Assessment vs. Top Performers

After working with 500,000 salespeople and 10,000 of their coaches, we have come up with a representative list of top sales coach best practices. Read through the following assessment and rate your or your coach’s performance in each of the behaviors that top sales coaches demonstrate consistently. If you are a sales coach, rank yourself; if you are a salesperson, rank the person that leads your team. Designate each area a 3= Excellent, 2 = Meets Expectations, or 1 = Poor.

• ____Enthusiasm—You (or your coach) have a positive attitude, are optimistic, and believe in your people and yourself. The room gets brighter when you enter it, not when you leave it.
• ____People skills—You communicate succinctly, are perceived as friendly, a good listener, and as one who establishes trust and credibility quickly.
• ____Organization/planning—You plan your work and work your plan; You operate in an organized manner and have systems and processes in place to do your job. Others know what to expect from you, and this gives them the ability to execute.
• ____Goal setting meetings—You conduct consistent and meaningful one-on-one goal-setting meetings with members of your sales team to monitor the progress of mutually agreed-upon action plans. You and your salespeople can track their professional development, as a result of these meetings.
• ____Training—You are effective at teaching others to do the job, so that they perform at a high level.
• ____Follow up—You check in on a consistent basis and deliver the appropriate type of feedback that holds people accountable and keeps people moving toward their goals in a positive way.
• ____Coaching in the Crunch—You lead from the trenches by doing the job with your people on real prospects and customers and can comfortably play the role of leader, supporter, or observer on sales calls and/or over the phone.
• ____Team meetings—You conduct consistent meetings that people are motivated to attend, that incorporate recognition, and that leave people inspired to hit their goals.
• ____Knowledge—You know the products, the market, technical information, prospects and customers, and the industry so that your people can use you as a resource that instills confidence in all team members.
• ____Flexibility—You are able to adapt to manage top performers and underperformers, different personalities, and through changes in the market and industry.

Add up your score. If you scored a 30 or higher you either need to: A) draw an extra line, write “Humility” next to the line, and write a “1” next to it; or B) polish up on your math skills. If you scored:

24-29 Wow! We could’ve used your help writing this book. You will love reading more because doing so will give you the validation that you are doing a lot of the right things, and you will pick up a few new ideas to implement very easily.

17-23 Fantastic! You’ve probably been a sales coach for a while and/or you’ve had some effective coaches yourself. This book will help you refine skills and habits so that you perform at the highest levels.

10-16 Alrighty then! There’s only one direction to go from here. You may want to get a few copies of this book because you are going to want to read it more than once. Begin implementing the best practices from this book one at a time and watch your confidence and results soar!