When should you use sales coaching versus sales mentoring?

Sales coaching is typically focused on short-term skill development and performance improvement. It involves providing feedback, guidance, and training to sales representatives to help them achieve specific sales targets, overcome challenges, and refine their techniques. Sales mentoring is a longer-term relationship focused on career development and overall growth. Mentoring involves pairing a less experienced salesperson with a more seasoned professional who serves as a mentor. The mentor offers guidance, support, and advice based on their own experiences and insights, helping the mentee navigate their career path, set long-term goals, and develop the skills and attributes needed to succeed in sales.

Coaching and mentoring both have an important role in developing your sales professionals. Coaching comes into play around their short-term skill enhancements whether it be objection handling, closing techniques, or onboarding. Mentoring is bit more formal and longer term for personal growth such as career development or navigating challenges. It provides insights and goes beyond day-to-day. At the end, it is important to understand where they are at to strike a balance between coaching and mentoring to create a well-rounded sales professional.

Meet the 20-year-old sales prodigy: brains packed with product info, a killer site, and persuasive pitches. But under pressure? Total meltdown! Sales coaching is the remedy. It's like nurturing a wilting plant; the issue runs deep. Confidence is crafted through role-play and feedback. They shift from feeling like tricksters to solution providers. Mental maintenance changes their mindset from fearing failure to embracing challenges. Result? From nervous newbie to sales superstar! Tough questions become opportunities to shine. Sales coaching isn't a quick fix; it's an investment in continuous growth, like a gym membership for sales skills. Effort that is genuine never ends up wasted.

Sales coaching is a powerful tool for enhancing sales performance 🚀. It's a structured process where sales managers guide their team members to improve skills, reach targets, and drive growth. While sales mentoring is beneficial for long-term career development, sales coaching is ideal for addressing specific skills or performance issues in real-time. Use sales coaching when you need to focus on immediate results, skill enhancement, and performance improvement. Remember, the right coaching can turn potential into performance!

When to use coaching versus sales mentoring depends on the context. Sales coaching focuses on skill development and performance improvement, suitable for ongoing support and skill enhancement. Sales mentoring emphasizes long-term career development and guidance, ideal for fostering professional growth and navigating challenges with personalized advice and experience-sharing.

Compared to sales coaching, sales mentoring is a less structured, long-term journey. Imagine it as an experienced hiker guiding a new explorer on a mountain trek. The mentor shares their wisdom and adapts the path based on the mentee's strengths and challenges. It thrives on a friendly, supportive environment built on mutual trust - the mentor isn't just teaching, they're invested in the mentee's long-term success. Unlike coaching with its set programs, mentoring is a unique blend shaped by the personalities of both parties. It's a powerful way to develop not just skills, but also confidence and career vision.

The main difference between a mentor and a coach, in general, is the fact that the mentor has done the job in the past, whereas the coach can come from another industry

Sometimes, it is good to assign a senior salesperson or more experienced salesperson to mentor a newer or junior salesperson. This gives the senior salesperson the opportunity to take on a "sales manager" role and helps get the junior up to speed faster.

The best sales team in the world are like sports team, they all need coaching to improve. This is so important for retention, the best sales people want to learn for the best, get better and be coached. Companies really over look that.

Sales coaching is the compass that guides individuals towards excellence in sales, providing a customized roadmap to improvement by delving into the intricacies of their approach, uncovering barriers, and amplifying inherent strengths. It offers a personalized journey of self-discovery, instilling a deep sense of awareness and insight into one's capabilities, while cultivating a culture of continuous growth and development. By equipping individuals with the tools to navigate challenges confidently and capitalize on opportunities effectively, sales coaching not only boosts morale and confidence but also enhances overall sales performance, paving the way for sustained success in the ever-evolving landscape of sales.

Sales coaching is about asking the right questions at the right moment. It's the best way to build an efficient sales "mental model" (aka sales process / approach / structure)

I would define it as this - Immediate performance improvement - Targeted skill development - Increased motivation and engagement - Improved communication and teamwork

Sales mentoring is great when you are dealing with specific sales issues (specific scenarios with some prospects/customers). The mentor should be someone who has done your job in the past, so that he/she can understand what you are going through!

Many organizations have a mentor-mentoree system. This allows the mentee to have a safe environment to ask questions to someone who is not their manager.

Long-term career development Personalized guidance and support Expanded professional network Exposure to new ideas and perspectives Confidence building

Sales coaching takes time and consistency in spending 1-1 regularly with coachee/salesperson to develop them. It’s always easier and faster to tell someone what to do; what has gone well, what needs improvement, what’s the right course of actions, etc. It takes far longer time to develop someone using a coaching conversation. approach, but it certainly has a longer lasting and deeper impact. Another challenge of sales coaching is when a sales leader confuses coaching with mentoring/telling, and doesn’t have the right skills in coaching.

The coach is supposed to ask the person some situational scenarios and have the person think about how to tackle the issue. So, the person to be coached needs to be open-minded and want to get something out of the process, meaning the person needs to prepare the response. Not just follow what the coach asks him/her to do.

A significant pitfall is the potential for bias, especially when internal coaches are involved, as they may unintentionally favour or overlook certain aspects due to their proximity. This highlights the importance of objectivity and follow-through, ensuring accountability and sustained development.

The main challenge for the sales coach is to avoid giving specific advice about the sales situation that the person is going through. Instead of that, what we want is to help him to build a "sales mental model" which can be used in different cases, not only in the one that is creating the current situation

Establishing an authentic connection with the coachee is the primary challenge in sales coaching. People can easily spot insincerity, and without addressing the real issues, they may resort to escapism. Coaches risk projecting their experiences onto others without this connection. Sales coaching, often resource-intensive and uncomfortable for those unaccustomed to criticism or change, requires skilled coaches who can forge genuine connections vital for fostering actual growth. Tailored coaching, coupled with consistent action and accountability, is crucial for effectiveness to prevent coaching efforts from becoming counterproductive.

In (sales) mentoring, both mentor and mentee must commit to accountability. Mentors, often seniors, may lack the same commitment as coaches. It's on the mentee to show dedication, selecting mentors aligned with shared vision, values, and chemistry. Without this commitment, the mentoring relationship may falter. Mentees must take ownership of their learning, engaging actively for success.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge in sales mentoring is personal bias, whether conscious or unconscious, regarding what makes sense or how things are done. For example, if a sales mentor believes that going after a high-value, low-volume market is a more strategic approach, it's likely that the mentor will suggest that to the mentee. However, the mentee may enjoy voluminous work with accounts/clients of different fee levels, i.e. low value-high volume work. When I was a sales leader and as a coach now, I can see how top salespeople thrive when they go after the market that resonates with them and manage deals the way they do best.

For effective sales coaching, align with the ICF's ethos by evaluating your coachees' readiness and willingness to engage. Choose a coaching framework that aligns with your goals and context, employing open-ended questions that empower your coachees to find their own solutions. Offer specific, timely feedback, and acknowledge their progress. Continually monitor the impact of coaching on performance, being prepared to adjust your approach for optimal outcomes. This ICF-inspired method ensures that coaching remains dynamic and responsive to the needs of each salesperson.

This is a question that comes up a lot in real life. The answer is….it depends! Coaching can be one of 2 things. Either directive coaching where you are telling someone what to do, or non-directive where you focus on helping the coachee discover the answers for themselves. As people are much more likely to engage with solutions that they have come up with themselves, greater action gets taken post non-directive coaching than post any other developmental activity in my view. Mentoring sits somewhere between the 2. A great mentor will use non-directive coaching techniques where appropriate, but is also there to guide the mentee through difficult situations with their real-world advice, suggestions and perspectives.

Adaptability to Situational Needs: Sales coaching tends to be more beneficial when there is an immediate need for skill enhancement or performance improvement. It offers targeted and actionable feedback to address specific challenges or goals, making it ideal for short-term interventions. On the other hand, sales mentoring shines in situations where long-term career development, leadership skills, or navigating complex challenges are paramount. Mentoring relationships provide ongoing support and guidance, nurturing professional growth over an extended period.

A few best practices for successful mentoring programs: 1) Don't force people to be mentors or let everyone who raises their hand to be a mentor. Use an application process for both parties to make sure you're getting the right mentors in the program and matching them effectively. 2) Set clear expectations of the relationship for mentors and mentees. Program duration, time commitments, support channels, etc. 3) Encourage reverse mentoring where junior employees can mentor senior employees on topics they may be more familiar with.