Lecture 1

Our business, like most, is built around numbers. We recognize that we must lead our employees in order to have them succeed. Sometimes the pressure to perform can be overwhelming and we just expect our team members to perform. Unfortunately, our sales staff doesn't always know how to improve their own performance and it is the responsiblity of the manager to guide them to success.

Success can be found easily when it is driven through motivation.  Motivation and positive reinforcement should be used to drive performance and set clear expectations.  It is important to remember that the sales teams deal with demands all day – demands from clients and their managers.  It is proven that positive reinforcement will produce higher result verses negative management.

One of the best time to use positive reinforcement is during daily coaching’s.  While it is important to tell each sales member what they can improve upon it is equally important to tell them what they are doing right.  Follow the following formula when coaching:

Positive – Area of Improvement – Positive

By following this formula the sales staff will gain feedback for areas of improvement through positive means.  He or she will be reminded of areas to improve and be given the motivation to do so.  This is achieved through ensure confidence that you, his or her manager, have faith in his or her performance; which will in turn produce faith in his or herself.

The next step to follow is for the feedback to be direct, clear and given with examples.  Those examples should be easily understood and taken from direct context of the sales staff job.  In addition, specific examples of what has transpired and what is expected in the future should be outlined for the sales staff.  The performance objectives of the sales staff should be identified so there is no confusion of what the sales staff is being asked to do.

The final step is to outline goals for the sales staff.  The goals should be directly related to what the team member has done well and areas of improvement.  Goals should always fall under the following guidelines:

Obtainable, measurable, achievable

The MIT should identify the goals, but the sales staff should agree with them and the anticipated timeline to achieve the goals.

During the coaching each goal should be reviewed and either checked off as completed or identified as a work in progress. If

they are a work in progess use the coaching formula given above to identify areas to help the sales staff achieve his or her goals.

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