Should YOU Hire a Sales Coach?

As promised, a few days ago...

Wouldn't it make sense to answer the title question before we answer "What kind of sales coach do you need?" Seriously, most people that need to sell will never get the help that they need to overcome the biggest obstacles that they have. Service providers, professionals and consultants that are self employed often have issues that put them at risk of never getting the help that they need.

They seriously don't have the money. Their last job paid them $25-$50/hour. So, they started billing themselves out at $25-$50/hour. Then they realized that they had to keep the books or hire a bookkeeper. They had to sell or hire a salesperson. They actually figured out that they spend two thirds of their time doing non-billable work and they had to keep doing it because they don't have the money to hire anybody to do it. They surely don't have the money to hire a coach. The only advice that I can give to someone in this position is, "Go get your old job back."

Some are DIY-ers. I love the definition. "...without the help of experts...". There's an interesting phenomenom with DIY-ers. They read a book or pick someone's brain. Then try to apply that little bit of knowledge in the real world and might be upset when it doesn't go as planned. The interesting part is when it happens in reverse. When some DIY-er picks the expert's brain and does it themself rather than paying the expert to do it right, often angers the expert because the DIY-er 'stole' the solution.

Another issue is that they believe that 'sales' is a dirty word and as a result, don't want it done to them and don't want to do it to others. Think about what we were taught as children. "Don't talk to strangers." "When I say 'no', I mean 'no'." or "We don't talk about that in public."

1600 have phd will work for food  300x231These are just a few of the issues that will keep 80%+ of VSB's and solos from getting the help that they need. Prospects expect certain behavior during the buying process and when they get it, it often costs the expert the sale.

So, that leaves the 20% of you that might. What's in your way? The status quo. You've got some business. You may not be hitting your goals or you may set your goals so that they are hittable, rather than doing something that will matter, but you're not starving. You're busy in delivery and it takes longer to do than the budget allows, but that was the best you could do. The hard part for you is where to find the time. We all have 24 hours a day. Some of us use them. Others lose them.

So, what kind of sales coach do you need? (BTW, remember this article about choosing a sales coach?)

Do you want someone who's goal oriented? Specifically focused on YOUR goals? Remember, before he can focus on your goals, he needs to understand what they are and why they're important to you.

Do you want someone who can tell you that you have spinach in your teeth or body odor? (Metaphorically) Do you want someone that can not only identify what your obstacles are, but will be able to tell you the source of the obstacles, the effect that they're having on your sales conversationsand multiple ways to overcome them?

Do you want someone who's capable of driving the process until you can drive it yourself and will be totally comfortable saying, "You're done!"

Do you want someone who's willing and capable of showing you how to DIY, without going back to school or spending a year in some sales training program?

Did I miss any questions? Try this.

Topics: sales rock stars, sales style, sales coach


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