When Should Sales Leaders Teach Reps to Fish—vs. Simply Reel in the Catch?
As sales leaders, it's easy to fall into the trap of telling your reps what to do or even doing the work for them. Sometimes it's because you genuinely want them to succeed, and other times, it's because you have targets to hit.
However, this “helicopter support” not only stunts your team's growth and undermines their confidence but also ends up costing you more in the long run.
Tips You Can Use Today
Great sales leaders don't intervene to save the day; instead, they empower their reps to manage the deal themselves and guide them every step of the way.
Here’s what you can do to identify areas where your guidance is needed:
Look for early warning signs
When a deal starts to head off track, you’ll see signals such as repeated requests for information, delays in scheduling meetings, or extended periods of no communication.
Here's how to spot red flags early:
??Pay close attention to deal stages, communication logs, and activity metrics in your CRM. This data can help you identify deals that seem stalled.
??Establish clear benchmarks for each stage of the sales process. Deviations from these benchmarks can indicate potential problems that require your support.
Be aware of the communication breakdowns
Effective communication is crucial at every deal stage. Look for indicators like the prospect's questions suggesting the rep hasn't fully grasped their needs?or effectively delivered the value proposition.
Here's how to identify potential communication breakdowns:
??Listen to call recordings and review email exchanges to assess the communication flow.
??Simulate potential scenarios with your reps to hone in on communication gaps and areas for improvement.
??Encourage reps to share any challenges they face with prospects. This allows you to provide coaching before the deal suffers.
If the deal falls apart at the last minute despite no previous signs of trouble, you'll either take charge or let your reps seize that learning opportunity.
The decision you make will depend on whether the rep is new or experienced, whether the deal is small or large, and whether the closing issue was unforeseen or a missed opportunity.
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ICYMI (in case you missed it)
In the episode with David Kreiger on the Sell Like A Leader Podcast , Mark Hunter shares, “I said, ‘When do you spend the majority of your time with salespeople?’ And it was always closing the deal. And I go, ‘Stop. That's the wrong time.’ Because if all you do is show up to close the deal, you're telling the salesperson they can't do their job. Nothing will turn salespeople off faster than a sales manager who comes in and saves the day.
I get it — there were times that I had to step in and save it because I had to deliver a number, and if I didn't deliver that number, I wasn't going to be around. But then there are other times I said, ‘Wait a minute, I gotta let this one go because this is going to be a coaching moment. I know we're going to be better off long term.’”
Listen to the episode here:
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