CULTIVATING COACHES

This Article Is Excerpted From

“15 Hot Tips That Will Supercharge Your Sales Career”

Hardly any flag was ever planted without help. When explorers would arrive in new lands, one of the first things that they would do – before sending word to the king or queen, before gathering riches or even naming some place after themselves – is find a native guide.

From Columbus and Coronado to Lewis and Clark, every conqueror and conquistador along the way relied on locals to help them find their way in a new place. For these explorers, having someone around who knew the lay of the land wasn’t just a convenience, it meant the difference between living and dying. Guides could communicate and negotiate with tribes and villagers, tell them what was safe to eat, or give valuable warnings like ‘that swamp is filled with alligators.’ With the right introduction, you were the guest of honor at a grand feast. Without it, you might find yourself as the main course. Your sales career is no different; it’s good to have someone who knows where the alligators are.

Let me give you an example from my own career. Brooke Sykes used to work for a company that I did a series of training sessions for, dating back more than a dozen years. He had been with this particular firm more than 35 years, and knew the ins and outs like the back of his hand. No department, no product area, no relationship within the firm was outside of his knowledge.

As I worked with Brooke, he began to help me understand the intricacies of his organization. Time and again, he steered me toward the right person to sign off on a project, showed me who to call to be sure I could get the equipment I’d need for my presentation, or where to direct my invoices. His help made my relationship with this firm easier than it would have otherwise been. There is no way that I, as an outside salesperson, would have been able to figure out how such a large company ticked on my own. But through his assistance, I delivered dozens of programs to hundreds of their people over the years. It was a natural win-win for both of us. I continued to get more work, while Brooke was credited with having the foresight to bring in quality training for the staff. From working with Brooke, I learned the importance of having a local on your side.

When facing a large group, don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Within every company you work with, or want to work with, there is someone who is intimately familiar with its inner workings. Look for a person who can show you the ropes and guide you in the right direction. These are the people who know the people, and can point the way. Cultivate coaches from your customers.

What makes a good coach?

For starters, they must have a deep knowledge of the group or company that you’re trying to infiltrate. They need to be connected and know the people that you will sell to, the people who will ultimately decide whether or not to buy from you.

It also helps if they’re respected within the organization. This is just good common sense. After all, you’re going to be counting on your coach to suggest you for future work, and any recommendation that they make for you is going to be exactly as strong as their reputation. If their colleagues think that they do a great job and generally make good decisions, then they’ll probably listen when your coach sings your praises. On the other hand, if your coach is better known for sleeping at his desk than he is for spotting talent, his word might not get you very far. Make sure that your coach has a good reputation, or you might find that yours will suffer as well.

How do you find a coach?

In the beginning, you’ll have to work hard to come up with coaches. When you’re new to your prospects, no one knows you or likes you. But keep reaching out, and eventually you will start to make contacts. Cultivating coaches is different than prospecting or customer service. Instead of digging around for new prospects, you’re just trying to establish a better relationship with customers that you already know and like.

Most coaches come from satisfied customers.

Think about the people you do business with. Are there any that you connect with especially well? Do you consider them to be friends as well as clients? If they’re known and respected within their company or industry, they’re probably a good candidate. As your career moves along, you should take special care to build these relationships. Work with your clients and show them that you’re willing to go the extra mile.

Make it easy for them to like and respect you as well. It might take dozens of calls and lunches, but it’s worth the effort. The more coaches you have in your corner, the easier your life will become.

Having a coach in an organization can make all of the difference. When the discussion comes around on what to purchase or whose services to use, the squeaky wheel will indeed often get the grease. Put another way, in any group decision, it is often the person who wants it the most who will get their way. If your coach believes in you and your work, they will not only be a strong endorsement, but one coming from a voice that is known and respected by his or her coworkers. From there, it should be easy for you to break in and make a sale.

A good coach can not only get you in the door, but can also help you leverage your way into multiple sales and a long-term relationship with a company.

They can even move you along into new ground and introduce you to more clients. The wonderful thing about people who are connected is that they tend to be connected beyond their own walls. When someone has been working in the same company or industry for a long time, they are bound to come into contact with suppliers, competitors and even their own customers – all groups of people that might be interested in buying from you on the recommendation of a friend.

To cultivate your coaches, rely on steady communication. When they meet with you, whether it’s in person or over the phone, listen carefully to what they say. Get to know them and their interests, both at work and away. Make a phone call or take them out to lunch. Keep an open eye for anything you see that might interest them. If you come across a book or article that you think could help them do their jobs better, pass it along. If you discover something new in their business, let them know. Don’t be annoying, but become a valuable source of information while letting them know that you appreciate the time and input that you’ve received.

Early in my sales career, I learned a trick that’s served me well. If I read something that seemed unique or interesting, I forwarded it to the coaches on my list. If it was an article, I made copies and sent them. If it was a book, I bought multiple copies and sent those. This simple act only took a few minutes here and there, but it was a steady reminder that I wanted to work with my coaches and wanted them to share in my success.

Why Would Someone Help You?

You might be wondering why a coach would take the time to help you. It’s basic psychology at work.

There is a simple and innate need for people to want to help others. If your coaches know you and like you, they’re going to want to give you a hand. This is, of course, dependent on doing strong work. All of the reminders, and all of the lunches in the world, won’t be able to help you if you don’t treat your job like a profession or do sloppy work. As always, quality and hard work are a salesperson’s best friends. Give your coaches a chance to brag about your performance and you’ll go a long way toward opening new doors.

Cultivating coaches shouldn’t be a one-way street. Just as your coaches can help you, be willing to help them as well. More than anything, you want your coach to succeed. When you do good work for them, they in turn look good to their peers for having made a smart decision. If they recommend you to some one else, give 110 percent. Let your coach look like a hero for making the good call. The praise that they’ll receive will be motivation to recommend you again.

In addition, your coach might move on to a higher position. The farther they go, the greater their influence and decision-making responsibilities will be, meaning more work for you. Besides, any relationship should be give and take. If someone is willing to put in the time and effort to help your career, do the right thing and help them, too.

All of this might sound familiar to you, and it should. It’s very close to the concept of relationship selling – the idea that people like to do business with people that they know. There is a feeling that after decades of use in companies around the world, relationship selling is dead. The modern competitive age killed it, they say, now it’s all about the product, the price, and the bottom line.

Those people are only half right. The old days, if they ever existed, when you could take a customer out on the town and make sales by showing him a good time, are gone forever. Your skills and products must be able to stand on their own. If your customers don’t see the value in what you’re selling, they’ll look elsewhere for lower prices, and if you don’t deliver, the best relationship in the world won’t matter. But in this competitive world we live in, relationships are more important than they ever were. When your clients like you and trust you to give them quality work at a fair price, then you’ll be able to circumvent the competition before it gets in the door.

Become the Trusted Adviser

The modern world hasn’t killed relationship selling it’s enhanced it. Cultivate coaches and take care of their needs – it’s a simple way to give yourself a raise while making your job easier. When you move into a coaching relationship, you move beyond selling. You and your client are in it together. The normal trials and objections are replaced with trust. You become sounding boards and confidants to one another. You no longer have to beat each other up over prices and terms, because you can be confident that you’re looking out for each other. Isn’t that what every salesperson, and every client, should be aiming for?

You don’t have to do anything unusual to cultivate coaches. Instead, you should just make a point to do what comes naturally – doing great work for people you like, and then keeping in touch with them.

Coaches are just lifetime allies, mentors and friends. Remember that, and the rest will take care of itself. When you connect with a customer beyond the sale you are moving into a coaching relationship. It just starts with doing a great job. When you exceed your customer’s expectations and they are one hundred percent satisfied with your product or service, you have planted a seed that can grow from customer to coach.