1. Better Employee Retention
Harvard business Review has indicated that there are some important retention benefits from coaching your high performers. In fact, according to CED Magazine, “Seven in 10 respondents say job-related training and development opportunities impact their decision to stay with a company.” Afforded an opportunity to continually improve their sales skills, reps will be optimistically and enthusiastically engaged. 2. Higher Revenue
CSO Insights has found that companies with sales coaching programs that exceed employee expectations had a much higher overall revenue plan attainment than companies whose coaching skills only met expectations (94.8% vs. 89.3%) or needed improvement (89.3% vs. 84.5%). Why? Because concepts and strategies remain fresh in their minds. Things like value proposition, availability of marketing materials, and mentor advice are all top-of-mind. Plus, the old saw is applicable here—practice makes perfect.
3. Superior Performance
A well-coached sales team consistently outperforms their competition. A team of well-coached salespeople is your company’s most defensible competitive advantage.
According to the AG Survey of Sales Effectiveness, sales reps who received medium to high amounts of coaching and training have larger deal sizes and better sales performance. They also spend more time on strategic activities. In The Dirty Secret of Effective Sales Coaching, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson noted that their SEC study, which involved thousands of sales representatives, saw an up-to-19% sustained improvement in the performance of sales representatives who received quality coaching, and according to Oracle, reps can see up to a 15% increase in close rates.
4. More Accurate Predictions
Sales Leaders’ success and failure depends in part on their ability to forecast the future. Achieving sales targets depends on salespeople executing predictably and sustainably. Establishing a coaching cadence leads to predictability, both in rep performance and in pipeline report accuracy. CSO Insights reports that 94% of sales reps who receive exceptional coaching hit their quotas, compared to a 47% average nationally in 2016. That’s a 2x improvement!
Combining a bi-weekly or monthly coaching session with goal tracking and level-up opportunities is the key to achieving sustained, predictable success.