David walked out of what appeared to be a successful sales call. After all, didn’t his buyer agree to all of what David asked him to do? Yes, but as his manager, I also saw some elements of David’s presentation and selling techniques that need to be addressed. Otherwise he will struggle during subsequent calls.
So how do I as David’s manager both congratulate and critique him without damaging his morale? I use a four-step process that never fails to allow David to enjoy his recent success while helping him develop into an even more effective sales person.
Step one is to ask David how he thought the call went. Ask him to review the objectives for the call and assess whether those objectives were met. Were they, in hindsight, the proper objectives? Did the buyer agree to his suggestions? Is everybody clear on the next steps?
Step two is to ask David what he thought he did well during the call. This gives him the opportunity to tell me all the things he did right. It gives me the opportunity to stress the positive things he should apply to his subsequent calls.
Step three is to ask David what he would do differently if given the chance. I’ve learned it’s important to give David the first shot at identifying areas of improvement. It’s not that it allows him to save face so much as it allows him to learn how to critically assess his performance when I’m not around.
It isn’t until step four that I add my thoughts. Ideally most of what I have to say will repeat or emphasize what David has already mentioned. My experience is that sales people generally know what they did well and what they wish they could have done differently before I add my two cents’ worth.
I discovered that if I consistently practice this technique, sales reps begin to see their performance through a manager’s eyes, even when I’m not with them. Sales reps who can improve their performance without my supervision add significantly to my capacity as a manager. And once this process became second nature to David, he no longer dreaded the post-call discussion with me. In fact, he would eagerly lead the discussion.