Why Your Sales Strategy Might Need a Coach, Not a Closer

Julie, a Career Coach, was excited about her new coaching program. She had started to have sales calls with potential clients, but not having much luck enrolling new clients into it. Although she was certain that the program would provide powerful results for her clients, every sales call with potential clients was ending in either “No,” or “Sounds great, but not right now.” Feeling discouraged and a bit burnt out from calls, Julie wondered if would benefit more from sales coaching or having someone else do sales calls for her.

Since my coaching is focused primarily on converting sales, I admit I am biased. I believe you can always benefit from sales coaching. However, to make a proper recommendation we have to examine which expertise would serve Julie best.

Deciding whether to hire a sales coach or a sales representative is similar to determining whether you need a personal trainer to prepare for a marathon or someone to run the race on your behalf. Both play crucial roles in your business’s growth, but they bring different benefits to the table depending on your current needs and long-term goals.

When to Hire a Sales Coach

A Sales Coach, like a personal trainer, will help you to refine your techniques, build your skills, and enhance your overall performance. It's the right move if:

• You want to strengthen your existing skills. Just as a trainer identifies weak points in your form or strategy to improve your running time, a sales coach can pinpoint areas where your sales process may be losing money and offer strategies to ensure all revenue gaps are closed to keep the cash flow flowing. You're looking for sustainable growth. A coach offers tools, strategies, and insights that foster long-term success. They help build a robust foundation, much like training your body to prevent injuries and improve endurance over time.
• You need a customized sales process. Hiring a sales coach to design a customized sales process for your service-based business highlights your expertise, transforming it into a streamlined, effective sales strategy. This personalized approach enhances client conversion rates, positions your knowledge and services as indispensable solutions, and ultimately drives sustainable business growth.

When to Hire a Sales Representative

On the other hand, hiring a Sales Representative is like adding a seasoned runner to your relay team. They take the baton for a leg of the race, driving immediate results through their efforts. Consider a sales rep when:

• You need to increase your sales volume quickly. If your business is ready for growth but your clientele is at capacity, a skilled sales rep can hit the ground running, bringing in new business and relieving pressure.
• Your team lacks expertise in a specific area. Just as a marathon runner brings endurance to a relay race that sprinters might not, a sales rep with experience in a particular industry or with certain products can fill a crucial gap in your team’s expertise.
• You’re expanding into new markets. Entering uncharted territory can be daunting. A sales rep with experience in that market can navigate these new waters more efficiently than your current team might be able to on its own.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

Regardless of which route you choose, keep an eye out for the red flags that might signal a mismatch:

• Lack of relevant experience. Whether it’s a coach without a proven track record of increasing sales or a representative unfamiliar with the coaching or consulting industry, the lack of relevant experience can hinder (or hurt) your progress.
• Misalignment of approach. A reliance on cookie-cutter or overly aggressive sales techniques by a coach or sales rep that don't align with your communication style or values won't stand the test of time. If they fail to consider the essence of who you are and how you naturally engage, it could alienate your client base and detract from the authenticity that sets your service apart. A mismatch here can cause friction and disrupt your brand, processes, and progress.
• Overpromising results. If a coach guarantees to double your sales in an unrealistic timeframe (6 figures in a month, anyone?), or a sales rep claims they can single-handedly break into a new market in a month, take a step back. These promises often fall flat.

Making the Decision

Ultimately, whether you choose a sales coach or a sales rep depends on where you are in your business journey and where you want to go. In Julie’s case, launching a new program at a higher price point with inconsistent leads didn’t offer the best timing for outsourcing her calls since sales reps rely on consistent leads and proven results.

Before hiring a sales representative, I suggested she get comfortable selling the program herself until she makes consistent sales. This allows her to understand the types of clients that make the best fit for the program. She would also better grasp the most common objections and the results experienced by her clientele.

Once she proves her sales process is solid, increases the consistency of leads, and is enrolling clients with ease, hiring a sales representative will be timely.?

Before hiring someone to help you with sales, think about which gaps in your sales process may be slowing down your sales first. If you don’t have a steady flow of yeses, tune into my next live session, “Selling Transformation: High Value Sales Strategies for Coaches”, tomorrow April 4th, at 2 pm ET, where I will share how to increase your clients, confidence, and cash flow by selling high value programs with ease.

Register here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/sellingtransformation-highvalue7181042483500351490/theater/