{"id":12321,"date":"2020-05-28T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/the-difference-between-managing-and-coaching-your-salespeople\/"},"modified":"2024-08-20T04:46:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T04:46:27","slug":"the-difference-between-managing-and-coaching-your-salespeople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-managing-and-coaching-your-salespeople\/","title":{"rendered":"Transform Your Sales Approach with Expert Coaching Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Sales leaders<\/a> often become confused by the differences between coaching and managing. Part of the reason for this confusion is simple optimism: we all want to be great coaches, and we are often inclined to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to determining whether that\u2019s the case. And while we may think that most of our interactions with our team members are coaching interactions, most of the time, they’re not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most of the time, what we are doing with the members of our team is managing. <\/em>Managing is a more directive and prescriptive type of interaction than coaching.\u00a0 When we are managing, we are all about \u201cDo this, do that.\u201d Or, conversely, \u201cDon\u2019t do this, don\u2019t do that.\u201d But we\u2019re not asking any meaningful questions, which is what a coach does.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let me share an example from outside the world of sales that may help make the distinction a little clearer. One of my brothers played lacrosse when he was younger. He was quite good at it. Every time I went to one of his lacrosse games, I noticed that the coach would be running up and down the field shouting out instructions \u2013 telling players when they were out of position, telling them what to do, and how to do it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My other brother played tennis. He was really good, too. I noticed his playing experience with his coach was completely different, though. His coach said hardly a word to him during the tennis match. When there was a break in the action, he might lean in and whisper something, but he wasn\u2019t trying to micromanage how my brother was playing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So I invite you to notice the difference between someone running up and down barking orders, and moves, and tactics… and somebody whispering in the player\u2019s ear during a break in the action. Both roles are important. Both are necessary. But to me, that lacrosse coach had the wrong job title. I think he was more of a lacrosse manager. <\/em>What he was doing was what a manager does day to day.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A coach, by contrast, already knows the player\u2019s level of competency, and is inclined to step back and let them do their own thing by providing plenty of room to exercise that competency. They’ve already done their training and are now implementing it. The coach will talk to them about the nuances and ask questions about certain choices, but it’s a completely different kind of interaction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Sometimes we need to manage a salesperson; sometimes we need to coach a salesperson. The tricky part is knowing when, and how, to play the correct role. Understanding these roles clearly will help you elevate your sales coaching strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When we speak about managing our salespeople, we’re talking about things like creating a behavioral plan, setting good goals, making sure that the salesperson is identifying strong next steps, is competent at pipeline management, knows how to optimally use the CRM \u2013 things of that nature.\u00a0 That is all vitally important \u2013 but notice that those are very directive, very task-oriented interactions. The manager is basically saying: \u201cFollow the recipe.\u201d \u201cStay within these lanes.\u201d Those are the kinds of messages managers should<\/em>\u00a0 be sending.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Coaching is very different. When we\u2019re coaching a salesperson, we\u2019re meeting in private and asking questions like, \u201cSo you had a couple different ways that you could go in that situation… why did you pick that one?\u201d When we\u2019re acting as a coach, we\u2019re helping the salesperson to think more strategically. We\u2019re helping them decide for themselves whether they made the right move, helping them to prioritize what they could have done better or differently. And it’s all done through respectful questioning, rather than inquisition.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A coach never lectures. A coach never says \u201cDo this, don\u2019t do that.\u201d The questions a good coach asks will help the salesperson discover for themselves that there was probably a better way to do something. Effective sales coaching techniques<\/a> are really all about supporting self-discovery\u2026 and self-discovery makes positive change much more likely. Managing, by contrast, though important, doesn’t really ensure future change, because there’s no heart-to-heart private discussion with the salesperson about the future he or she wants to create! That\u2019s something the coach can help to uncover.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For more on this important topic, see Bill Bartlett\u2019s fine book The Sales Coach\u2019s Playbook.<\/em><\/strong><\/a> Discover Sandler’s sales coaching techniques<\/a> to achieve greater success.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sales leaders often become confused by the differences between coaching and managing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":12322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1033,1035,1049,1239,1317],"class_list":["post-12321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-leadership","tag-management","tag-sales-management","tag-sales-management-skills","tag-sales-management-techniques"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEffective Techniques for Coaching Sales Teams | Sandler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn Sandler's techniques for coaching sales teams and improving performance. 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