USING ‘WHERE’S WALTER’ FOR SALES DATA INSIGHT As a coaching approach, we recommend sales leaders place their people into one of the four boxes noted in the graphic then have the conversations below with the salespeople in each quadrant. These are guidelines, of course, and should be adjusted to the situation and individual at hand. One word of caution: Do not soften too much. Coaching is hard work, and leaders must be tough and direct at times to identify real areas of concern and development. Execution Results and Effort “Bob, thank you for the results you are generating. You must be thrilled as this will help you achieve your personal goals and objectives. Just as important though, I also want to thank you for your consistent effort. You may not realize this, but others on the team look to you and follow your lead. The way that you execute sales activities ‘week in and week out’ sets a great example for the rest of the team. Thank you. Now, Bob, what else can I do for you?” Execution Results But Lacks Effort “Bob, I want to thank you for the results you are generating. You must be thrilled as this will help you achieve the personal goals and objectives you have for your family. I am worried about one thing though; can we talk about that? Bob, how long is our sales cycle? (120 days.) Okay, so based on that and looking at the activities you determined are needed, then the results you are getting today are a result of what? (The activity I did a while back.) That’s what I was thinking, and that is why I am concerned. Based on the activity here (show them the data), you are headed for a slump. Is that where you want to be?” The coaching begins. Effort is There But Poor Execution Results “Bob, obviously based on the numbers you see here, you are not on schedule to achieve the extraordinary year to which you had committed to manage yourself. But this is where I’m confused. The data I have — that tells me about your effort — indicates that you should be at or above your goals, but that isn’t the case. My experience tells me that it is because of one of two things: either the data you are entering is not accurate, or you are failing to execute properly. Which one do you think it is?” The coaching begins. Lack of Effort and Results “Bob, I have to tell you that I cannot figure this out. Your effort and results are a total surprise to me. If several months ago, someone said to me that you would be failing, I would have said, ‘No way.’ (Show Bob the job posting you used for the position he is in and his resume, then show him his current sales activity and results.) Bob, I take a look at this (job info), and I think — ‘This is what I hired.’ I look at this (the results), and I’m thinking, ‘This is what I got.’ Bob, did I make a mistake?” (Adjust for tenured person) The coaching begins. Using the Where’s Walter platform gives banking sales coaches a framework to use performance metrics from huddles to generate conversations, identify areas for salespeople to focus on and, most importantly, gain insights for immediate coaching to improve skills, performance and results. Jeni Wehrmeyer Chief Operating Officer / Chief Marketing Officer Anthony Cole Training Group, LLC Jeni@AnthonyColeTraining.com Jeni Wehrmeyer joined the Anthony Cole Training Group more than a decade ago. Her background includes 13 years in advertising sales and about the same in bank marketing. She now wears many hats, including daily operations, marketing, client relationship management and creating and managing the team’s training materials. Anthony Cole Training Group, LLC is an associate member of the Indiana Bankers Association. Coaching a banker’s sales activities can be simplified into two areas: their effort vs. their execution. “ JANUARY/FEBRUARY2024 45
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