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Recent blackdot research has proven that enhancing the coaching effectiveness of sales managers is a powerful, yet often elusive opportunity to improve frontline salesperson revenue outcomes.
Despite the opportunity represented by effective coaching, Sales Managers ultimately possess only one head, yet wear many hats. More often than not, the last thing they have the time and capacity to do is to turn their attention to coaching and development. Sales Managers therefore require an approach to coaching and performance improvement that cuts through the noise and brings focus, quality and efficiency to coaching conversations and activities.
To realise the full opportunity represented by coaching, blackdot undertook a deep-dive analysis of their Benchmark data to crystalise what high-performing Sales Managers were actually doing differently when it came to coaching. These findings represent opportunities which sales managers can action immediately to drive an uplift in performance across the sales force.
Unlocking Sales Manager Coaching ImpactUnderstanding What Best Practice Coaching Looks Like to Accelerate Frontline Salesperson Development and Performance
© blackdot 2015
© blackdot 2015 2
THE ‘4’ MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINESAn Evidence-Based Pathway to Salesforce Performance Uplift
Based on analysis of a significant body of Benchmarking data and a number of recent global sales manager enhancement projects, blackdot have identified that when managed by sales managers who live and breathe four specific management disciplines, the probably of reps surpassing their targets is far greater than when managed by those who do not embody these disciplines. Of these ‘4’ Management Disciplines, there is particularly significant correlation to on-target performance when a manager is effective in Coaching and Performance Improvement.
Blackdot define ‘Benchmark Managers’ as those who sit in the top quartile after being assessed across these four areas, while we consider ‘Core Managers’ to be those who fall in quartiles two through to four. As the graphs below demonstrate, Benchmark Managers consistently generate a significant uplift in rep performance, representing an exciting opportunity for realising excellent return on investment from carefully targeted frontline Sales Manager development around these disciplines.
Collectively the combination of Benchmark capability levels across the ‘4’ Disciplines creates very significant correlation to On-Target-Performance.
COACHING & PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
PROCESS ADHERENCE
SALES MANAGEMENT RHYTHM
TEAMING & QUALITY STANDARDS
Q1 ‘Benchmark’
Q1 ‘Benchmark’
Q1 ‘Benchmark’
Q1 ‘Benchmark’
Q2—Q4 ‘Core’
Q2—Q4 ‘Core’
Q2—Q4 ‘Core’
Q2—Q4 ‘Core’
50% 50% 50% 50%
0% 0% 0% 0%
61% 59% 59% 55%
43%38% 37% 38%
Benchmark Managers5.1%
Core Managers1.3%
63%
Q2
1.4x
88%
Q1 Benchmark Managers
47%
Q3
1.9x
40%
Q4
2.2xNumber of times more likely a Q1 Manager will lead reps to target
PROBABILITY THAT A SALES MANAGER PRODUCES
ON-TARGET-PERFORMANCE IN THEIR REPS
AVERAGE TEAM
PORTFOLIO GROWTH
© blackdot 2015 3
COACHING : A Critical Ingredient to High-Performance Sales Management
In this Research Report, we take a deeper look into the first of the four performance-driving management disciplines; Coaching and Performance Improvement. For sales organisations focused on outperforming the competition, coaching represents a critical requirement for ensuring they make their number. For frontline Sales Managers, coaching represents the most direct and powerful mechanism available for personally impacting frontline performance. High-performing Sales Managers that coach and performance manage effectively optimise the focus, frequency and depth of support provided to accelerate each individual’s progression through the ‘performance lifecycle’.
Ongoing blackdot research into what good looks like has shown that high-performing Sales Managers that provide effective coaching achieve superior sales performance results:
To fully appreciate the sales performance improvement opportunity represented by effective coaching, blackdot analysed their Benchmark database to isolate the specific elements that differentiate high-performing Sales Managers from the core when it came to coaching. The results revealed four specific things:
Let’s now take a look at what specifically you can do to bring these differentiators to life, and the performance outcomes you can expect when you do.
Sales Managers that provide effective coaching manage reps that are almost twice as likely to hit target than reps managed by Sales Managers that do not provide effective coaching
Territories managed by better-coached reps consistently capture a greater amount of market share. These territories grow 1.5% faster than territories managed by reps that receive less coaching
With one recent blackdot Benchmarking client the impact of providing effective coaching on sales outcomes was made exceptionally clear. Across a six-month period, reps managed by Sales Managers that provided effective coaching consistently achieved better On-Target- Performance than those that did not (see right).
To highlight the upside opportunity, if we assume that the target monthly value of each territory were $1 million, then across the six month period, reps managed by Sales Managers that provided effective coaching would bring in an additional $750,000, representing 13% more than their colleagues that did not receive effective coaching.
CASE STUDY
104%
+8%
86%
118%
+17%
101%
113%
+14%
99%
106%
+9%
97%
100%
+9%
91%
95%
+8%
87%
May 1480%
100%
120%
Jul 14 Sep 14Jun 14 Aug 14 Oct 14
Benchmark Sales Managers Core Sales Managers
They focus on ‘higher-level’
coaching skills
They dedicate more time
to coaching
1 2 3 4High-performing
Sales Managers provide coaching to all of their reps
They are more consistent when they do provide coaching
63%Core Sales Managers
88%Benchmark Sales Managers Benchmark Sales Managers
5.8%
7.3%
MORE LIKELY TO GROW MARKET SHARE
HIGHER ON-TARGET-PERFORMANCE
Core Sales Managers
© blackdot 2015 4
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #1Simply Provide Coaching to All Reps
It may seem obvious, but an immediate insight jumping out of the data is simply the fact that high-performing Sales Managers do in fact coach, whilst lower-performing Sales Managers do not. As can be seen below, the lowest-performing Sales Managers provide coaching to less than half of their sales teams.
Furthermore, there is also a connection between coaching provision and perceptions of its effectiveness.
The first requirement of coaching therefore is simply in providing it. When coaching is not provided, development and performance drop materially.
PERCEIVED REP SATISFACTION WITH DEVELOPMENT
Receive at least 1 hour of coaching per week
Receive no coaching
44%73%
SATISFIED
SATISFIED
COACHING PROVISION
Percentage of Sales Managers within each quartile that provide coaching to the reps they manage
100% 88% 53% 43%
Benchmark Managers 2nd Quartile Managers 3rd Quartile Managers 4th Quartile Managers
© blackdot 2015 5
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #2Dedicating the (Optimal) Time
Interestingly, the Benchmark data revealed a coaching provision ‘sweet spot’ of 2–4 hours per week, after which coaching falls victim to diminishing returns.
Percentage of reps that rate their coaching as ‘highly effective’ for different durations of time
Benchmark Sales Managers provide a greater intensity of coaching, providing more than 1.5x the number of coaching hours than their Core Sales Manager colleagues, and more than 3x the amount provided by lowest performing Sales Managers.
High-performing Sales Managers’ appreciation of the importance of coaching is also most evident when it comes to new hires (see case study below.)
6.5 HoursBenchmark Managers
6.4 Hours2nd Quartile Managers
4.1 Hours3rd Quartile Managers
2.1 Hours4th Quartile Managers
OPTIMAL COACHING PROVISION DURATION
< 1 Hour 1 Hour 2 Hours 3 Hours 4 Hours 5 Hours +
80%
39%
52%
79% 82%72%
58%
0%
50%
100%Coaching Provision ‘Sweet Spot’
CASE STUDY
With a recent major Benchmarking client, high-performing Sales Managers provided 9 hours of coaching per rep per month to their new hires, in contrast to just 5.2 hours by Core Sales Managers. Benchmark Sales Managers Core Sales Managers
9 HoursCoaching New Hires per Month
5.2 HoursCoaching New Hires per Month
COACHING HOURS PER REP PER MONTH
© blackdot 2015
CONSISTENT C
OA
CHING
CONSISTENT C
OA
CHING
COACHING CONSISTENCY FOR NEW HIRES
Core Sales ManagersBenchmark Sales Managers
76% 44%
6
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #3Coach More Consistently
Aside from simply providing coaching and providing more of it, high-performing Sales Managers are also more consistent at coaching. High-performing Sales Managers are 7% more likely to provide coaching to a more regular and consistent drumbeat.
As can be seen below, most noticeably, Benchmark Sales Managers are nearly twice as likely to provide regular and consistent coaching to new hires.
Why is coaching with consistency so important? For reps that receive coaching with a consistent rhythm, 81% rated the coaching they received as highly effective. This is in contrast to coaching that was provided ad-hoc or randomly; which was rated as 29% and 38% less effective (see below).
If coaching is not provided in a consistent manner, chances of it being effective therefore drop materially.
Consistent Coaching
81%
52%
Ad-Hoc Coaching Random Coaching0%
50%
100%
43%
COACHING ‘RHYTHM’ EFFECTIVENESS
© blackdot 2015 7
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #4Provide Higher ‘Quality’ Coaching
A crucial distinction between high and core performing Sales Managers is the quality and focus of coaching when it is provided. Our Benchmarking analysis has revealed two critical elements of 1:1 sales coaching:
Sales Managers need to be good at both of the above elements, however the Benchmarking analysis demonstrates that dialogue skills have an 18% higher correlation to coaching effectiveness than delivery skills. Benchmark Sales Managers’ ability to focus on and effectively execute these ‘higher-level’ coaching dialogue skills is what sets them apart.
Coaches need to ask specific questions to understand a rep’s problems
and personalise how to deliver the message based on the rep’s individually-specific
learning preferences and development needs
Coaches need to be prepared, take the time to coach, provide
feedback, and follow-up on agreed actions
+
63%
45%
18% higher correlation to coaching
effectiveness
Dialogue Skills
Delivery Skills
COACHING SKILLS CORRELATING TO COACHING EFFECTIVENESS
DIALOGUE
DIALOGUE
DELIVERY
DELIVERY
© blackdot 2015 8
HOW BLACKDOT CAN HELP
Despite the benefits of coaching being widely accepted, Sales Managers struggle to find the time to drive sales by helping their people sell. The challenge lies not only in finding time for coaching, but also in knowing how to frame the coaching conversation and executing with limited preparation time blackdot have drawn on.
In light of these challenges, blackdot have drawn on the Benchmark insights into what good coaching looks like to build the ‘Tight-Loose’ Coaching and Performance Improvement Framework. This system enables Sales Managers to quickly and easily frame coaching conversations and deliver focused, relevant coaching efficiently and to a high quality standard. Armed with this tool, Sales Managers are able to efficiently and effectively build individually-relevant, needs-based development plans which guide their reps through performance improvement pathways that ensure your organisation, team and frontline reps repeatedly hit their number.
High Performing Sales Managers understand the ‘performance lifecycle’ of each Salesperson and optimise their performance by using the principles of ‘Tight-Loose’ to dynamically adapt the approach to managing different performance profiles (see the Tight-Loose ‘Performance Profiles’ above.) Sales Managers can take a ‘Tight’ or ‘Loose’ approach to managing performance at each stage of the performance lifecycle, with the optimal approach depending on the individual salesperson’s Performance Profile as determined by their current performance and performance trajectory.
The principles of the ‘Tight-Loose’ Coaching and Performance Improvement Framework represents the embodiment of individualised, needs-based development. Our research has revealed that Benchmark Managers apply these principles more than anyone else in their Sales Manager peer group. The application and deployment of these principles accounts for the higher perceptions of coaching effectiveness and greater sales outcomes they are able to derive.
Current Performance Vs. Target
Improving
DecliningBelow Above
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
Below Target; Performance
Improving
Below Target; Performance
Declining
Above Target; Performance
Improving
Above Target; Performance
Declining
EXCELLING
PLATEAUING
Perf
orm
ance
Tra
ject
ory
THE TIGHT-LOOSE ‘PERFORMANCE PROFILES’
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
EXCELLING
PLATEAUING
Tight-Loose Approach
Manager’s Role In Lifting Performance
Review Frequency
Priorities
Common ‘Gotchas’
Coaching Focus
‘EMERGING’ PERFORMANCE PROFILE: DEVELOPMENT PLANSample ‘Tight-Loose’ Output
© blackdot 2015 9
THE ‘4’ MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINES—INTEGRATED SOLUTION-SET
To assist with the execution of this research, blackdot has developed a comprehensive solution-set designed to help your organisation rapidly realise the fundamental performance shift which targeted Sales Manager development can offer.
Complete pre-workshop individual assessment report is provided for each Sales Manager providing immediately actionable insights into strengths to leverage & gaps to address
• Understand your managers’ strengths & weaknesses against external best practice & internal comparisons
• Isolate the ‘vital few’ gaps for development priority which will create fundamental impact
BENCHMARK & DIAGNOSTICS
ShiftTM provides cloud-based access to practical resources designed to fast-track development of critical sales management skills, dynamic coaching tools enable the best practice coaching & performance management of frontline Salespeople
• Create real behavioural shift with ongoing micro-learning content designed for busy Sales Managers
• Measure the real change achieved over time with ongoing benchmarking & diagnostic functionality
SALES ENABLEMENT PLATFORM SUBSCRIPTION
CORE COMPONENTS OUTCOMES
• Crystallise personal insights & focus areas for each Sales Manager
• Expedite execution of key learning outcomes with specialised Blackdot coaching support
INTENSIVE COACHING
Two personalised 1:1 coaching sessions delivered by a professional blackdot sales coach to debrief assessment insights pre-workshop & embed content execution post-workshop
Two day immersive workshop delivers practical skills and tools for executing the ‘4’ critical sales management disciplines
EXPERIENTIAL CAPABILITY PROGRAM
• Enhance capability across the ‘4’ Disciplines in an interactive and applied setting
• Access to the full suite of ‘Tight-Loose’ Coaching and Performance Improvement Framework Tools
• Consolidate key breakthroughs and takeaways across your sales management team
• Workshop common implementation challenges and leave the course with a firm plan to create real change
Coaching & performance improvement
Process adherence
Teaming & quality standards
Sales management rhythm
© blackdot 2015 10
A RECENT CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
A recent merger and failure to hit minimum sales targets prompted one global pharmaceutical company to look at initiatives that would improve sales performance and address a lack of clarity at the senior leadership level around initiatives to pursue.
CHALLENGE
The Blackdot ‘12-4-7’ Organisational Benchmark was conducted across all Business Units, which identified a significant sales improvement opportunity through the establishment of a consistent sales management framework across its multiple Business Units that reflected best practice. The new sales management framework was designed leveraging Blackdot IP and in close collaboration with key sales leaders. The framework was rolled out via a company-wide sales leadership forum that incorporated the blackdot ‘4’ Disciplines of Sales Management Program.
SOLUTION
1. Enhanced rigour and effectiveness of coaching and performance improvement initiatives that utilised the ‘Tight-Loose’ methodology
2. Acquisition of clear action plans by Sales Managers to drive the number of True Believers™ in the sales process
3. Creation and roll-out of new sales management rhythm
OUTCOME AND RESULTS
BLACKDOT EXISTS TO ASSIST OUR CLIENTS ACHIEVE MORE REPEATABLE AND PREDICTABLE SALES PERFORMANCE
CONSULTING SOLUTIONS
BENCHMARKING & DIAGNOSTICS
CAPABILITY SOLUTIONS
Through our suite of benchmarking, consulting and capability o�erings we are able to provide specific solutions which enable our clients to gain control and consistency over sales outcomes and growth.
WHY BLACKDOT?
We’re deep subject matter experts on sales force optimisation and e�ectiveness
Technology-enabled benchmarking and diagnostic, consulting and capability uplift solutions
We deliver actionable insights, tools and learning that drives uplift
We know what good looks like and have the casual data to prove it
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What makes us unique is our total fixation on the use of data-driven, evidence-based techniques to understand what does (and does not) drive sales performance.
By viewing the ‘sales engine’ holistically, as an ecosystem of component parts that work interdependently to impact sales results, we’re able to identify the root cause of what’s inhibiting and enabling your current performance, including quantifying the payo� in actually getting it right.
Armed with this knowledge, we stand alongside our clients who engage us to define, implement and embed change programs that bridge the gap between ‘hoping’ and ‘knowing’ you’ll deliver top and bottom line performance improvement.
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OUR MISSION
Blackdot have completed more than 400 sales performance improvement projects, across 12 industries and 142 countries.
We’ve additionally benchmarked more than 50,000 salespeople,7,500 Sales Managers and 650 independent sales teams.
CORE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
We engaged Blackdot to overhaul our core sales disciplines and enable our front-liners to best capitalise on their limited selling time. Blackdot designed and implemented a holistic sales framework and sales management solution which consists of a bespoke sales process, pipeline methodology and sales management rhythm all tailored to our unique sales environment and global business model.
As a result of this more consistent and repeatable approach to proactive business development we’ve already seen double-digit year-on-year revenue growth in the first 12 months.
- Andrew StuartHead of Futures, Macquarie Group
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