It has been estimated that there are more than 18 million sales professionals worldwide, and only a small number of coaches who are specially trained to increase sales. As more and more businesses are started each year, and as coaching continues to rise in popularity, it is likely that a greater number of sales professionals will seek coaching in order to maximize income and become top performers in their company or group.

The coaching relationship is one of peers, and, as such, both members have an equal responsibility for the success of the partnership. While the Coach may possess certain special training or knowledge, his/her primary role is to help the Client understand and overcome all internal and external blocks to success. There are certain traits that Clients possess, and cultivate, which makes them more likely to attain their goals via working with a Coach.

Clients who receive the most benefit from sales coaching possess the following traits:

1. They are open minded and approach success from a “lateral perspective”.
   Clients who are open to changing their thoughts and behaviors are good prospects for sales coaching. These Clients are ones who are aware that their current approach is not working well, and they are open to learning new strategies and techniques to attain their goals. These Clients also understand that, sometimes, they need to build on “lateral” successes (successes they create, but which don’t seem to be directly related to the goal), in order to create the positive momentum necessary for long-term success.
   
   For example: Brian is a chiropractor who wants to gain 40 clients within the next two months. Brian has tried traditional advertising and marketing, but has not seen the return he hoped for. He is quite good at attracting prospects to his office, but few of them actually agree to try his services, and, of those that do, even fewer return for the second appointment. Brian’s first thought was to spend even more money on advertising and marketing, but he realized that, perhaps, there was a better way. He decided to work with a sales coach in this process, and, together, he and the sales coach refined his personal presentation and the way in which he shared information with prospects. Some of this refinement included image consultation- Brian needed to dress a bit differently to attract his ideal client, and he upgraded parts of his office environment. His willingness to harness the power of “lateral” success helped him build a full and busy practice very quickly after making a few small adjustments. Now, he operates a referral based business, and doesn’t spend extra dollars on advertising or direct marketing. Being open-minded and willing to try new ideas was a crucial element in Brian’s success.
   
   
2. Clients who benefit from sales coaching are willing to dedicate the time and effort to become masters of their craft.
   Clients who benefit the most from sales coaching are those who are willing to study, learn, try, re-learn, and try again. They are motivated to find out what makes top performers different, and are willing to adopt some of these powerful success strategies. They are passionate about gaining skill, and are clear about the benefits of being masterful at relationship based sales. They feel excited and challenged by their goal and are able to maintain a consistent approach in achieving what they desire.
   
   For example: One arena that sales coaching may focus on is that of sharing information- powerfully and effectively- with interested prospects. A sales coach will work with the Client to help him/her develop authentic, integrity- based responses to concerns (both spoken and unspoken) which prospects might raise. As you know, all the knowledge in the world will not help if it is not applied- so the Clients who get the most out of sales coaching are those who are willing to take in the information, try it out as soon as possible, and to keep working with it- tweaking it, refining it- until it works perfectly for them.
   
   
3. Clients who benefit from sales coaching are comfortable with influencing others.
   The majority of successful sales professionals are quite comfortable with influencing and persuading others. They like acquiring knowledge and sharing it with others. They are focused on helping others- assisting them in recognizing the values and benefits of a particular product or service. They feel comfortable in offering suggestions, advice, opinions, as appropriate.
   
   For example: Maureen is a (now) successful direct sales person for a line of kitchenware. She is passionate about the company she works with, and truly enjoys learning about new products and finding creative ways to share her knowledge. She asks thoughtful questions of her customers- finding out how they cook, what they cook, what they dislike about cooking, etc…and uses this knowledge to influence their buying decision. As Maureen shares her knowledge and expertise, her base of satisfied customers becomes larger and larger. So, in order to be successful in sales coaching, the Client must be comfortable becoming an expert, and influencing others through this expertise.
   
   
4. Clients who benefit most from sales coaching are those who enjoy and respect the
   process of selling.
   It might sound a bit strange, but, very often, sales people have mixed feelings about sales and selling. For example, some sales professionals are reluctant to identify themselves as sales people, fearing that this will conjure up an image of some pushy, obnoxious, used car salesman. If a sales person- in any industry- can not speak of what they do with pride and enjoyment; is it any wonder that s/he does not experience successful selling?
   
   For example: Todd sells long term care insurance. At a time when the population of Baby Boomers is aging, and at a time when the long-term viability of Social Security has been questioned, it is curious that Todd was not more successfully selling his product. Through sales coaching, Todd recognized that he was ambivalent about selling insurance- that he wasn’t comfortable with some aspects of the product, and, thus, could not convince himself (or others!) that it was worth purchasing. After some deliberation and discussion, Todd decided that he needed to get more information in order to feel better about selling this type of insurance. He took it upon himself to contact other companies and find out why their salespeople loved selling long-term care insurance, and, in doing so, he found a whole list of reasons why this was such an important product to sell. As he became more comfortable and more convinced, he was able to help his customers reach the same level of comfort and conviction. So, clearly, being comfortable with selling, both on the inside, and the outside, was crucial to Todd’s success.

Dr. Rachna D. Jain is a Certified Sales & Guerrilla Marketing coach. She can be reached on the web at http://www.salesandmarketingcoach.com.

Latest articles published on the topic : "Selling on the Web" Ecommerce Packages A Quick Way To Compare Merchant Accounts Senior Internet Users And E-Commerce Should You Get A Merchant Account, Or Not? How can I find the right Host Provider and Merchant Account Solution E-Commerce Education For the New Internet Business Entrepreneur Credit card processing in any business Merchant Accounts To Sell Ebooks Upgrading Your Online Shopping Cart – 31 Benefits Your Next Shopping Cart Should How to Sell Products Online

	Web WorkOnInternet.com