{"id":2552,"date":"2018-04-11T16:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T16:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:44","slug":"shift-data-driven-sales-coaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/shift-data-driven-sales-coaching\/","title":{"rendered":"How To (Kindly, Gently) Shift To Data-Driven Sales Coaching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are numbers sales reps love to hear, and numbers they would probably rather ignore.<\/p>\n

The numbers they love to hear, of course, are the ones that show they\u2019ve crushed their quota for a particular week, month or quarter. Other numbers may be even more important, but require more analysis and a plan of action. These are the numbers based on the data you find in CRM tools like Sales Cloud<\/a>, and unless they are a rep who is new to selling and has worked with such technologies from the beginning of their career, a different approach to sales coaching may be in order.<\/p>\n

Great sales managers are constantly coaching, but some of what they touch on might be more intangible, subjective things like the tone of voice a rep uses on the phone or the way they make a pitch in the boardroom. Reps absolutely need feedback on those areas, but the rise of CRM in modern businesses mean sales managers have to think about the data-driven ways their reps need to work, too.<\/p>\n

This can be a potentially off-putting conversation, for several reasons. Some reps might consider themselves less than technology-savvy and uneasy about working with CRM data. Others might think of sales success as being almost entirely dependent on their interpersonal or social skills, rather than the way they use Sales Cloud. And naturally, any sales coaching session can often be construed as a time to negatively criticize rather than educate and empower a rep.<\/p>\n

Overcome these challenges and more by keeping the following in mind: <\/p>\n

Introduce The Concept And The Process<\/h2>\n

Before you sit down in front a shared screen and dig into Sales Cloud, make sure the rep feels prepared for what\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n

If you already have a regular touchpoint meeting to review their performance individually, for example, finish up your regular session by explaining how you\u2019ll be using CRM in the next session, and why it\u2019s important. Stay positive and position the tool as an enabler for their future success, rather than something that\u2019s designed to expose all the things they\u2019re doing wrong. Encourage them to come forward with the data they think is most relevant, rather than having everything presented to them later.<\/p>\n

You could also send an email that discusses the merits of using data-driven sales planning at a high level with the same prep tips, but try to make sure you have some kind of in-person conversation, even if it\u2019s just in the hallway. That way you don\u2019t have the rep festering and worrying — or complaining about it to their coworkers.<\/p>\n

Choose One Metric That Works<\/h2>\n

As any sales coach knows, a rep\u2019s performance issues tend to fall into three major categories:<\/p>\n