Category: Coaching & Training

Coaching Sales Force

There is an old saying which says, “Give a man fish and you will feed him for one day; teach him to catch fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.” Performance of the sales team is of utmost importance to all the companies as sales is the driving force behind all the activities done by any company. If managed well it can surely change the fortune of the companies and if not managed properly even the biggest companies can scramble down and be out of the business. When it comes to the sales targets almost all the companies use upward down approach wherein the top management decides about the sales targets and gives these to sales force to achieve. So the performance of the sales force is very critical for the success of any company. The sales managers face a lot of challenges in managing the front line sales force as they are not only responsible for the sales productivity but also to coach their front line. Sales managers can’t achieve their sales targets if their teams are not fully equipped and are not ready to face the market realities. A lot of Sales Managers push their teams for the productivity and ignore the other part of their job i.e. COACHING the sales force. Sales Managers usually accompany their new recruits during sales calls and bring business and assume that their team member has seen him making a sales call and is ready to go on next call and even if they share the secrets/rules of the sales GAME they hardly keep a check on their force’s future performance during sales call. We have a point here – Just asking about the business and sales closures in not enough, we also need to check the experience, the problems faced and the learning. To coach and help sales force be efficient. Sales managers use many sales training programs focused on sales process and closing. Still find some gaps in their performance. All this happens due to the assumption if the sale executive has attended a training program on the sales process he is ready to sell in the market. But as it’s said TELLING IS NOT SELLING, selling involves a lots of other things which are usually left in a controlled training environment. So the question comes how to make the sales executives do sales calls properly. Hand-holding is good for a sales trainer. And it is amazing if you can do it individually. With that sales training tip, let us explore a very effective technique called ‘ODD- Observation & Demonstration Drill’ and Rule of 3 + 7 wherein the Sales Trainer/Coach accompany the sales executives and do 3 Demonstration Calls with them and during the demonstration process they follow all the steps of the sales process. After the demonstrations are over they accompany their executives on next 7 Observation Calls wherein the entire sales process is handled by the sales executive and the sales manager observes him selling. This is a wonderful practice as ODD’s not only give a firsthand experience of the sales calls to the new recruits but it immensely help them to understand the steps of sales process and enable bonding between the manager and team members. Rules for Demonstration Call: Brief the executive before the call and ask him to observe and if possible make notes. Follow all the steps of sales process properly. Don’t focus on closing each and every call as you are on a coaching mode and not selling mode. While your focus should be on the customer at same time sales executive should not be ignored. Post meeting ask the executive his feedback on the meeting. Ask him the good, bad and the areas of improvement. Also ask him what he would do in a similar meeting and what he can do differently to further improvise. Motivate the executive and tell he can do even a better job. Rules for Observation Call: Motivate the executive as he will be leading the sales call and will also be under observation. Tell him not to ignore the sales process at any point of time. Observe the executive make notes/mind notes and discuss it post the meeting. While debriefing discuss all the points of the sales process he followed and not followed. Use PCP (Praise-Criticize-Praise) technique during the debriefing. Always start with praising the executive and tell him all the good points of the meeting. Then share the grey areas he needs to take care during future meetings. Always end the debriefing session on high note by telling him how he could do better. Use touch technique during the debriefing session. Remember if call is not going the way it should be, don’t handle the call yourself. You may win the customer but will surely lose the executive. Let him learn from his mistakes. Hope this will help you in coaching the sales force and take them to next level. In case you need any more help feel free to write at [email protected].

Are you Listening?

Are you Listening? A lot is been said, discussed, trained, argued on listening skills. Be it a debate on television, a healthy discussion with friends, a critical board room meeting or anything – listening holds importance everywhere. If you are listening, you are alert and you are into the game. If you aren’t – you are surely missing something! While thinking about this phenomena, this practice, this significant trait, I was thinking about the 3 princes who left a great message for all of us about Active Listening. Once there was a king who had three sons. As the king was aging, he decided that he should handover his throne to his sons. He consulted to his wisest ministers and reached a conclusion that as he doesn’t have a big empire so he can’t divide his empire in three parts and give it to his sons. So he decided that he will hold competition which will assess the Princes on various parameters like intelligence, diplomacy, strategy etc. After some more consultations with his ministers he announced the competition and invited all his countrymen to witness the occasion. The competition began. The princes were given very difficult tasks to perform and they finished those tasks very efficiently. Then there was a competition to check their knowledge on topics like diplomacy, war, strategy, economics, politics etc. They all answered the most difficult questions with ease and at the end of the competition their scores tied. This was a big problem for the king as he was at the crossroads again. He announced to extend the competition for one more day and returned to his palace. He called his ministers again and discussed the days’ outcome. One of his ministers suggested something and the king agreed to him. Next day the competition begun and everyone was expecting something very tough to happen. The King gestured and there came three statues made up of Gold, Silver & Bronze. Then he asked all three prince to examine and pick the best statue. First came the Eldest, he examined the three statues and came back to his seat. Then came the middle one, he examined the statues and returned to his seat. Lastly it was turn of the youngest prince. He examined the statues carefully and after spending some time he too returned to his seat and sat. Now king called the eldest prince and asked his opinion. The eldest prince answered that the Gold statue is the best as it’s made of gold which the most precious metal and signifies prosperity. Hence the statue made up of Gold is the best. Unsatisfied with the answer of the eldest prince, the king called the younger one and asked his opinion, he answered that the Silver Statue is the best as nature of silver is cold so it would help control anger and a Kings greatest asset is to control his emotions and take a rational decision. So statue made up of silver is the best. King liked the answer but was not fully satisfied and called the youngest prince for his judgment. The youngest prince answered the bronze statue is the best statue. The King asked the reason behind adjudging the bronze statue as the best. To explain his choice, the prince asked a servant to bring a long bamboo stick. The servant brought the bamboo stick and gave it to him. Then the prince picked the Gold statue and put the bamboo stick in its ear. To everyone’s surprise the bamboo came out of the other ear. Then he picked the silver statue and inserted the bamboo stick in its ear and it came out of the mouth. After that he inserted the stick in the other ear and it came out of the mouth again. now he picked the third statue and inserted the stick in the ear of the same. Everyone was expecting that the stick will come out through other ear or mouth. But it didn’t. The Prince inserted the remaining stick in the ear but there was no sign of the stick. He placed it at its position. And picked the gold statue and then explained, Gold is the most precious metal but still the statue made up of gold didn’t make the best statue as this statue represent people who comes at a great cost to the nation but doesn’t listen to their king. If there king will say anything to them they will listen from one ear and throw it out from the other ear. Such people are of no use and should be removed from their positions. Then he picked the silver statue and explained, there are people whom you’ll consider as closest to you. If you ever share your secrets with them they will listen with both the ears and will go out and spread your secrets everywhere they go. Such people are enemies of the country hence should be dealt very strictly. Then he picked the last statue and explained why he adjudged it as the best. One should be like bronze statue and should listen to everything not only with his ears but also with his eyes and heart. Whatever is being said to him, he should be able to absorb it and utilize it for everyone. The king was so happy with the answer that he announced him the winner of the competition and handed over the throne to him. This is an old story which tells us the importance of active listening. But like most of my listeners, you must be wondering – why this story for listening? How is this relevant – isn’t this about the decision making and analysis. When I got further into the understanding, I realized ‘No’ there is a message for listening skills. Imagine the similar situations in the work atmosphere, link the statue traits to the people we work with, we meet in everyday life. There are people who listen and ignore because they are firm… Continue reading Are you Listening?

Find your Inner Strength

A week back, while I was working on a leadership module for a level II executive batch of middle management & senior executives, I thought of another story from Indian mythology to back my content. Like I always maintain, stories enable a total recall. Stories not only evoke our brain cells but they also summon up the lessons. To explain, let me share an incident from Ramayana– Ravan abducted Mata Sita, Lord Ram’s wife, and took her to his capital, Lanka. Lord Ram searched for his wife all over and reached Rishyamukha where he met Hanuman and Sugrive and their Vanar Sena (Army). Lord Ram helped Sugrive regain his honor and reunite with his wife, who was abducted by his brother Bali. Hanuman and his Vanar Sena pledged to help Lord Ram and find Mata Sita. Lord Ram gave his ring which was to be shown to Mata Sita to establish their identity that they were sent by Lord Ram. The Vanars lead by Angad spread all across and started searching for Mata Sita. They reached the southern end of the land and ahead was a vast ocean. Crossing the ocean was a great challenge and they were sure that they won’t return without finding Mata Sita and decided that they will fast unto death. There they met, Sampati , a vulture and brother of Jatayu, who tells them that Mata Sita is in cruel shackles of Ravan and is sitting under a tree in his palace in Lanka. Sampati asks them to use their strength and skills to cross the ocean and reach Lanka. Like any new assignment, conflict or situation in our jobs/everyday life, they did their SWOT analysis. While they discussed their strengths and calculated how far they can go in the ocean- they realized that it won’t come close to crossing the ocean. Listening to all this, Hanuman got discouraged and separates himself from the group. He was getting into a stressful pressure cooker situation – he had the pressure to perform and accomplish the task at hand. Noticing him standing alone and discouraged, Jambavanth who was older than all the Vanars, goes to him and tells him about his strengths and tells him that he’s the only one who can cross the ocean. And all Vanars starts praising Hanuman. This is how a good boss, a leader influences the team and like most of the times – few could realize their inner strength and true potential. Jambavanth kept on telling – You are as powerful as the wind You are intelligent, illustrious & an inventor. There is nothing in this world that’s too difficult for you. You possess the ability to rule against every obstacle. As per Ramayana, Hanuman was cursed by a sage during childhood that he will forget his strengths and would be unaware of the extent of his capability & potential until he’s reminded by someone. Like in the modern age, we are surrounded by so many distractions, attractions, aspirations, opportunities, ill-focus and peer pressure that we start worrying about the problem so much that we eventually forget about our own inner strengths and we end up thinking about the problem so much that we do not even think about the solution. Remember, the capability to achieve things from our own inner strength lies inside, we only need to realize it and attempt. As Hanuman became aware of his strengths, his stature became giant and he collected his inner strength, tall enough to cross the ocean he jumped the ocean to in search of Mata Sita. [You can watch the relevant video from Ramayana here] Knowing ones strengths is most important for anyone who wants to be successful in his life. A true leader knows the art of exploring the strengths of his team member and motivates them to work on their strength to reach a common objective. Circumstances, Situations, Peer pressure, People Conflict are all external factors but one’s own strength lies within. Your success lies inside you. Realize and succeed.

Trap of 99- Striking the Work Life Balance

Once there was a Seth (Rich Man). One night the Seth and Sethani (his wife) were standing on the terrace of their house and they saw their neighbor, a Brahmin, playing with his kids and seemed very happy with his kids. While Brahmin was busy playing with his kids, Sethani told the Seth that their neighbors are poor still they are happier than them, they spend more time together. Upon listening to his wife he told his wife that their neighbors are happier because they are not under trap of 99. His wife asked what he means by the trap of 99. He asked his wife to wait for some time and she will come to know. Calling it a day then, they went to sleep. Next day when the Brahmin‘s wife woke up and opened the door of their house, she saw a small bag lying in front of the door. She looked around but couldn’t locate anyone. So she picked up the bag and brought it inside and called her husband. Upon opening the bag they saw gold coins in it. Curiously they counted the coins and found it has 99 coins. Brahmin was very happy to see the money and thanked God. But his wife said, “Had there been one more coin in it, they could have had 100 coins”. Upon seeing disappointment on his wife’s face, Brahmin told her not to worry as he’ll work hard and will earn one more gold coin and make it 100. And his wife told him that they spoiled their precious time and should have tried and made some money. And from that day onward they started putting more hard work in their work to earn gold coin and they forgot playing with their kids and stopped laughing. Now Sethani understood the reason behind the change in Brahmin’s family as they were trapped by 99. The ‘trap of 99’ is nothing but a phenomena of craving for more, which defines the human nature of not being satisfied and happy with what they have but to invite stress and tensions in the chase for what all they do not have. This is an age old story which tells us not to be trapped by 99 and teaches to enjoy our lives with whatever we have and to strike a work life balance. But what we see around is most of us are running in an endless rat race. People are so busy and held up in fulfilling their aspirations that they forget to give enough time to their families which results into more stressed lives, low productivity and a feeling of incomplete life. Take a moment and think about the increasing trend in divorce cases, children going against their parents, alcohol problem, drug abuse, suicides and what not. Society is victimized by this imbalance because families are becoming nuclear, parents cannot cope up with their work, kids are over burdened to perform and everybody needs space. What a vicious circle it is – of growth and development! Cost of living is so high these days that people hardly get enough money so they try to work harder to earn more and compromise on their personal life and aspirations. After all, man is a social animal. However, the trap doesn’t deny the hard-working or chase for achievement. It just suggests that a balance is required. One should not ignore his work; neither shall one stop dreaming/aspiring. But all this should not be done at the cost of his/her family. So what do we do in such a situation? Strike a Work Life BALANCE. Balancing work with life is a matter of grave concern for the companies as well as their employees. This kind of imbalance is resulting into low productivity and high attrition. It is unfortunate to see that most of the companies remain ignorant on the long term cost involved to create a work-life balanced environment. They fail to realize that this thus leads to loss of talent, performance and ultimately revenues. Here are some simple ways on how to strike balance between family and work life: 1. Prioritize: Do not plan too many things together and don’t treat everything as top priority. Finish urgent tasks first and then take important ones. The important tasks should be finished before they become urgent. Check what can wait. 2. Have a Support System-Delegate: One cannot do everything by himself. Try and have a support system among family, colleagues and friends, who are willing to help if something unexpected happens. Learn to delegate and help others, if they are in need. This will not only help to finish the task within time limits but will also create bonding within the team. But delegate only if you are not disturbing the other person’s schedule. 3. SAY ‘YES’ to ‘NO’: You must know – what you can take up in your stride and what not. If you have a list to abide by, you don’t have to agree to everything and to everyone. Say No to something which is beyond your physical & mental stamina because neither you’ll be able to do justice with the task and nor with yourself. Through this you would also avoid unnecessary negativity and pressure. 4. Set SMART Goals: Set Specific >> Measurable >> Action Oriented>> Realistic >>Time Bound Goals. Break your goals in smaller goals. Develop plan to reach those goals on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis and keep a tab on your progress. If things don’t change and the strategy which you have formulated is not working, alter your strategy and make it in sync with the resources you have. Alteration in your strategy should not change your goals. It’s just like taking some new route to reach your destination. Don’t forget to share your goals with your family and make them partner to your goals. 5. Create Work Life Happiness: Don’t work to earn only money. Work to create happiness, towards self satisfaction and the money… Continue reading Trap of 99- Striking the Work Life Balance

Lessons from Mahabharata

Mahabharata is one of our Puranas and is considered to be an ocean of wisdom. Every story of the epic teaches us so many lessons. In this post I’ll share a story from the epic and Lessons from Mahabharata. Here’s the Story: After losing their kingdom to Kauravas in gambling Pandavas were forced to go and live in the forest. Lot of their friends including various Maharishis’ used to visit them. They found it very difficult to give them food. So Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas, prayed the Surya Dev (The Sun God). He gave her one Akshaya Patra which would give any amount of food in a day, till Draupadi takes her food. With the Akshaya Patra the Pandavas were able to give food to all their guests. The Kauravas wanted to trouble them further. They requested Maharishi Durvasa to visit Pandavas late in the night. Durvasa was very short tempered and used to curse people whenever he got annoyed. Durvasa reached Pandava’s’ camp in the forest after Draupadi had taken her food. Pandavas welcomed Maharishi Durvasa and asked him if he will have dinner and Maharishi Durvasa told them that he is yet to have dinner. Knowing there was no food at home, Pandavas requested Maharishi Durvasa to go and take bath in the river so that they can keep food ready. Pandavas were very confused as they did not know what to do. If they tell him that they have already eaten food and there is nothing they can offer in Dinner, he could curse them. Draupadi prayed Lord Krishna for help. Lord Krishna came immediately. He said to Draupadi, “Sister, I am hungry, give me food.” Draupadi was confused and started crying. Lord Krishna asked her to bring Akshaya Patra. In the corner of the Akshaya Patra, one rice grain was sticking. Krishna took the rice, ate it and drank some water. He told Draupadi, “Thanks a lot, my stomach is now full”. He then went away. At that time Maharishi Durvasa was taking his bath. Suddenly he felt that his stomach was full. He was worried that he had made Pandavas cook food for him. He came and excused himself. Like this Lord Krishna solved the problem of Pandavas. From that day onwards Hindu women don’t keep their chapati boxes empty as symbol of their faith in Lord Krishna, believing if they ever get caught in such a situation then Lord Krishna will come for their rescue. You must be wondering why am I sharing this story of Pandavas and Maharishi Durvasa with you, as neither of us, under any circumstances, is going to live in the forest and nor will have guests, like Maharishi Durvasa, with the power to curse. There is certainly no formula to a Happy Life but there is certainly a will to stay happy and some lessons that would make life much easier. The above story brought to me so many inferences, read out if you can relate and learn: Kauravas were Pandavas’ enemies still Pandavas were ignorant about their strategy. Never let your competitors to be out of your sight and don’t give them a chance to trouble/hurt you when you are unarmed. We may have all the luxuries like Akshaya Patra but If we don’t save for our future, we’ll definitely end up facing difficulties/curses in our lives. Save something for future on daily basis. Maharishi Durvasa was very shot tempered but Pandavas engaged him and sent him to take bath.< It’s very easy to manage difficult people by engaging them. Though Pandavas didn’t had any food for Maharishi Durvasa, still they didn’t tell this to him. Listening is the most difficult task on the earth; learn to be calm in difficulty. Pandavas sent Maharishi Durvasa to take bath so that they can arrange for the food. Timing of your action is most important. Buy time in case of emergency and never take decisions in haste. We need to have such good friends, like Lord Krishna, who can save us from difficulties. Invest in relationships. Though Pandavas were forced to live in forest still they kept on meeting/inviting their friends and various sages. Don’t let your relationships perish with time. Keep in touch with old buddies and friends. As Draupadi used to be last one to eat food ensure you don’t use/consume all resources at one go. Trust your friends like Draupadi trusted Lord Krishna. Don’t hide things from people you trust. If you are right & truthful God himself will come for help. Never lose hope. Choose Happiness. It’s a way of life.

Creativity and Innovation – The Thirsty Crow way

Let me take you back to the age old story of ‘Thirsty Crow’. Once there was a crow. He was very thirsty. He went here and there in search of water. At last he saw a water pot. He looked inside the pot. There was very little water inside the pot. The crow saw some stones nearby. He thought of a plan. He picked some stones and started putting stones inside the pot one by one. The water level came up. He drank the water and flew away happily. This story was amongst the first few I was told during my childhood. The then moral of the story was ‘‘Where there is will, there is a way’’ but life is all about exploring and evolving constantly. Going with that we human beings are the certainly the most accommodating and we instantly look for solutions. I have been observing people, reasons vary – the pressure of circumstances, peer pressure, family expectations and what not. Everybody loves short-cuts and ‘Jugaad’ for that reason is picking up fast. It is no more a way of life…it is smart strategy. The solution and results matter at last – for my driver, the maid, the friends, the colleagues and almost everyone around. If someone bangs the idea of ethical ways – people just disregard the philosophy and feel that you are not aware of how the world works. How to get the job done is no more a concern, to get the job done is what matters. To share an experience – few days back I had gone to meet my Uncle at Aligarh and on the way back my car broke down. I was around 25 kms from the city. I called my cousin to help and in half an hour’s time he came to the rescue with a mechanic. He checked my car and told me that it needs to be taken to workshop. I told him I can’t spare that much of time as it was already 3 pm and I had an urgent meeting the very next day. He said in Hindi, “To iska koi jugaad ker deta hoon” (“He will do something”- Read it as temporary arrangement) so that I can reach Gurgaon. He connected some wires to the battery and asked me to test if the car is fine. I checked and my car was working perfectly. I thanked him and started my journey to Gurgaon and in around 4 hours I was there at my home in Gurgaon. Next day I went to a nearby service station and got my car repaired. Defining Jugaad ‘Jugaad’ is a word which is used very frequently in day to day life. As per Wikipedia, Jugaad means an innovative fix or a simple work-around, sometimes pejoratively used for solutions that bend rules, or a resource that can be used as such, or a person who can solve a vexatious issue. Both concepts express a need to do what needs to be done, without regard to what is conventionally supposed to be possible. Indovation, Chinovation, Hack, Kludge are some of the words which are used as synonyms to Jugaad. All the concepts express need to do what needs to be done without taking the same old beaten path. And The Thirsty Crow was the first to travel ‘the Jugaad way’ and now I know the current moral of the story is to use possible means, creativity and innovation whichever can help human kind to live a solution driven life.

Indian Education System – A Real Concern!

A lot is been said & discussed on the Indian education system after the very popular 3 idiots. But my post certainly is not around just the concerns raised about the pressure created over the students by the best of internationally renowned institutions. Recently, 44 deemed universities have been de-recognized and the newspapers say, almost 2,00,000 students will bear the brunch.Most of these are marked as money making with lacunae ranging from infrastructure, facilitators; their expertise in the programs offered etc, the system is collapsing with so many private institutions making their way to become the Alma Maters for lakhs of students. The students are being disguised on various levels, graduation, post-graduation, M.Phil, Doctorate etc. Now what worries me is – Is that too a lacunae in the system that students get to enroll themselves in such institutes without prior check on the backgrounds? I mean not those who are enrolling for the post graduate programs.What made me write about this issue is a simple help I was asked for and decided to offer to an Aspiring Manager. Yeah, it’s again about the management schools- Oh! There are a number of them and I have been writing about this earlier also. Read that here. Anyways, the reason what intrigued me was the kind of study material provided by the B-schools. The pedagogy they follow and more then that the way they expect to create future managers. I myself have studied at a B-school and that’s the reason why I get worried when I discover the prevailing loopholes in management education. Some of the major problems:- The methodology of imparting knowledge. – Complete Ignorance to experiential learning. – Pedagogy – Do they know the purpose of them being the facilitators? – Course Material – Management seems to be a synopsis of study material of +1 to graduation. – Case Methodology – Are we even in the process of incorporating the same? Do we know the significance? – Examination Pattern – This too is a great cause of failure of the B-school system. Students are not even aware of what is the application of knowledge. Most of the B-schools are still offering the knowledge & not the skill set which enables application of that knowledge. Nevertheless, these are just the instant observations i could made. I am sure there is still a lot to say & more to do about this.

Visualization for Presenters – A Healthy Articulation Tip

Articulation is technique and talent. Some possess it by birth and others develop it through practice. PowerPoint is an important tool and it is the first impression and of course the last one too. Visualization for Presenters. Yes, that’s the technique to keeping your audience from getting bored & sleepy. Many a times, the classroom listeners agree to be sleepy with eyes wide open during the sessions. Remember, shabby decoration is a failure. Images should be logical. They shall not go out of context. One must try to keep the logic intact. Humor in between the slides mainly between topics is a good idea. It provokes interaction. Trick is to keep the relevance in topic and humor. You can replace text with images. Make sure they don’t go just out of context. Like they say a picture is worth a 1000 words. Studies have proven, human brain grasps more through images then through words. Visualize statistics (facts & figures) through visualizing modes like Tables, Pie-charts, labels, numbers etc. Keep adding more of inputs you use & appreciate in a presenter!

Teaching/Trainings – A thin line, a lot impact!

Teaching is a classroom affair. Training doesn’t necessarily be conducted in the classroom. Teaching enhances knowledge. Training is about knowledge & skills. Teaching is imparting. Training is sharing & exploring. Teaching is facilitated with books. Training is an art of explanation. Teacher prepares a chapter. Trainer prepares content & himself. Teaching requires subject preparation. Training requires skill refinement. Teacher emphasize on listening. Trainer emphasizes learning. Teacher explains theory. Trainers deliver concepts.