If most managers have the best of intentions when supporting their salespeople, then why do they keep asking them questions that result in lost sales?
Do You Emphasize Results Over People?
It’s not uncommon to hear that companies are developing KPI’s and measurable objectives around coaching. While encouraging, sadly, it is doomed from the start unless the manager is actually observing their people perform on a consistent basis.
Why is it doomed, you wonder? Here’s how some managers have responded.
“Okay, I’m supposed to coach each person on my team for one hour each week, based on a list of core competencies and best practices that the company has identified. Let’s see, I actually spoke to each of my salespeople for at least two hours this week, and probably an hour or so last week, since we’ve been doing a bunch of deal reviews and forecasting sessions in order to close this quarter strong. I guess that time can count towards the mandated coaching hours for each direct report. Check!”
A fine example of “Check-box Management.”
Of course, I’m simplifying this to make the lesson clear. Management cannot assume that the quantity of coaching equates to its quality!
Quantity Control
It’s counter-intuitive. Managers believe that in order to achieve your goals and attain quota, keep focusing on the results. “If you stay focused on the results, keep your eyes on the prize and on our sales targets, we will get there faster.” Paradoxically, focusing on the result actually gets in the way of achieving the results you want.
Why?
Because if you’re always focusing on the result; you’re not focusing on your people.
Think about the questions you ask during a conversation. Do your questions focus on how your people do things or focus more on what’s been done or getting done? How consistently do you actively observe your people when engaging with customers and prospects on the phone, in person, even how they communicate via email? Are you truly certain of the processes they use, how they communicate and how they perform or are you assuming that based on the reports, results and data?
Think about any coach of a sports team. Without consistent observation of their players, they will miss out on a myriad of authentic coaching opportunities that would build a strong bench of champions.
How You Think Is What You Speak
But it’s not enough just to become more mindful of the “how,” or the process, while focusing on the “what” or the goal that you want to achieve. It has to manifest in how you communicate and engage with people, especially your direct reports.
What does the word ‘process’ means to you? Do you think about your HR process, sales process, onboarding process, project management? Basically, most people would perceive a process as a series of consistent steps you take to produce a somewhat consistent result.
Now, think beyond defining the word, “process” as some measurable steps, path or strategy you follow.
When I suggest becoming more process driven, I’m referring to moving beyond your strategy and into your thinking. Think about how this line of thinking would impact how you communicate. If you become someone who is more process driven, it affects the type and quality of the questions you ask.
Here’s an example of the type of questions that are continually being asked by managers who have a result driven mindset. These questions focus on one thing and one thing only; the outcome.
- What are you working on that’s currently in your pipeline?
- How many meetings did you schedule this week?
- You’re putting everything we need into the CRM, right?
- Is your sales forecast accurate?
- Did you get in touch with the decision makers, as well as influencers in the company?
- How many calls did you make today?
- You qualified the prospect to ensure there’s a fit, this is a priority for them and they had budget, right?
- If we’re going to put a pilot in place, did you confirm that we are their vender of choice?
- Did you demonstrate a solid value proposition that’s aligned with the customer’s needs?
Are these questions important? They most certainly are! However, these questions enable managers to facilitate only half of the conversation you need to have with your salespeople. While these questions certainly focus on results, they are also, for the most part, all closed-ended questions, providing no additional insight into the situations, facts, behavior or what was discussed.
You’re Having Half of a Conversation
Review these nine questions I listed. What are you really learning when you ask your salespeople these questions? You only succeed in uncovering their opinion around what’s been done (yes or no) and not necessarily how it’s been done.
Here’s the real cost incurred when asking these closed ended, result driven questions. The manager assumes their salespeople are emulating the best practices, knowledge and the behavior of world class sales champions – and so do their salespeople!
Where in this conversation are the questions that focus on who they are, what they know, their current skill-set, what their communication sounds like and how they actually do things?
Besides, how would you feel if you were asked these questions? In many cases, you are probably being asked them by your boss! Does it feel empowering or conversely, do some of these questions sound condescending?
Change Your Questions – Change the Outcome
Notice what happens when you become more of a process driven thinker. While these questions are in no particular order, be mindful of the spirit behind each question. Here are some examples of open ended questions that are truly open ended. That is, they don’t have your judgment, agenda or solution baked into them!
- How have you handled that situation before?
- What have you tried so far? How did you do that?
- What is their expectation of exceptional customer service?
- How does the customer define value and ROI?
- How did you respond when the customer pushed back on pricing?
- What steps can you take to resolve that?
- Walk me through the last conversation you had with that customer.
- What questions did you ask to qualify this opportunity?
- What are the titles and names of all the people involved in this decision?
- What did they tell you their decision making criteria was?
- What are the top concerns the prospect shared with you that could get in the way of earning their business?
- How did you confirm that your value proposition was perfectly aligned with their objectives and needs?
These are the questions that salespeople appreciate being asked. While they challenge people to assess and improve how they do things, they do so in a positive, rather than a confrontational way. These questions demonstrate that you actually have an interest in them. It shows that you’re not only focused on the results but on them, as well.
As you can see, beliefs certainly precede experiences. When you become someone who is more process driven, notice what happens to the quality of the questions you ask. Now, you have the power to positively impact the outcome of every conversation.
Sure, you manage data, however you develop people. Besides, if you keep focusing on the result, then nothing changes, including your people.
Alternatively, if you focus on change and growth, the byproduct is, you achieve what you want most; your business objectives, a strong bench of champions and future leaders, and your new competitive edge.
Photo Credit: Nick Wheeler (Edited by Keith Nerdin)
“How many calls did you make today?” <– I love asking this question. I've found it's generally the strongest leading indicator on both attitude and results.
While knowing how many calls a seller makes each day is
information that every manager certainly needs to know, I’m curious how this
question alone is a strong indicator on both attitude and results? After all,
if I ask a salesperson how many calls they made today, whether they give me a
number that meets expectations or a number that would demonstrate they aren’t
making the number of calls they need to make every day, the only information or
insight I’m getting from this question is a number – often a subjective one. At
this point, I have no idea what their attitude is around making calls. I also
have no idea about the quality of the calls they are making, who they are
calling, when they are calling, what they’re saying and how they are saying it.
So, a top producer and an underperformer can both make ten calls, yet both
yield different results, based on their attitude and skill set. Subsequently,
this makes the number of calls a seller makes subjective; unless each person on the sales
team is performing the exact same way, using the same approach, communication
style and messaging, which we know isn’t happening. This is why the only way a
manager could accurately assess the gap as to why the underperformer isn’t
generating the same results as a top performer is by listening to their calls
and observing them. Now, if I follow up with additional questions that are more
open ended, like the ones I’ve listed here in this article, only then would I
be able to uncover what the real gap or coaching opportunity is, as well as
their current attitude, mindset and how they think. If not, and I’m only
relying on the list of closed ended questions in this article, the reality the
manager creates that surrounds the situation and the manager’s assessment of
where the problem lies and what the root cause is will be fabricated using costly
assumptions, instead of the open ended, non-loaded questions that accurately assess
the real facts.
While knowing how many calls a seller makes each day is information that every manager certainly needs to know, I’m curious how this question alone is a strong indicator on both attitude and results?
After all, if I ask a salesperson how many calls they made today, whether they give me a number that meets expectations or a number that would demonstrate they aren’t making the number of calls they need to make every day, the only information or insight I’m getting from this question is a number – often a subjective one.
At this point, I have no idea what their attitude is around making calls. I also have no idea about the quality of the calls they are making, who they are calling, when they are calling, what they’re saying and how they are saying it. So, a top producer and an underperformer can both make ten calls, yet both yield different results, based on their attitude and skill set.
Subsequently, this makes the number of calls a seller makes subjective; unless each person on the sales team is performing the exact same way, using the same approach, communication style and messaging, which we know isn’t happening. This is why the only way a manager could accurately assess the gap as to why the underperformer isn’t generating the same results as a top performer is by listening to their calls and observing them.
Now, if I follow up with additional questions that are more open ended, like the ones I’ve listed here in this article, only then would I be able to uncover what the real gap or coaching opportunity is, as well as their current attitude, mindset and how they think.
If not, and I’m only relying on the list of closed ended questions in this article, the reality the manager creates that surrounds the situation and the manager’s assessment of where the problem lies and what the root cause is will be fabricated using costly assumptions, instead of the open ended, non-loaded questions that accurately assess the real facts. Maybe you were going down this path after asking that initial question? ;-)
I hate that question. #1 because it will take some sales people far less call to succeed than others, #2 When a sales person focuses on how many calls, some get tied up in that number and don’t listen. I’m not looking for dialers or appointment setters. I want my team to have quality conversations and find real opportunities! I give my team the freedom to make as many or as little as it takes. The ones who are truly driven to hit their numbers and over achieve know what they have to do, I shouldn’t have to ask them. For the ones not hitting their numbers, then you have to look at their daily routine and ask this question. We have two different reports #1 activities #2 useful activities! Useful activities include conversations and omits “left voicemail”, “sent email” or “left message with receptionists”. To me, those are useless activities.
I recognize that some individuals can achieve more by making less calls. But that’s what I mean by attitude. Just because you have hit your target in 10 calls, why not stay longer and break some records? Or have some other team members listen in on some extra calls?
Efficiency isn’t a good reason to diminish effort. And frankly, having excessively long calls (in my experience anyway) does not necessarily translate into “quality conversations.” Generally speaking, the best closers on my team have the shortest calls.
Those questions can be a nightmare for sales people, but you’re right about the response as it can be really indicative of the sales person’s attitude.
I’ve also found that asking awkward questions when interviewing for sales manager jobs as the responses and reaction you get as an interviewer can be indicative of the kind of sales person they will be.
According to me it is not the number of calls that they make it is the number of “Productive Calls” they make. These are the indicators of results and growth.
Bomi Doctor.
How very true! This is what separates the top producer from everyone else. However, in order to coach and develop your sales team to make more productive calls that translate into growth and greater success, every manager needs to have the answers to the following questions. How do you define what a “productive call” is in the first place? What are the best practices and messaging approach associated with a productive call? How does the salesperson and manager recognize a productive call ASIDE from the outcome of the call, and how do you replicate that?
Conversely, if it’s not a productive call, how do you coach that salesperson to change their approach in a way that actually results in a long term behavioral change? That’s why managers need to ask the additional questions I’ve shared in this article. Those questions stimulate growth, evolution and positive change.
Here’s what I give to my Inside Sales Team!
Top 30 Open
Ended Questions
Information
gathering
What prompted you/ your company to
look into this?
What are your expectations/ requirements for this product/ service?
What process did you go through to determine your needs?
How do you see this happening?
What is it that you’d like to see accomplished?
With whom have you had success in the past?
With whom have you had difficulties in the past?
Can you help me understand that a little better?
What does that mean?
How does that process work now?
What challenges does that process create?
What challenges has that created in the past?
What are the best things about that process?
What other items should we discuss?
Qualifying
What do you see as the next action
steps?
What is your timeline for implementing/ purchasing this type of service/
product?
What other data points should we know before moving forward?
What budget has been established for this?
What are your thoughts?
Who else is involved in this decision?
What could make this no longer a priority?
What’s changed since we last talked?
What concerns do you have?
Establishing
rapport, trust & credibility
How did you get involved in…?
What kind of challenges are you facing?
What’s the most important priority to you with this? Why?
What other issues are important to you?
What would you like to see improved?
How do you measure that?
Wow, Mike, thanks for sharing your list! What I love most about this list? There’s not one closed ended
It’s all in the coaching. As most good sales people know the best tool you have is your listening ability. These questions are simply designed to get a prospect talking. We deal with CRM. The best question I have my team ask is, “On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your current CRM?” In 4 years I have only heard a 10 twice. Anything less than a 10 and follow up with, “What would make it a 10?” There are your pain points! Help solve them!
“You only succeed in uncovering their opinion around what’s been done (yes or no) and not necessarily how it’s been done.”
And if you want them to get better you need to understand HOW they do their jobs. What tactics work the best and which ones seem to fail? Do certain patterns of behavior result in certain results? When you can better see how your team works you can help them work better.
These open ended questions, as well as the internal shift managers need to make in their thinking to become more process driven will certainly help the manager coach more effectively, providing them with a more realistic and accurate sense of how their direct reports actually perform and do their job.
Keep in mind, there are three distinct ways to uncover the gap, coaching moment or developmental opportunity.
1. Evaluation – (Data, reports, activity, analytics, etc.)
2. Conversation – (Coaching)
3. Observation
Here’s an article I’ve written that goes into great detail about the importance of observation, as well as how to observe and deliver feedback in a way that people would be open to hearing it, which actually results in positive behavioral changes.
https://keithrosen.com/2009/07/managers-dont-know-what-their-people-are-doing-powerful-observation-techniques-to-better-coach-your-team-to-excel/
If consistent observation isn’t already part of your company culture and rhythm of business, then it’s the manager’s responsibility to take the time to create alignment and buy-in with each of their direct
reports around the importance of observation.
The fact is, if you’re not observing your people when performing their job and interact with customers and peers, then you have no idea what they’re really doing.