4. Coaching Toolkit
Introduction to the coaching toolkit
A series of ongoing coaching modules for you and your team
5. Module One
Setting the inside sales context OPEN
Module duration: 1 hour
Equipment: Flipcharts, music
This module can be adapted to an opening specific to a campaign
Prepare an opening for Microsoft
What are the 3 key benefits?
Tell them, tell them again, tell them what you told them, ask them
Deliver key core statement full of benefits not features
TIP! Play some lively background music to enhance the creativity of the team
in this exercise
6. Module Two
Overcoming gatekeepers OPEN
Module duration: 30 mins
Equipment: none
Team member to lead discussion on top ten tips to get past
gatekeepers
Each member of the team to share a funny story of how and when
they have been ‘blocked’ in the past
TIP! Make this as fun and upbeat as possible!
7. Module Three PRESENT POSITION
Present position PROBE
Module duration: 30 mins + discussion time
Equipment: sheets of paper to create call observation
sheets and a tape recorder with play back facilities
“It’s better to understand than be understood”
Place your team – into pairs
Delegate A is asked to think of a topic or hobby they are interested
in – their task is to persuade delegate B to take up this hobby or
new interest. Record the conversation.
Put a tick every 15 secs when.. Delegate A is speaking Delegate B is speaking
Delegate A is telling
The speaker is asking
8. Module Four VISION
Vision PROBE
Module duration: 40 mins
Equipment: A product (mug), sweets & goodies
Purchase justification to the board ABC Ltd
Using the cards in the pack, allocate roles
Key learning points
Would your contact be able to promote your product?
What can you do to help?
Who else can you influence in your account?
TIP! As a non-executive director of the board make sure you are throwing in
lots of awkward objectives
9. Module Five PROCESS/
PEOPLE/PRICE
People PROBE
Module duration: 20 minutes
Equipment: Copies of the org chart handout
Organisational charts
Hand out 2 org charts to the team
& get them to complete one for
each of their top two accounts
Who are the people and what is
the depth of their awareness of
Microsoft and the project?
TIP! It’s what they don’t know that you are interested in!
10. Module Six PROCESS/
PEOPLE/PRICE
Process PROBE
Module duration: 20 mins
Equipment: Flip chart papers & coloured pens
How customers/partners place an order
From the direct customer saying ‘Yes’, what happens next?
Team to create a flow chart of how to process and order & all the
possible black holes
TIP! They may not know all the answers, the important part is whether they
have asked the questions
11. Module Seven
Role play PROVE VALUE
Module duration: 10 mins in a team meeting + 10 mins discussion time
Equipment: Ball, prize (sweets or chocolate)
Divide the sales team into two groups
Team A are the sales people
Team B are the buyers
The sales people have the following instructions
They are selling a ball for corporate stress relief at £10 each
They can negotiate on a large (50+) order down to £7 each
The sales people must sell all the benefits to the buyers and convince them why it is better than
the competition
The buyers are given the following instructions
You will only pay a maximum of £5
The ball is thrown between the teams depending on who has control over the value of the
conversation
TIP! They may not know all the answers, the important part is whether they
have asked the questions
12. Module Eight
Use of language and communications PROVE VALUE
Module duration: 45 mins
Equipment: Flip chart pens and time to call listen to
delegates
Top Left Top Right
On the left-hand side, draw a single A grave stone in the centre, with a
palm tree on a desert island. On cross on top and the letters RIP
the right is a ship with two funnels engraved in the middle. A fence
and a sun above. runs horizontally behind the grave.
Bottom Left Bottom Right
A large letter X filling most of the
A stick man wearing a top hat, and
section, with a letter S on either
smiling.
side.
13. Module Nine
Objection handling PROVE VALUE
Module duration: 45 mins
Equipment: none
Preventing objections vs. handling objections
A look at the issue of Advantages leading the buyers to respond with objections. This
occurs when the seller proposes a solution before building needs sufficiently. As a
result the buyer doesn’t feel that the problem is serious or urgent enough to justify
and expensive solution.
This brings us to the value equation. To obtain the buyer’s commitment to a sale you
need to build the value of the problems or needs enough to outweigh the cost of the
solution. The value equation shows that building the value of the buyer’s problems
actually prevents objections.
Preventing objections ultimately costs sellers less than handling objections – less time,
energy and hassle.
See the value equation handout for more information
Manager to facilitate conversation on why this is all so important
TIP! Let one of the team lead the session – manager just to facilitate
14. Module Nine
Objection handling PROVE VALUE
Value equation handout
Preventing objections vs. handling objections Handling value objections
Problem the buyer Price objections to
Latent should take your solution
Need seriously but
doesn’t
Vision & Our present
It’s not It’s not
Advantages Value system is
worth the worth the
unreliable
Questions cost of cost of
but we can
changing it changing it
live with it
Non-latent
Objections Unreliability:
Need Adds to cost
-
May lose business
Objection Objection -
Delays irritate
Handling Handling customers
-
Hurts our business
image
-
Increases operator
frustration
15. Module Ten
Team presentations QUALIFY
Module duration: 1 hour
Equipment: none
Nominated salesperson to present on the following to the team:
BANT
Closing statements 10 minutes each
Assumptive closing
MSSP Dominoes
TIP! Get the group to challenge each other to ensure they believe the
behaviour
16. Module Eleven
In call management NEXT ACTIONS
Module duration: 45 mins
Equipment: none
Salespeople to present potential campaigns
The rest of the team prepare a SWOT on all the possible outcomes
Why will the customers want to know more?
Where will you be able to be assumptive?
TIP! Run a mini role play to enhance the learning
17. Module Twelve
NEXT ACTIONS
Module duration: 45 minutes
Equipment: Racing playing cards, wrapped sweets
Get the team to back the ‘horse’ they want to win
Key learning points
Who did they choose?
Why?
How did it feel?
How does this relate to their customers?
TIP! It’s meant to be fun – link it back to the fact that although people might
promote them today, the odds in the future might change
18. Action plans & presentations
Creation of an Action Plan
Which members of the
Action: When:
team:
19. Final review and recap
List your three key learning points:
Coach back to us one topic of value from today!
20. Nothing great was ever
achieved without enthusiasm!
Thank you for your participation
Use the Present Position Analysis SheetGet your team to run the exercise as per the above instructions – can also be run as a 121 exercise if necessary with the manager player the role of delegate B.Using the analysis sheet ask delegate A: who talked more and why?Replay the tape to them and ask them “what was their objective of the exercise?”Most people are amazed to find how much they are talking when they are trying to persuade and how they ask more when they are trying to understand.Relate this back to their role – if we truly want to understand a customer’s present position, we need to do less talking and more asking – being prepared with some sample questions will assist their confidence – get them to prepare a list of 10 questions they could use in the future.