, in real-time. There’s even a “whisper” feature that allows you to
give feedback only the sales rep can hear. This instant coaching can be
provided real-time from across the office or across the globe, at scale.

“Taking over the call isn’t typically the best way to

go. Being able to give reps hints and let them learn
by doing is far more impactful.”
Chris Olive, Enterprise SDR Manager @ SalesLoft

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 Challenge #2

Call Recording

Call Recording
The advent of call recording technology has enabled managers to
capture sales call audio and apply speech analytics to identify trends
and insights. The output allows managers to have a digital asset
to personalize coaching further. Not to mention the ROI that will
inevitably result from the ability to observe efficiently and analyze
sales call activity on demand. With artificial intelligence rapidly
advancing, the ability to analyze and interpret data from recorded calls
will reach heights we can only imagine now.

On a more fundamental level, call recording can be used in a sort of

inbound coaching scenario. You can encourage reps to come to you
with a recording of a call where they struggled. Maybe it’s a specific
objection they tripped over, a features question they were unsure of, or
a deal they can’t seem to get across the finish line. Whatever it is, reps
can take to coaching opportunities rather than finding them yourself.
This capability is especially useful with large or remote sales teams.

Note: Call recording laws vary by state and country. For more
information, take a look at Wikipedia’s page on telephone recording
laws. We always recommend erring on the side of caution.

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 Challenge #2

Video Coaching

Video Coaching
Video is prevalent in nearly everything we do. Why not incorporate
it into coaching? Video technology is especially useful for remote
teams. Specific video platforms exist, but if your budget is tight, a
smartphone or computer is sufficient. There are many ways to use
video technology, but here are a couple of ideas:

• Weekly video challenges - There is nothing sales reps love

more than winning. Create a contest where reps record their
elevator pitch or best response to a common objection. Videos
are uploaded to be rated by the team. The highest rated pitch
or response wins. A competition is a sneaky way to get reps
to practice, and a method for peers to virtually learn from
one another. Coaches can also use what they see to provide
individual feedback.
• Video roleplay - Provide snippets of video content to reps to
practice. Pitching a new product feature, for example. The
reps can practice their pitch and record a video to send back
to managers for evaluation. There’s a great opportunity here to
highlight an outstanding pitch to “share with the class.”

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 Challenge #2

Apps

There’s an App for That Real-Time Leaderboards

How many of us spend at least 20 minutes commuting to work? Think back to when you first started in sales. How motivating would
Waiting around in airports? Make the most of that downtime by using it have been for you to know, halfway through the day, that you were
it as an opportunity to prepare for coaching. If you catch a train or just one close away from being on top? It’s instant motivation and
rideshare, use the ride time to dig into numbers via sales management accountability!
apps. If you drive, listen to calls you’ve flagged for review while you’re
sitting in traffic. Suddenly, that wasted time becomes time invested in Real-time leaderboard technology creates the opportunity for in-time
coaching. When you prepare to coach before you even arrive to work, coaching. Imagine that everyone can see that your AE, Becky, is on fire.
you can walk in ready to provide feedback before reps begin their day. How impactful would it be for you, as a manager, to stop what everyone
is doing and listen to her approach? Conversely, leaderboards allow
Real World Example: underperforming reps to know right away when they are falling behind.
Chris Olive, our Enterprise SDR Manager at SalesLoft, utilizes coaching Sales coaches can course-correct before too much damage is done,
technology to make his drive to work more productive. He saves his both to bottom lines and egos. Or, maybe that rep sees Becky slaying it
go-to call recording search parameters so that he can easily listen to and takes her aside to ask what is working so well for her.
calls during his 45-minute commute. Traffic doesn’t slow him down if
he can use the time to review calls and identify coaching opportunities.

For instance, Chris pulls recordings of calls that lasted longer than a
minute where the prospect was interested but didn’t secure a meeting.
Why wouldn’t a rep be able to obtain a meeting in a call marked as
interested? That’s a potential coaching opportunity. “[My call
recording app] enables me to identify and capture a call where there
might be a problem.”

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 Challenge #2

Auto-Capture Sales Activity

Auto-Capture Sales Activity

One of the biggest headaches when it comes to tracking sales
performance is not having accurate data. Skip the pain of harassing
reps to update the CRM by automating the process. Artificial
intelligence sales management tools aren’t unicorns - they really do
exist! By automatically capturing sales activities and syncing them to
your CRM, you always have the data you need to manage your team.

Think about how much time would it save you AND your reps if you
weren’t manually entering data into the CRM. Think about how happy
sales ops would be...

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 Challenge #2

YouTube

YouTube
This is the most straightforward and most brilliant coaching “hack” we
heard throughout the research process for this eBook. Morgan Ingram,
Director of Sales Execution & Evolution @ JBarrows Sales Training,
shared a motivation tip he used in his days as a sales manager. When
reps were struggling with motivation and confidence, he sent them
links to motivational YouTube videos.

As you might imagine, this practice earned Morgan more than a few
groans. Despite the skepticism, the reps watched the videos. After a
while, it began to catch on. When his lowest-performing rep began to
outpace the leaders, no one was groaning anymore! She was able to
shift her mindset and closed out the year ahead of anyone else on the
team. In addition to impacting the bottom line, providing motivational
videos rather than personally giving individual pep talks gave Morgan
time back in his day.

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Challenge #3:
Accountability

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 Challenge #3

Challenge #3: Accountability

Despite all of the tools available to us, companies still struggle with The metrics you include on your dashboard will be unique to your
how to create accountability for sales coaching. Visibility into sales organization, but here are some ideas:
coaching requires a structured system for tracking outcomes. No
matter the technology to support accountability, establishing a • Revenue
coaching workflow is necessary for leadership to track coaching • Conversion rates
objectives, activities, and progress. The ability to correlate coaching • Contact rates
activities with numbers on a page means that you can quickly • Marketing collateral usage
determine which sales coaching initiatives are most impactful, and • Close rate
which you may need to tweak or replace. • Sales velocity
• Response time
Dashboards
You can have all the data in the world, but if you can’t tie it together, In any case, the activities you choose to measure should have an
it won’t have an impact. Dashboards can help you track metrics in a impact on revenue goals. The ultimate purpose of a dashboard is
way that you can hold reps accountable. First, take a step back and to hold reps (and yourself) accountable for driving revenue. Use
determine which metrics are most important to driving revenue. Ask individual metrics to gain insights into the effectiveness of sales reps,
yourself, “now that we have this amazing technology, what outcomes and turn them into actionable coaching opportunities. For example, if
do we expect? How will we define success? Do we have a baseline for you have a rep that is outpacing the team at the top of the funnel but
these metrics?” can’t seem to get it out of second gear toward the bottom, consider
spending more time with them on closing deals.

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 Challenge #3

Development Plans

Looking beyond individual activity, use your dashboard to identify Development Plans
trends. If you can quickly understand the area(s) a rep needs more If you mention “development plan” to just about any sales rep, they’ll
guidance, you can provide it before they get too off track. Likewise, likely smile and let it roll off their back. They don’t take them seriously,
you can pick out reps who are performing well and try to replicate their and for a good reason. In all of their experience, development plans
behaviors to help “B” players improve their game. have been rolled out with gusto… and then never followed through on.
Now you’re in a position to change that. Development plans don’t have
Real World Example: to be a pointless exercise.
Gong, a conversation intelligence platform, turned their own sales
team’s conversations into data and was able to identify patterns and Begin by talking to your reps individually to understand what their
trends that lead to desired sales outcomes. They focused on talk-to- career goals are. Ask them why they chose a career in sales and
listen ratios and were able to pinpoint the most effective talk/listen what success looks like to them. Use your dashboard to help them
ratio during a sales call. The data showed that the optimal ratio understand what areas they should be improving on to achieve their
was when the rep spoke for 46% of the conversation and allowed the goals faster. Create a plan for development with your rep and use
customer to talk for 54%. The average for their team was 68:32. Doh. those tangible dashboard metrics as a yardstick. Get them involved
with and excited about their growth. When they’re invested, they may
be the ones following up with YOU on their plan.

Top Performers listen to their prospects more, with a 46:54 talk-to-listen ratio.

Prospect Sales Rep / 19

 Wrapping it Up

Sales managers have an advantage in technology. Leveraging it to

coach more effectively can help managers cultivate effective sales
forces that hit quota every quarter. Don’t neglect the personal; let your
tech stack provide an assist so that you can spend more time on high-
impact coaching activities.

It’s important to point out that sales coaching is an ongoing process.

A report by Sales Performance International warns that

approximately 50% of training is forgotten within five weeks.
One-off coaching sessions aren’t enough. In an increasingly complex
sales environment, coaching needs to happen regularly, and it needs to
focus on skills and knowledge they need in the now.

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 SalesLoft is the sales engagement platform of choice for modern sales organizations. We
know that there is a difference between having a sales team and being a sales organization
and bridging that gap requires a belief in your product, your process, and yourself.

The SalesLoft platform includes personalized communication that helps establish a human
connection along with analytics to know what’s working and what’s not. SalesLoft is the
fastest way to align your sales team, increase efficiency.

Learn more
at www.salesloft.com