Who sales coaching suits
Coaching can help sellers, partners and advisers who want to improve their client conversations. It can also help sales managers give more useful feedback and run better deal reviews.
Individual and team coaching
Individual sessions allow time for a person's own opportunities and development needs. Team sessions let colleagues discuss deals together and compare approaches. Manager coaching focuses on how the leader reviews work and supports the people selling.
Sales coaching, powered by RAIN Group
Training and coaching are delivered under licence from RAIN Group, a sales training and performance improvement firm. Christopher Carey is a RAIN Group Certified Facilitator and delivers the programme personally, so the person running the sessions also understands your business, your pipeline and your competitive position. RAIN Group reports that its curriculum has been used by hundreds of thousands of salespeople, managers and professionals in more than 96 countries.
The curriculum is built from a library of more than 85 modular learning blocks covering core and advanced consultative selling, strategic account management, prospecting, negotiation, winning major sales, sales management and coaching for accountability. A programme is assembled from these blocks to match the roles in your team rather than following a fixed course.
Delivery combines pre-work and micro-learning, live virtual or in-person sessions focused on practice and feedback, on-the-job application assignments and structured coaching to hold the change in place. A 90-Day Sales Achievement Challenge follows the training so that new skills become habits rather than a one-off event.
Because the same person delivers the training and advises on the business, the programme can sit within a broader engagement. A win/loss review can identify where the gaps are first, and account tiering, partnership strategy or client experience work can be combined with it where relevant.
Planning the sessions
Agree the format, frequency and preparation at the start. Bring the relevant deal information and a clear question to each session. Record the next action, then review what happened when you meet again.
What you can work on
- Preparing for discovery conversations and asking useful follow-up questions.
- Deciding which opportunities deserve more time.
- Understanding who will make the buying decision.
- Explaining the value of the work and discussing fees.
- Agreeing next steps with clients.
- Giving feedback and reviewing opportunities as a sales manager.
Choosing the right support
A group that needs a shared approach may benefit from training. Coaching helps people apply and refine that approach. If the cause of a sales problem is unclear, a process review may be the better starting point.
Checking progress
Agree a few measures relevant to the work. These could include the quality of qualification, the proportion of deals with agreed next steps or proposal conversion. Review results alongside changes in the market and the mix of opportunities.
Fees and timing
Sessions run for one hour, usually two or three per month. A programme is typically around ten sessions, depending on the size and dynamics of the team. Coaching is charged at $300 per hour excluding GST and purchased in blocks of five hours, so a block starts from $1,500. The proposal confirms the format, the number of sessions and the fee.
Questions about coaching
Can coaching follow a workshop?
Yes. Follow-up sessions can help participants apply workshop material to their own opportunities. Include this in the programme scope.
Can we start with one person or one team?
Discuss the person or group you have in mind with Christopher. The starting point should match the need and the time available.
Do sessions need to be in person?
Discuss in-person and online options when arranging the engagement. The format should suit the participants and the work.
Discuss sales coaching
Email Christopher with a short description of your business and what you need help with. Arrange a conversation.