How can Sales Coaches identify the root cause of a problem?

Here are five coaching questions that will make your sellers think. 1. What part of this outcome do you need to own. 2. Is "this" based on perception or actual data? 3. When and where are emotions affecting your ability to execute? 4. Where could you have demonstrated more empathy on your previous three sales meetings? 5. What selling scenario affects your ability to be assertive?

Here are ten great coaching questions to use in any conversation. 1-What is the outcome you’re looking to achieve here? 2-What have you tried so far? 3-How have you handled something like this before? 4-Why do you think this is happening? 5-What else can also be possible/true? 6-What assumptions could you be making here?) 7-If you couldn’t use that excuse anymore, how would you move forward to achieve your goal? 8-What’s your opinion on how to handle this? 9-What’s the first thing you need to do to (resolve/achieve this)? 9-What are you willing to commit to doing/trying/changing (by when)? 10-When would it make sense for us reconnect to ensure you have achieved the result you want?

As a leader you must actively practice authenticity, vulnerableness and trust so that when you have these types of conversations the individual feels psychologically safe. Rarely ever should you take the first answer at face value, in order to dig deeper you can reiterate the conversation is a safe space. One in which you can allow the individuals to feel safe while being vulnerable as you "peel back the onion" to try and get to root cause of the situation.

The best way to figure out exactly what a sales person is doing wrong is to be able to take part and listen in on actual sales calls that they make. During this time, I am able to take notes as to what they are doing wrong but more importantly, as to what they are doing, right.

Seeking to learn and understand others business and role alone is a great approach. Questions about what measures their success, what problems must be solved, or what the "business" is asking for most clearly. Asking open ended questions is about seeking to understand which is powerful.

1) Make Problem Statement 2) Draft in Excel Sheet the 5 Why's in Column or Make Google online form 3) Share to entire Sales team 4) Ask Sales team to fill the same within Deadline. 5) Analyse the Answers in last column i.e. 5th Why, this is scope of improvement. Mostly it will be showing problem in the Sales Behviour like 1) Lack of knowledge / Technical Suport required 2) No. of average visit / Lack of penetration in territory 3) Asking too many closed questions and loosing on opportunities. 4) USP of product, Differentiation from competition and the best answer is Sales person himself knows, he is the best coach, but by the time he is filling the Excel/Form, he knows the Answer. Use this method for internal improvements.

Contrary to popular opinion, this is not a technique I'd use or encourage. Questions beginning with 'why' will put team members on the defensive, hindering open communication. Just replace 'why' with almost anything else. E.g., 'What challenges are you facing?' or 'How can we improve our value proposition communication?' This shifts the focus from blame to solutions. It’s about creating an environment for honest insights and practical solutions, not something that feels like an interrogation.

Never use the word "why" when speaking with those who you're teaching (and for customers as well). The word "why" is an attack work that puts people on the defensive. They will not give you the answers you need. Opening a dialogue works better, and berating someone with why why why why will drive a wedge you don't need. Try these: "What was the process behind making that decision?" "What do you feel will get you to this specific goal?" "What do you feel went wrong with that deal? What can you do, and I do to not let that happen again?"

These are Lean six sigma approaches to solve the problem. If you are minimum Yellow Belt Certified, you already know and will be implementing in day to day to solve your problems. Its wonderful technique, uses more brain storming exercise to know the possible heads impacting the outcomes and the one which is not in control and in scope can be worked out for improvement. Its a visual tool to identify the potential causes and categorise them innto major contributing factors. it can be used invidually or collalboratively with the Coachee.

Assumptions are the DEMISE of coaching, selling, communication and relationships and the leading cause of organizational problems! One of the core principles of coaching is, in every conversation, you're either ASSESSING or ASSUMING the facts. That's why the best leaders lead every conversation with questions to gather the facts, rather than lead with answers, and assume them.

Testing our running assumptions is essential. I have found it to be an easy to habit to not only have running assumptions but also ask the same people for feedback. I am finding a real value in seeking new in different voices who can provide perspectives that have yet to be fully considered.

I strongly discourage you from assuming anything when coaching someone. Assumption is the mother of all screwups, so stay away from it. Coaching is about building capacity, by opening up the mind of the mentee to different possibilities. How can you do that when you go in with fixed notions about the problem? Instead, collect and analyze data before you sit down with the mentee. This will give you a good idea of the output at various stages of the process. During the initial interview and subsequent sessions, you can drill down to find the underlying causes for the problems you identify through data analysis.

In coaching, you start with awareness. Sometimes the person being coached has an awareness of what they need to change. But other times, you may have to bring an awareness to a change they may need to make, even though they may not commit to making the change. You might also try to discern if the challenge is a mindset issue, a problem executing, or some fear that prevents the person being coached to make a behavioral change that would improve their results. It's also important to allow the person being coached to make their own plan, only giving suggestions after they run out of ideas, and even then, ask permission to provide additional ideas they might consider.

1) Observe behavior: Pay attention to nonverbal cues and actions for hidden insights. 2) Actively listen: Give your coachee your full attention and acknowledge their feelings. 3) Build trust: Establish a safe and supportive environment for open communication. 4) Seek feedback: Ask your coachee for their perspective and confirm your understanding. 5) Collaborate on solutions: Partner with your coachee to develop a plan to address the root cause. Here, Empathy is key to success and strenghten the organisation.

Driving clarity of what defines success and what is required to achieve that goal can't be overstated. It is common to work "more" or frantically. Yet, driving clearly at a goal, and having that goal well resourced, most often produces the desired results.

The best coaches have 1. many years of personal sales experience, 2. many years of self reflection and analysis, looking at root causes and keystones of success , 3. many years coaching and leading sales people Why? To get to a root cause, it could be 1. mindset 2. Strategy or 3. Tactics. Most coaches know tactics or strategy. Few focus on the whole person, including mindset. Why is this so important? Because selling involves psychology, motivation, resilience, growth mindsets. And burnout, fear, lack of motivation can be the root cause of poor performance.

As a sales coach THE only way to fully understand how a salesperson is interacting with prospects and/or clients, is to observe, listen AND ideally record live calls. I’ve been working with salespeople for over 40 years and in general, what they say they do, and what they actually do are two different things. Sales coaching that does not involve ‘live observation’ is NOT sales coaching! On a separate note, in my experience salespeople hate to be coached. They find the experience frustrating and in some cases infuriating! They don’t have time for your coaching session, they just want answers and ideas that they can try immediately! Mentoring is therefore a far more powerful tool to improve sales performance.