In February 2021, we had 10 new reps coming into a fully remote environment.
Prior to 2020, I relied on the tribal knowledge that comes with an in-office sales team. This was no longer a possibility.
In today's issue, I'm going to teach you how to build a coaching cadence that works in any environment.
Sales coaching is one of the most impactful activities you can do as a sales leader. When done consistently, you'll maximize every sales rep on the team.
Most people don't prioritize coaching and feel the weekly 1 on 1 covers the bases. In early-stage companies, where it feels like there are a million things to do, it's even worse.
When you stick to a coaching cadence, you'll get:
The daily accountability huddle is a modified version of the daily huddle from the book Scaling Up. It's the pulse of the coaching cadence.
I ask three questions to each rep in every huddle:
The first question starts by recognizing someone on the team for something they did. It kicks the meeting off on a positive note.
The second question tackles accountability. If we're in person, they put their numbers on a whiteboard. If we're remote, they put them in a shared spreadsheet. Hit your goal? Mark it in green. Missed your goal? Mark it in red. There is no hiding. Everything is out in the open.
The third question has one purpose, and that's to help our teammates. We set a high standard but don't leave people alone to figure things out. We win as a team.
The Daily Training was the #1 addition to my cadence when we went fully remote. It's hard to pass along tribal knowledge remotely, and this is the most effective method I've found.
Have the team bring all their important but not urgent questions. We ask them as a team because, most likely, someone else needs to hear the answer, and things get lost in Slack.
Keep it fresh by working in expert guests, department leaders, and skill trainings.
"Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important." - Stephen Covey
The weekly 1 on 1 is the most important meeting on the calendar. You build trust in the 1 on 1.
Make the weekly 1 on 1 something your reps look forward to, not fear.
This is not the time to bring in PIPs, go through pipeline reviews, etc.
It's ok to have themes (recap of last month, plan for this month, career prep, etc.), but remember that this is the rep's time.
Create an agenda document, and make sure to have the reps fill it out ahead of time. Always go through their topics first and bring up the theme with the remaining time.
The skill coaching sessions are where you get to work.
First, look at the data. What does it say the rep needs to improve? How do their conversion rates stack up with the rest of the team across the buyer's journey? Let this be your guide.
Each week, I like to rotate the following:
What! Track my time! I'm not a lawyer. Why would I track my time?! Certain reps, often the lowest performers, will suck up your time without you realizing it. On the flip side, not all reps need as much time. You want to make sure everybody is getting the time they need.
There are a million time-tracking apps out there. Pick the one that suits you best and start tracking. Aim for 3+ hours per rep per month.
By using this strategy, you'll maximize the skill set of every rep on the team. The best part is that it creates an amazing culture of accountability, support, and growth.