Training and coaching are often used interchangeably when it comes to sales development, but in reality, they serve quite different purposes. Understanding the key distinctions between the two can help you make better decisions for supporting and improving the performance of your sales team.
Let's take a deeper look at when you should opt for sales training versus sales coaching.
When Sales Training Makes the Most Sense:
There are several scenarios where sales training is the more appropriate and effective solution:
1. Quick Fixes and Immediate Results
Sometimes your sales team just needs a quick boost to address a specific issue and drive better results fast. Sales training is perfect for these types of situations. It allows you to provide your reps with new techniques and strategies that can lead to quicker improvements. For example, if your team is struggling to reach prospects through non-traditional channels, a targeted training session on prospecting tactics could give them the shot in the arm they need.
2. Introducing New Methodologies
Implementing a new sales framework or methodology across your organization? Formal training is essential for ensuring your team understands the new process and how to properly apply it. Whether you're rolling out MEDDIC, Challenger, or another sales methodology, training helps get everyone on the same page quickly.
3. Boosting Product and Market Knowledge
Gaps in product, market, or competitor knowledge can significantly hinder sales performance. Training is the best way to efficiently fill those knowledge gaps. Through in-person sessions or online courses, you can provide your reps with the information they need to have more informed, valuable conversations with prospects.
4. Addressing Universal Weaknesses
If your entire sales team is struggling with a specific weakness - such as negotiating multi-year contracts - group training can be an effective solution. This one-size-fits-all approach allows you to tackle a common issue across the board in a streamlined manner.
5. Short-Term Solutions
Training works well for problems that can be resolved in one or two sessions. If the underlying issue doesn't require ongoing support or reinforcement, training provides the quick fix you need.
When Sales Coaching Is the Better Approach:
While training has its place, there are many scenarios where sales coaching is the superior choice.
1. Deeper Issues and Long-Term Development
Sales coaching comes into play when the problems you're addressing aren't quick fixes. If your team is dealing with more fundamental issues like inconsistent results or missed quotas, coaching offers the sustained support needed to drive meaningful, long-term improvement. Coaches can dig deeper to uncover root causes and work with reps over time to build the skills and behaviors required for success.
2. Improving Execution
You may have already provided your team with training on a new sales methodology, but they're still struggling to execute it effectively in the real world. This is where coaching shines. Coaches can work hands-on with reps, observing their sales interactions and providing personalized feedback to help them apply what they've learned.
3. Developing Selling Skills and Behaviours
Skills and behaviors take consistent practice to develop. Unlike simply imparting knowledge through training, coaching provides the ongoing guidance, feedback, and reinforcement reps need to truly hone their selling abilities over time. Whether it's learning to ask tough questions or building a stronger prospecting cadence, coaching ensures these critical skills become second nature.
4. Addressing Individual Weaknesses
Each member of your sales team has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Coaching allows you to provide personalized support tailored to the specific needs of each individual rep. Whether it's helping one rep overcome their aversion to prospecting or working with another to improve their ability to handle objections, coaching tackles problems on a case-by-case basis.
5. Sustained, Meaningful Change
Lasting change in sales performance doesn't happen overnight - it requires consistent work and reinforcement over an extended period of time. Just like you can't get fit with a couple of gym sessions, meaningful skill development and behavior change in sales come from ongoing, dedicated coaching. It's about building the habits and capabilities that truly stick.
Putting It All Together
Both sales training and sales coaching have an important role to play in developing a successful sales team. The key is understanding which approach is better suited for the specific challenges and needs you're trying to address.
Training is great for quick fixes, introducing new methodologies, boosting knowledge, resolving universal weaknesses, and providing short-term solutions. Coaching, on the other hand, is better suited for tackling deeper issues, improving execution, developing long-term skills and behaviours, addressing individual weaknesses, and driving sustained, meaningful change.
So, the next time you're faced with a decision about how to support your sales team's growth, think carefully about what they really need. Is it a quick adjustment or a more fundamental shift? Something that can be accomplished in one or two sessions, or an ongoing process of skill development and behaviour change?
Answering these questions will help you determine whether sales training or sales coaching is the right approach. And by making informed decisions that leverage the unique strengths of each method, you'll be well on your way to unlocking your team's full potential.
Still on the fence? Book a call with us to share some ideas around whether coaching is the best approach for your team.
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