Why Managers Don’t Coach, Part 2

Posted on by Scott

This article is the second in a series that looks into the reasons managers give for not spending more time coaching. In the first post I looked at the over-reliance some place on the role of formalized or corporate training. Today, we look at another common response.

Excuse #2 – “They’re a top performer. They don’t need coaching.”

Managers are often reluctant to coach top performers. Some of the comments I’ve heard related to this excuse include:

“They’re at the top of their game. What could they possible learn?”

“They’ll get upset. I don’t want to lose them because they feel I’m micro-managing.”

“I don’t feel comfortable coaching them. They’re better than I am.”

Lack of coaching amongst top performers typically results from a feeling of discomfort on the part of the manager. They don’t know how to approach a coaching scenario with someone who’s performing well, so they avoid the issue all together. Unfortunately, this can have less than desirable consequences.

Early in my career as a sales manager, I too held the belief that my top producers didn’t need coaching. One day, this perception was shattered by a sales rep named Linda. I was managing a large call center at the time and on this particular day I had been working with a new rep on her outbound telephone skills. We would take turns making calls so she could listen to me model the technique and then I would listen as she made a call so we could discuss the results.

Linda was one of the top producers on my team and I hadn’t spent much time with her beyond reviewing her numbers and thanking her for her efforts. She noticed I was on the floor working with another employee and during a break she asked why I never worked with her. I replied that honestly, I didn’t feel she needed help. Her production was always at the top and my time was better spent with those who need the most help. Linda convinced me to spend a couple of hours coaching her anyway and the experience was rewarding for both of us. I walked away with a new perspective on coaching that has impacted my career ever since. Here are some of the things I learned from Linda regarding coaching top performers.

They want you to coach them. One of the reasons top performers are, well, top performers is that they’re always looking for ways to improve. In fact, if you ignore them too long, you may find yourself involved in what I call scuba-diver management. This occurs when a top performer feels ignored and subconsciously lowers their level of performance so that you begin coaching them. You work them back to top performer status and then dive back down to coach another low performer. Spending time with a top performer keeps them producing at a high level.

Linda’s performance level hadn’t dropped, but I quickly began to see this pattern in another top performer, Michael. Michael would be top dog one month, but fade into the middle of the pack the next. After a couple months of this back and forth, I realized what was going on. Once I began providing him with a more consistent coaching diet, his performance stayed more consistently in the top tier.

Everyone has something to learn. My reluctance to coach Linda stemmed from a fear that I had nothing to offer. I was worried that my attempts to model would fail or that she would ask a question that I couldn’t answer. I was, in fact, intimidated by her record of performance. But I could tell that she sincerely wanted my time, so I dove in.

During the time I spent with Linda, she was able to pick up on a few techniques – phrases I used or questions I would ask – that hadn’t occurred to her before. She was able to relate specific calls where these ideas would have come in handy and helped her secure more sales. As she took notes and practiced what she’d heard, I knew without a doubt that the time had been well spent.

You get more bang for your coaching buck. Spending time with top performers allows you to capitalize on the skill set that already exists. So your time is spent fine-tuning rather than developing. Let’s say you’ve got two employees to coach. One is an average performer who produces 10 widgets per week. The other is a top performer, producing 50 widgets per week. A 10% improvement in the average performer will gain you one additional widget, but a 10% improvement from your top performer gets you 5.

I’m not suggesting that you leave new employees or low performers to fend for themselves. You need to coach everyone. Your best employees need coaching, although the approach may be different. You have to be flexible enough with your time and coaching skills to accommodate employees at all levels.

Coaching keeps them engaged. When I talk about coaching, most managers think I’m talking about a process that identifies specific skill gaps and works with employees to address them. And while this is often true, coaching isn’t always about specific skill development. I believe coaching is a multi-faceted activity. Ultimately, coaching is any activity that helps an employee do their job better. Simply spending time with a member of your team, showing them attention, illustrates their value to you and the organization. Sometimes a little attention is all that’s required to recharge someone’s batteries.

During the couple of hours Linda and I worked together that day, we discussed her feelings about the organization, her views on particular projects outside of her responsibility, and even her career aspirations. As she talked, I could see the passion she had for her job. She truly loved helping people and felt her role allowed her to match customers’ needs with products and services that would make a difference for them. The opportunity to share that with me, her boss, was obviously important to her. She had an extra skip in her step for several days afterward.

You might learn something. If your top performers are really that good, then they probably have a few tricks to share. I’ve never walked away from a coaching session with one of my best employees without a few new ideas. I pick up techniques that will help another employee, or get inspired to improve an existing process after hearing their feedback.

I was apprehensive about coaching Linda. But I’m so glad I did. She learned a lot and so did I. The things I took away from the time we spent together that afternoon have helped me become a better listener, a better coach, and ultimately a better manager. I doubt she knows just how much I benefited from her insistence that I coach her.

So what are you waiting for Coach? Get out there and spend some time with a top performer.

Why Managers Don’t Coach, Part 1

Posted on by Scott

As a kid, I didn’t participate in many organized sports. I played Little League Baseball for two or three seasons, but don’t recall much about it. I do remember the summer my parents signed me up to play soccer. I only played one year. My fascination with the game quickly waned because of one simple fact – we didn’t have a coach.

We had one at the beginning of the season, but for some reason he quit after only a few practices. Someone might have stepped up to serve as the official coach of record, but we never received any “coaching.” For the bulk of the season, our parents would drop us off and we’d just mill around on the field until the final whistle blew and we ran to the concession stand for our free snow cone. It wasn’t any fun because, without an active coach, we didn’t develop as players or as a team. And we certainly didn’t win.

I believe that one of the most important duties of a manager (if not the most important) is the development of their staff. The primary way this takes place is through regular coaching. Unfortunately, many managers fail to take advantage of the opportunities to maximize the performance of their team by engaging in this critical activity.

Over the years, I’ve heard a number of explanations (I call them excuses) as to why coaching gets placed on the back burner. Through the next few posts, I’ll share some of these excuses and provide some easy-to-implement steps for moving past them. So let’s get started.

Excuse #1 – “I don’t need to coach. They went to training, so they know what they need to do.”

Too many managers falsely believe that sending an employee to a training class will magically result in a significant change in performance. These managers are in for a big disappointment, however, because training alone rarely impacts an individual’s ability or desire to perform. Training is only one tool. And like most jobs, you need more than one tool to do it right.

Millions of dollars are invested in training every year. In fact, developing and delivering training is a big part of what I do for a living. But without the benefit of coaching, most training programs fail. Sadly, when this happens, the blame is placed either on the training curriculum, the trainer or the employee.

Training is intended to provide individuals with the information necessary to perform a certain task. But the ultimate goal is really sustained behavioral change. Following the training class, you want the participant to perform a certain way – to either modify their current behavior, or add a new set of behaviors to their current job role. Training alone simply cannot achieve this goal because information alone is not enough to cause behavior change to take place. As I mentioned in an earlier post on interviewing, there’s a difference between knowledge and skill.

Even if an employee is excited about the material being presented, they won’t remember everything they’ve been exposed to during the class. Studies show that as little as 10% of the material delivered during a typical corporate training session is retained by the time an employee returns to their usual work environment. There are ways to improve this, but you’ll never hit 100%. And remember the goal here. It’s not knowledge retention. It’s modified behavior.

No, transforming knowledge into skill takes time and repetition. For knowledge to evolve into demonstrated skill, it has to be put into practice. And to maximize the potential, this needs to happen as soon as possible. Ideally, the employee will begin implementing what they’ve learned immediately after the class is over. But too many things – customer demands, deadlines, interruptions, peer pressure, and even old habits – present barriers to the immediate integration of the new information into existing work practices.

This is where coaching comes in. Coaching provides the employee with the accountability, motivation and support necessary for them to first begin using the newly acquired knowledge and then to continue down the path toward skill mastery. Here are some steps you can take as a coach to help your employees down that path.

• Perform a training debrief. You ought to know what the training class is intended to teach before sending your team member to it. Therefore, this debrief isn’t for you to gain an understanding of what the course was about. The purpose of this meeting is to ascertain what the employee actually learned. Ideally, the two of you discussed what you wish for them to gain from the session before they attended. Now that the training is over you need to reinforce, or reintroduce, the concepts you feel are important.

• Set some expectations. Let the employee know which aspects of the training you want to see incorporated into their work routine. Reiterate why it’s important that they begin to modify their performance to meet the standards set forth in the class. Ask them what they feel they need in order to be successful and communicate what additional steps you will take to support them.

• Follow up. Especially during the period immediately following the training class, it’s critical to follow up with employees to make sure they are working to meet your expectations. This accountability will help them to focus on their behavior early – while the training is still fresh in their minds. Ignore them during this important window and old habits will quickly reassert themselves and any benefit gained from training will be lost. I’ll present some specific follow up methods in a later post.

Training is an important part of any organization’s strategy. Get the most out of your training investment by coupling it with a solid coaching program. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be well on your way.

4 Steps To Effective Voicemails

Posted on by Scott

You’ve let it sit on the corner of your desk all week – that dreaded call list. But now your manager is working his way office to office, asking how everyone is making out with their calls.

So you pick up the phone and dial the number, praying it’s been disconnected. It starts ringing, so you pray no one picks up and it goes to voicemail. And when it does, you still trip over your tongue and hang up feeling like a complete idiot.

Or maybe you feel totally prepared, project a professional tone, but still don’t understand why no one calls you back. Either way, odds are you aren’t showing the value that can be found by connecting with you.

Here’s my four step formula for crafting a value-filled voicemail.

1. Know who you’re calling. You have a name and  a phone number, but that’s not enough. You need to conduct a little research. The point is to paint a picture of your customer. You need to find out how they think and what they are trying to accomplish.

If you’re reaching out to an existing customer, pull up their account and see what you can learn. What products do they already have? How do they use them? How much do they spend with you? What problems have they reported in the past? What about their demographics?

If you’re calling on a potential customer, the internet is your friend. Type their name into Google and LinkedIn to see what you can find out about them. What kind of business are they in? Do they even use the sort of product or service you offer? What can you find out about the specific contact your attempting to reach?

The better you are at understanding your target’s point of view, the better you’ll be able to position your message in a way that they’ll receive in a positive light.

2. Know why you’re calling. Maybe you want to sell something. Maybe you need to gather some information. Or maybe you need your customer or prospect to perform some action that will help you get some paperwork off of your desk. Regardless of the purpose of your call, you need to reframe the goal in terms of what your target needs.

What opportunity are they currently missing out on? What problem could they solve by moving forward? What inconveniences do they stand to face by not taking action? By positioning your goal as their goal you’ll stand a better chance of getting the response you need.

3. Know your desired outcome. Sure, you’re calling this prospect with the hopes of earning a sale; but what is the specific next step you want the recipient of your call to take? Do you need them to answer a question, agree to a meeting, or send you a document? Know exactly what you want to happen as a result of your call.

4. Craft your message. Know that you have these three building blocks, its time to craft your message. Assuming you’ll be connected to voicemail, write out your message – on paper. Spend some time massaging the words until you have a message that clearly communicates the value your customer/target will realize by taking the step(s) you identified in step 3.

Now all that’s left is to pick up the phone and make the call. When the phone rings, clear your throat and prepare to leave your professionally crafted message. If, by chance, your prospect answers, simply read the first sentence or two of your message as an introduction to your call.

Want to see how it works? Check out this voicemail I received and how I would rescript it using this method.

5 Reasons I Don’t Return Your Call

Posted on by Scott

1. I can’t understand you.
– You talk too fast.
– You talk too soft.
– You mumble.
– There’s road noise or other interference.

2. You sound bored.
Powering your way through a long list of calls? It shows. And I don’t care. If you can’t muster the energy to sound like you really want to talk to me, then I don’t want to talk to you. In fact, I didn’t even listen to your entire message.

3. You’re a name-dropper.
Telling me my boss or some other influential member of my company suggested you call me is a sure way to earn a delete vs. a call-back. Anyone who feels I should speak with you will forward your contact information to me. Name-dropping is a desperate ploy by an unprepared caller.

4. You haven’t done your homework.
Show me you really want my business by doing a little background work. Don’t pronounce my name correctly? No call back. Don’t demonstrate that you understand my business? Forget it.

5. You have nothing of value to offer.
If you want me to call you back, you have to communicate why it’s worth my time to do so. Calling to “check in”, “touch base” or “chat” wastes my time and yours. Show me what I stand to gain by speaking with you and I’ll pick up the phone.

Sales Meeting Tips, Part 2

Posted on by Scott

In my last post, I provided few thoughts on structuring an effective sales meeting. Whether designed as a stand-alone meeting or incorporated into an existing operations meeting, a good sales meeting is essential to maintaining a high-performing sales team. Here are some additional tips for getting the most out of the time spent with your team.

Vary the topics discussed. If you bring up the same subjects week after week, you’ll become too predictable and your staff will tune out. Potential meeting ideas include:
o Review your latest scorecard or campaign results.
o Lead the group in sharing sales success stories.
o Select a particular product or service and provide in-depth training.
o Perform some service mapping.
o Engage the team in strategy brainstorming.
o Share an article or video and discuss how it relates to your team’s mission.
o Invite a guest speaker to educate, inspire or challenge the team.

• Be yourself. You may find it useful to take advantage of pre-written meeting guides or other source material as the foundation of your meeting. If you decide to use such a guide, I encourage you to use your own words rather than those provided. You will be much more effective as a leader if your personality comes through. Add your own thoughts and questions. The precise words are less important than the concepts being discussed and the actions that come after.

• Make sure everyone joins in the meeting. Some employees are more eager to participate than others and can easily overpower their teammates. If you see this happening, you may need to specifically call on the quieter ones to encourage their input. Everyone’s point of view is valuable, so everyone should be heard.

• Use follow-up techniques to make sure the topics are fully discussed. Ask the initial question and follow each response with a statement/question such as “Tell me more,” or “Why do you think that is?” Ask the initial question again of someone else to hear a different train of thought. Write some follow-up ideas down so you’ll be ready when the time comes.

• Pay attention to time. If you have only scheduled 15 minutes for your sales meeting, you may find that you’re unable to ask all of the planned discussion questions. If this happens, you may decide to schedule a follow-up meeting to continue the discussion. Or you may find that you’re proceeding more quickly than expected and your 45 minute meeting will be over too soon. If this happens, make sure the group is fully exploring each topic. Ultimately, the amount of time taken for your meeting is not important. The key is to make sure that the time spent together provides value to the team and that everyone walks away with specific next steps.

Sales meetings can be a great way to bring your team together. Used effectively, they’ll help you keep everyone engaged and on track.

Sales Meeting Tips, Part 1

Posted on by Scott

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Establishing a regular meeting is the best way for you to communicate with your staff. It allows everyone to hear the same message at the same time and within the same context. Properly conducted, your meeting will help you keep everyone on your team engaged, focused on the task at hand, and motivated to perform. Here are a few tips for putting together a productive meeting.

Who should attend?
Everyone. Obviously, those who have scorecard goals should be involved in your regular meetings. But anyone who comes in contact with the Customer impacts their experience and, therefore, the performance of the team.

Ideally, all team members meet together. While there may be topics that pertain to only one group, others may benefit from hearing the discussion. Tellers included in a discussion of average loan growth can gain valuable insight into how their job can impact that category.

How long should they last?
It depends. Some may prefer to have a dedicated meeting focused strictly on a review of performance or planning for the next week. In this case, try to keep meetings to no more than 45 minutes.

Others may want to incorporate a discussion of sales and service topics into a regularly scheduled operations meeting. In this scenario, the discussion may only last 10-15 minutes.

What do you talk about?
The key to a good meeting is planning for it ahead of time. Know what you want to accomplish going into the meeting and then organize your thoughts around that objective. There are three typical objectives when it comes to any kind of meeting.

• Inform – You want to share something with the team. For example, you want to inform the team about a new product or changes to an existing product.

• Discuss – You want to gather information from the team. For example, you wan the team to brainstorm strategies for achieving a particular goal.

• Direct – You want the team to engage in a specific set of actions. For example, you want to direct the team to begin using a new skill or process.

How do you get started?
It’s easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Schedule your first meeting. If you already have regular staff meetings, then decide how much time you’ll devote to sales and service related topics. If you haven’t had a meeting in a while, put one on the calendar right now. And then inform your team so they can be prepared for it.

2. Prepare the talking points for the first meeting. Take some time to write out a structure for your meeting. What is your objective? What points will you cover? What questions will you ask? What resources do you need?

3. Commit to a regular meeting schedule. Too many times, good ideas get off to a great start only to lose steam and disappear. Don’t let that happen to your meetings.

In my next post, I’ll share some more tips for getting the most out of your team meetings.

Introducing The Voland Group

Posted on by Scott
Warning, this is not the actual team. We’re much better looking.

For years, I’ve had people tell me I should go into consulting.

I’ve always had a passion for sales, customer service and leadership development. The three are always intertwined and, regardless of the industry I’m associated with, my attention inevitably turns to some combination of these three topics. No matter what problem I’m trying to solve, the solution involves either growing the business, improving the service so we can grow the business, or addressing leadership issues so we can improve the service in order to grow the business.

I believe in addressing issues head on, and I’ve developed a reputation for tackling problems and opportunities in these areas. So this year, I finally decided to take the plunge and see what I could do to help even more organizations improve in these areas. Taking the easy way out, I quickly decided to call my new venture The Voland Group.

So who is this group, you ask? Well, over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some pretty sharp folks – superstars in a variety of areas. Marketing, finance, training, data analysis, etc. You name it, and I probably know a go-to person or two in that area. But what makes them special is that their passion.

You know that feeling when you meet a kindred spirit? Someone who believes what you believe, thinks the way you think and dreams the way you dream? What if you could gather all of these people together into a sort of super-group? Imagine a team of people, each with their own unique skill sets, that come together as the need arises in order to save the day. That’s how The Voland Group works.

Those who know me will tell you that I don’t believe in doing things half-way. I don’t tackle a job unless I plan to be successful. And success for me doesn’t mean meeting my client’s expectations. It means blowing them out of the water.  So depending on the client’s needs and the skills required, I tap into my Rolodex of superheros and assemble a team that will make a real difference. It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally developed a web site as well. I’ll be using this blog to share my thoughts on topics related to our core mission. But because this blog is for you, I’d love to hear what you’d like to read about.

There you have it. Ready or not, The Voland Group is here. Please introduce yourself. We’d love to meet you.