Host

Now you've been coaching dealership personnel longer, and with better results than most folks I know. So the question is going to be why does coaching work so much better than traditional sales training?

Sean

Great question, thank you for asking. At the end of the day, when it comes to helping people master and implement skills, training is critical. In fact, it's the foundation for success. What we find is that most dealerships have very skilled managers, and very talented salespeople. Of course, you know, there's always a range. But for the most part, they know how to sell a car. And they've had a lot of training both on the job and sometimes formalized. And training helps with “can I do it?” In addition to “can I do something?” Okay, “will I do it?” Right? “Do I want to do it?” “Do I need to do it?”

 So training helps with that very first layer? Can I do it? But when it comes to will I do it and do I want to do it, and do I need to do it, that’s where coaching comes in. With coaching, we're able to help get buy-in from that individual around doing something, help them understand the why connect the dots to what they want to accomplish in their immediate future and their long term career goals. And by helping them better understand how that will help, how that sort of skill, using that skill will help them achieve their goals, they're more likely to do it. 

And in addition, we don't just coach, it's not just a grassroots approach. It's also a top down approach. So we're helping the managers of the dealership become better leaders. And as a result of that, they're able to create accountability measures. And that's where the need comes in. So we're able to expertly ease people out of their comfort zone, and build on the foundation of training that the dealership already has, you know, imagine you have two avenues, right, you can come in and say "you guys are selling cars all wrong, use my approach." And I've heard trainers in the industry say, "if you're not selling cars the way I teach you, then whoever's success has been just luck!"

I'm sorry to say, but there's some really strong talent in the car business. And, they've been successful without that type of training. And they'll probably continue to be successful without that type of training. But again, if a dealership needs that foundation of training, we'll suggest that too. So training is important. But coaching is where the rubber meets the road. I always say training is like having a shiny car in your driveway. Coaching is the gas that makes that car get from A to B.

Host

That makes sense. It's more of a personal development and a motivational/ inspirational concept there that I think is longer lasting. But that's just my opinion.

Sean

You're right. To your point, you know, every person on your team, every manager on your team needs individualized development. It's that simple. Training is a one size fits all approach to people development. You know, it's a floodlight, right? You're giving everyone the foundation and it's pretty candid, pretty off the shelf. This is the best practice, this is how we're going to do this and everyone, you want everyone to be aligned with that. In reality, when you try to implement training, think about how many salespeople say, "Well, I'm not going to do it that way, my way works better", or the manager poo poos that if the team isn't aligned to doing something, if they're not all on the same page, then what are the odds of it being implemented effectively? It's just not going to happen. 

So with coaching, we're able to get alignment, we get the managers, the salespeople and everyone on the same page. And we don't have to tell them, we don't come in and say you're doing it all wrong, do it our way or no way. We're going to work with them because it's a lot easier to tweak and enhance their process and methodology for selling. Of course, we're going to take our best practices from our dealers, our highly successful dealers from across the country and suggest things to improve the systems and processes and, and training and methodologies that our dealers are already using. But that's a lot easier than trying to get them to rebuild everything from the ground up. So that's where dealers find a lot more success with car motivators coaching than they do with canned, one size fits all training.

For a Free Coaching Call: https://bit.ly/3jChTYC

At 2:04 pm on January 2nd, 2023, I received a text message from a multi-millionaire client I've been coaching for the last four years. 

It read, "...After a record year in both volume and gross and outselling the top sales consultant in my dealer group by over 100 cars, I know I can still grow. When you are in town next, let's make sure we sit down and develop some new ways I can grow my business to sell even more cars this year."

As you can surmise from the text, he is a very successful car salesman. Since it's the new year, an excellent time for reflection, I began thinking about the reasons for his success. I want to point out a very subtle, yet essential factor required for people to reach their fullest potential in business. And that subtle factor, my friends, lies in your ability to find the right balance of Strategy vs Tactics. 

Think about it: This particularly busy KIA salesperson outsells his nearest co-worker by well over 100 cars a year. Yet, he still understands the importance of pausing his daily tactical efforts to strategize with his coach.

There is a critical difference between officers and enlisted people in the military. Officers strategize and decide the objectives (goals) based on a 30,000-foot view of the battlefield, while the enlisted people execute the strategy (mission). Additionally, enlisted personnel only initiate the mission after creating an execution strategy known as a “battle plan”. Can you imagine a country ever winning a war, let alone a battle without this level of planning and coordinated implementation?

In reading this article, I want you to understand the difference between strategy and tactics so you will better understand how much time you need to dedicate to strategy in your routine if you are to reach your potential in business.

What is the difference between Strategy and Tactics?

Simply put, strategy is planning, and tactics are execution. Average performers and underperformers will execute accordingly, and naturally, the results of their activity (good or bad) position those actors in the appropriate position. 

On the other hand, one thing top performers have in common is that they start with the “end in mind”. In this way, they know what they want the outcome to be (visualization), and since all things are created twice, first in our minds and then in reality, top producers are much more likely to end up where they want to be. Why? Because they know where they want to go before they embark on their journey, they’ve already materialized it in their minds before manifesting it in reality.

Included in the strategizing process is the identification of the necessary benchmarks to hit enroute to the destination (goals), the consistent behaviors necessary to achieve that goal, and finally, the purposeful actions necessary to get the ball rolling. The next step is tactics and execution.

To Reach My Potential in Business, What Areas Need a Strategy?

Well, that depends on your position within your business. If you're a business owner, you need a specific strategy focused on every aspect of your business. Suppose you're a middle manager, there will be strategies necessary for your specific areas of responsibility. Suppose you're a front-line sales employee and want to reach your fullest potential, and aim to become a multi-millionaire selling whatever it is you sell. In that case, you will want to treat yourself like you are your own business, and carve out time for strategizing every aspect of your daily behavior. In addition to supercharging your efforts by adding a personal coach to help you strategize effectively, there are eleven areas you want to consider creating a routine around strategy for:

1. Vision for Success
2. Goals/Benchmarks
3. Leadership
4. Managing
5. Marketing
6. Lead Creation
7. Sales
8. Money
9. Customer Service
10. Technology
11. Your Routine

Peruse each area of business strategy and the few coaching questions I'm providing for each category below. Then, ask yourself, "How could creating a strategy for each of these elements positively impact my business?" If you have some good answers for these, then there is an opportunity for you to improve your likelihood of success by strategizing in these areas.

1. Leadership - Who will work for you? How will you motivate them? How often will you need to meet with each person on your team? What skills will you need to teach them? How will you get your team working together? What products and services could add value to what I do? 
2. Managing - What expectations must be set, and with who?
3. What metrics will I need to measure success in each area? How will I hold myself accountable? How will I hold others responsible? What does excellence look like? What is the minimum performance? 
4. Marketing - What do I want my brand to look like? Who is my target market? Where can I reach them? What appeals to them? What problems do they have? How do I help them solve those problems? What are my marketing goals, and do they align with my business goals? 
5. Lead Creation - What does a qualified lead look like? How will I convert awareness to interest? How will I ensure interested people can raise their hands for me? 
6. Sales - What is my engagement strategy for a qualified lead? How will I convert? What skills do I need to master to be more effective in sales? What is the maximum value of each client? Where do I need to adjust my approach to maximize the value of each opportunity?
7. Money/Financials - How can I reinvest in my business this year? What are the best investments I could make? Where can I better steward my own money? Does my financial strategy align with my business objectives, or am I trying to save my way into a profit?
8.  Customer Service/Experience - How do I stand out from my competition? What makes my service/product worth more than my competition? What do my customers complain about? How can I remove those complaints? What is my client retention compared to my peers? What are my customer's expectations? What changes will I need to make to my process to exceed their expectations?
9. Technology/Software - What tools are at my disposal that I need to utilize to their fullest? What systems are antiquated or out of date? Which software creates more drain/busy work than adding return on investment?

How Often Should I Strategize in Each of These Areas?

That's a great question that varies based on your vision, goals, where you are today, and how fast you want to get to your destination! That said, I'll share my routine around business strategy that's helped my team and me build the top coaching practice in the car business, Car Motivators. 

Strategy Session Type - Frequency - Duration

5-Year Vision Planning - Every five years - 4 Hours

5-Month Benchmarks - Every five months - 2 Hours

5 Week Goals - Every five weeks - 1 Hour

Leadership - Every Other Month - 3 Hours

Marketing Strategy/Content Plan - Annually - 4 Hours

Lead Creation - Quarterly - 2 Hours

Sales - Monthly - 2 Hours

Sales - (Weekly Pipeline Reviews) - Up to 1 Hour

Money/Financial Planning - Quarterly - 3 Hours

Customer Service/Experience - Quarterly - 4 Hours

Technology/Software - Every 6 Months - 2 Hours

Managing - Monthly - 2 Hours

Update Personal Routine - Quarterly - 4 Hours

Coaching with my Coach(s) - Monthly - 2 Hours

After reading this article, do you think you’ve been spending enough time on strategy? What areas will you need to strategize in to reach your potential in business? What low-value tactical activities will you need to let go of to make room for strategy in your routine? Now it's time for you to get tactical and execute on manifesting your strategies. Feel free to send me a message and let me know where you will start! 

You can reach me Sean@CarMotivators.com or via text on my cell phone 314-323-8234 anytime.

Are you giving your leadership the grace they need to lead you through the struggle?

Company owners and managers have the hardest jobs in the world right now. Leaders are darned if they do, darned if they don’t!

Owners whom I coach face a divided team: Some employees want to close to avoid getting sick. Others want to work and feed their families. Only owners know how hard it is to build a business and a team! Most care about their people’s health yet feel that shutting down the company is giving up to the virus without a fight!

Managers I coach are the glue keeping the stressed-out employees and customers together! They are adapting quickly, but constant high tension situations wear on them. As does the question always on their mind, “How can we produce enough to keep our jobs?”

These are no doubt, challenging times, and here are some ways to make things a little easier.

Owners: The only poor decision in a time like this is indecision. Remove the whispers and morale erosion by scheduling time to listen to employees’ opinions. Soon after, make a decision and take a stand! Communicate the "why" behind your decision to your team. In this way, you can align your team to the direction you are leading them. This will eliminate much of the fear of the unknown. When your employees know where you stand, why it's important, and have clarity around your plan, they can take decisive action. Simply put, rip the band-aid off. You may lose someone who isn’t a good fit. That’s better than losing people who are! Owners, remember three things. First, it's your job to set the direction of your company, even when the decision sucks. Second, you can't saw wood without sawdust. All decisions have a downside in a time like this, it's not your fault. Finally, Winston Churchill’s quote, “You have enemies? Good, that means you stood for something in your life!”

Managers: Maintain a united front with your owner! Leadership must maintain a united front, and if you sew seeds of doubt, you are making your team ineffective a critical moment in your business's history. You may need to have difficult conversations with your company owner if more communication and direction is needed from the top. Tell them what you need to get the job done, and remember you cant get it if you don't ask for it. Stay healthy and manage your stress; you can’t center your team if you’re not focused and centered yourself. You can’t predict the outcome, but you CAN stay positive and communicate positive intent. You will give it your all to ensure the best possible outcome, so there’s no point in amplifying negativity! You are a leader if this is going to make us fail, fail giving it 150% effort. It's time to step up, even MORE.

Employees: You are entitled to your opinion, but spreading negativity and “shoulding” all over your owners and managers isn’t right. “We should be closed.”, is a toxic statement that is likely designed to indirectly influence the company's direction. Be understanding, knowing they have a lot more than you to worry about! They have their family, their employee's families and their business! Does the situation suck? Yup! Is it a good idea to make it suck more by sewing seeds of contention and doubt? Nope! “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” So don’t add dead weight to your already stressed-out leaders. Instead, add value and find ways to be productive! The way you react to this situation could be your one chance to prove how valuable an asset you are! If you can’t say anything nice, don’t talk.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way!

Sincerely,

Sean Kelley

#thecarbizcoach

Prior to entering the car business, Sean believed leadership was the key to ensure his Special Operations team would survive two combat deployments. Sean Kelley #TheCarBizCoach has since applied those same leadership principles to automotive management, and successfully lead dealers for a decade: lowering turnover, increasing profit, customer retention, customer satisfaction, and setting first-time regional records. Sean Kelley has built a massive following with thousands of coaching clients on Linkedin, his Facebook group, and has become a featured writer and vlogger for www.dealershipnews.com. Sean’s passion for coaching and people development led him to become Chief Business Development Officer of DriveCentric CRM where he helped them double their annual revenue in just months. Now, as CEO of Car Motivators and President of Next Sale App for Missouri, Sean and his coaches work with dozens of dealer groups, and automotive tech companies coaching hundreds of sales managers across the country. This is why Dealership News voted Sean Kelley consultant of the year in 2018. Sean was also ranked #10 in Ambition.com top 100 sales coaches to follow. Sean’s passion is for helping automotive leaders achieve great results through their people and technology. Due to Sean’s enthusiasm, sense of humor, knowledge, and engaging presentations, he has keynoted or spoken for multiple conferences like: Digital Dealer, Automotive Game Changers, Rockstar Automotive Events, Canadian Game Changer Seminars, St Louis Auto Dealer Association, Texas Independent Automotive Dealer Association and more. Sean helps those with a growth mindset create winning cultures with his unique self-developed approach to coaching and people development called D.R.I.V.E.C3™. Sean’s vision is to positively impact the leadership landscape of the automotive industry and its people by living out his mission of bringing coaching to the car business.

Today I was coaching a spry young and driven project manager of a very successful dealer group and long-time coaching client. We discussed three project plans seeking to improve the processes and remove obstacles to success. This great conversation led me to a lot of reflection on the act of planning itself. I always tell people that coaching without a plan is just therapy. When it comes to achieving results and helping others make them, I'm no spring chicken! I truly began planning while working with high ranking military officials in combat zone mission briefings in the Army. Then I enjoyed planning in a senior-level leadership role in a dealer group. Now, as an executive coach, it's my job to help sales managers and sales pro's clarify what they want to accomplish most, understand why it's important, help them create an action plan to achieve their objective, then care for the plan long term. 

As such, I follow up and check-in along the way, sometimes things go great; other times nothing happens at all. This is when masterful coaching comes in. I don't judge or criticize, I ask them if accomplishing that objective is still essential or if they want to let it go. It's almost always still vital for them! Then I ask questions to find out what got in the way of their action plan fulfillment. We address the challenge, adjust our plan, and move forward. After having thousands of these conversations, I have come to some simple yet powerful realizations about plans. I share them with you in this article hopes that your plans become as airtight as possible. Regardless I want you to be ready for when they fail because they will, and that's OK because you'll fix it!

Realization #1 There is no perfect plan because there is no perfect person!

There are diminishing returns in over planning; thus, trying to create the perfect plan is a waste of time. I recommend deciding in advance how much time to allow yourself for planning. That will help you stay focused and give you a deadline for getting started. Also, this will help you present yourself and others a little grace and dignity when the plan doesn't work out perfectly. Because after all, the last perfect person walked the earth 2000 years ago, and you saw what happened to him.

Realization #2 Any plan becomes 100% more effective when there is a contingency plan.

My special operations team never ran a mission without a primary plan, secondary plan, and tertiary plan. Since failure is always a possibility, you don't want to be scrambling to create a new plan at the same time. This leads to undue stress, sloppy execution, and poor results when, most of the time, all you needed was a backup plan in the beginning.

Realization #3 No plan gets accomplished with no desire, no discipline, and no dedication. 

Having a plan without someone wanting to achieve the results from the plan will sure the plan fails. It's like giving a four-year-old a plate of steamed okra in hopes of having them eat everything on their plate. They'll sit there and poke at it with a fork, dump it behind the couch (my kid did that), or maybe try to feed it to the dog. You have to sell the okra, in this case, the plan to the parties involved, get the buy-in! Then watch them eat the okra, in this case, check-in on the plan, and continuously remind them of what accomplishing this plan will mean for them. "You're going to grow tall and strong from eating this delicious slimy green okra!"

Realization #4 A plan can only maximize results if the plan is maximized through continuous improvement.

Once your plan is underway and you are conducting follow up, checking in, and supporting efforts, this is the opportunity to improve. Things to look for improvement: How can we do this better? How can we do the action items more efficiently? Who else could contribute to these efforts? Are too many resources dedicated to this action item? Is there another step in the plan that doing first would make this step easier? To truly maximize the results of your plan, revisit it throughout, ask those questions and make the adjustments necessary.

Realization #5 Increase a plan's complexity two-fold, and decrease its odds of completion tenfold.

Complexity in planning would be the bane of my existence if I weren't self-aware enough to know it's my issue. Because I love planning and enjoy coordinating many moving parts, it's easy for me to create unnecessary complexity. A plan needs to be simple to execute and big for impact. "How can a plan be simple yet big?", you ask. A lot of people focus on one objective, and each person has one or two simple action items or behaviors they are responsible for executing. It's significant because there are a lot of people involved and it's simple because each person knows exactly what one or two things they do. Start giving people three or more things to do in their plan and watch the whole thing fall apart. When planning, it's always better to K.I.S.S. (keep it stupid simple). Check for understanding by asking those involved to repeat their strategy back to you. If you can't explain it to a third-grader, it's probably too complicated.

Realization #6 A plan's action items are as good as the person's understanding of why, what, when and how to do them.

A leader's biggest frustration is often when their people don't take action, which leads me to ask some tough coaching questions. I ask things like, "When did you expect them to have that done by?" "Did you give them that expectation?" and "What training and testing did you give them to ensure they could do that?" and "How did you teach them that process?" and "Why is doing it that way so important? Did you explain that to them?" Often the answers to these questions give the leader the clarity that the person they were planning with didn't have clarity! No plan is complete unless you can answer this question for each part of the project: "Who does what by when and why is it so important?" Another element that makes for a high level of clarity is by writing the plan details down, and ensuring everyone involved reads and signs off on their action items.

Realization #7 To avoid an obstacle, you have to know it exists and a silent disagreement is a hidden obstacle.

Honest communication is essential to effective planning. If you can't have an honest dialogue with someone, why the heck are you planning with them in the first place? If someone is "yessing" you to death but not executing on the plan, or if you are picking up on body language that they disagree with the plan, deal with it right now. It's best to get the disagreement in the open so you can adjust your plan, or help the disagreer get over it. Otherwise, plan on having the same discussion soon while adding frustration in the mix, and higher stakes leading to potential blow-ups.

I hope this article on planning makes your work life more successful, enjoyable, and productive! It would be my honor to help you plan your next benchmark to success, so feel free to reach out to my receptionist and schedule a strategy with me at 1-888-921-0221 or email Sean@CarMotivators.com

Sincerely,

Sean Kelley

#thecarbizcoach

https://www.carmotivators.com

After leaving US Army Special Operations and serving over two years in combat zone deployments, Sean Kelley #TheCarBizCoach applied those leadership principles to automotive management and successfully led multiple dealerships for over a decade. Sean’s passion for people development led him to become Chief Business Development Officer of DriveCentric CRM, a software company, where he helped them double their annual revenue. As CEO of Car Motivators, Sean works with dozens of dealer groups, automotive tech companies and hundreds of coaching clients across the country. As a writer, Sean’s work and success stories working with his clients have been published in multiple automotive publications. Sean was "Consultant of the Year" in 2018 by Dealership News and ranked #10 in Ambition.com top 100 sales coaches. Sean’s engaging presentations have been featured at conferences like Digital Dealer, Automotive Game Changers, Rockstar Automotive, Canadian Game Changers, SLADA, TIADA, and Driving Sales. Sean’s vision is to positively impact the leadership landscape and culture of the automotive industry by bringing coaching to the car business. Your coaching journey starts here!

If you don't run a car dealership... what a great time of year fall is! The time of year when parents are knee deep in their children's school activities, and their kids 1st quarter grades. Sports fans are focused on baseball playoffs, and football season is picking up. The weather starts shifting from hot and humid to cool and windy. The night starts coming earlier and earlier causing people to hunker down in their homes earlier each day. On top of all that, throw in some holidays to take minds off of car shopping. All of this adds up to a fairly large probability you may have some salespeople or stores in a sales slump.

This article isn't about giving your team excuses to be in a slump. The goal is to help you realize this problem.To inspire you to help each employee break free of the ill-fated downturn with performance coaching. Let's get our team members mind out of the gutter and refocus their intentions on sales success using the DriveCoaching D.R.I.V.E.C3 coaching framework.

If your first instinct is to sit the employee down and berate them about not selling enough units, ignore this. If your kinder gentler approach is to tell them what you do to get out of a slump, turn away. Instead, we must understand their mindset, prior to offering any help. We do this in step 1. We need to let them know WHY we are asking them these questions. We MUST ensure our team member is open to the discussion.

Step 1 Discovery: Discover what they want to achieve regarding sales this month. Discover where their head is at. Discover the coaching opportunity. Discover if they even want your support.

Here is a statement to recruit them to the discovery: I want to ensure you get what you want out of your career this month.

Here are a few questions you could ask to help you discover how to recruit your employees to their cause. 

What are you trying to achieve this month?

Are you on pace to accomplish what you want for the month regarding sales?

If the rest of the month finishes the way it has started out, will you be content with your numbers?

Is now a good time to sit down together and ensure you get what you want out of your business this month?

Step 2 Recruit: Help them understand what they get out of the deal. Create buy-in with a recruitment statement.

After hearing what you want to accomplish this month, and looking in the CRM I see there are activities, opportunities, and possibilities we could create that would help you achieve the goals you want most.

Step 3 Inquire: Find out what they have already done. What they are doing now. What they plan on doing. Mission: Find the missing piece of the puzzle. 

Why have you dialed back your daily sales activities? (looking into the CRM metrics)

Walk me through your daily routine, let's try to uncover some opportunities.

What have you already tried this month?

Where is the biggest opportunity to increase your business for the remainder of the month?

Comparing this to your best month in the car business, what is different about it? What are you doing differently to account for the change?

Step 4 Verify: Verify it’s time for you to add value. You have found a hole in their actions, activities, or plan through inquiry: and now it’s time to make sure you add value through a story, statistic or new possibility.

After asking them enough questions to ensure you see the big picture, you should now know where you can add value to the coaching session. Do it with a statement or question such as...

I think I see a few things that are getting in the way of what you want this month, and I have a story that may shed light on it. Is there anything else I should know about what you are saying or do you want to hear the story now?

Step 5 Educate: Now it's time to educate your team member. We can share information that they were aware of. A story that is relevant to their situation. Stats or metrics that could provide inspiration. "What if" scenarios that allow them to think outside the box.

Remember…

What would be possible if you had tried X, Y or Z in addition to your current plan?

Another manager was in the same predicament as you.  Here is what she did to overcome the challenge...

What would it mean to you, if you could still accomplish that objective by you starting today? Based on what you told me, I would like to share some potential blind spots you have around this topic...

Step 6 Co-Create an Action Plan: Too often as leaders we tell people what to do. The problem here is that there isn't buy in if it's our plan. In addition, can they do it? Will they do it? Don't tell them what to do. You have given them alternative viewpoints and perspective around their challenge. You have helped them discover new outcomes they hadn't considered. Now it’s time to find out from them, what THEY are willing to do. Work with them to help them build the solution. They will take full ownership of their plan and commit to it. By having them create it, this helps ensure execution. Here are some examples of questions you can use.

What are you willing to do differently, starting today?

It sounds like you have gained some key insights here, what is your plan moving forward?

Are you willing to create a plan with me to ensure you have the best chance for success?

Step 7 Care for the Plan: Being a coach doesn't end with telling someone what to do, or helping them create a plan. "Trainers" take note of this please, a real coach helps the “coachee” by caring for the plan with them long term. Anyone can train someone on something. This isn't necessarily supportive and without accountability and measurement, does anything change? As a coach, we need to ensure the forward momentum moves our employee out of their slump. What is the best way to care for their plan? Ask them!

What can I do to help you ensure this becomes reality?

How would I support you around this in a perfect world?

What would it mean for you if I followed up with you to make sure this happens? How do you want me to do that?

Step 8 Confirm the Value of Coaching: Coaching is extremely rewarding, especially when making a positive difference in the life of someone who is going through a tough time at work. This is where you get to relish in the confidence you have instilled and the amazing coaching you just gave! Simultaneously, this ensures you have actually helped them. Make sure you covered what they wanted to be coach on. Then schedule the next coaching session. Just like going to the gym, coaching can make a massive difference if done regularly. Here are a couple examples for you.

Did you see a ton of value in our discussion today? Great, why don't we get a time on the calendar now for next week to continue the momentum?

Where is your head at now as opposed to 30 minutes ago? That's great to hear, I am happy to do this again in a couple weeks if you want this same type of growth.

Now that you have a very simple coaching system to leverage, take advantage of this gift. Find out who is in a slump and coach them out of it! Dealerships that  DriveCoaching has worked with have seen large increases in profit, market share, lower turnover, and higher customer satisfaction, even in down markets. If you are interested in accomplishing the same results, message Sean Kelley here on Driving Sales or email me at Sean@DriveCentric.com. You may also visit our website at www.DriveCoaching.us.

#drivecoaching #coachingthecarbusiness #winningcultures #coachingexcellence #thisistraining

Within the sphere of influence that revolves around your career, there are many resources you may leverage for improvement. Among these resources are the people you interact with. Leveraging their input in order to find ways to improve your skills, capabilities, mindsets and attitudes, is critical to reaching your full potential.  

Today, Kelley Coaching and Consulting interviews Nick Horvat, National Retail Account Executive of Sprint. Our goal: To help you determine who your number one resource for career development, and personal improvement.  

Is a Sales Manager Your Best Source?  

While you should tap into your leader’s experience and knowledge to grow, surprisingly, your best performance coach may not your supervisor. It's true they were able to work their way up and someone believed them good enough for the next level. Certainly, they should help to guide you and offer ways to improve.

Nick Horvat says, "When asking for feedback from your manager, be open to what you hear. You may not always get the feedback you want or expect."

There are a few reasons why you should not put all your professional development eggs in the basket of your supervisor:

• They have an agenda. Your success it their success as well. As a result, your direct supervisor generally pushes you to do what they want in order to create their version of success. Are they really seeking to understand what you want to improve?

• There may be communication barriers. Are you able to openly discuss things with them? According to a survey by Staffbay, out of 15,000 employees polled, 87% did not fully trust their boss. Without trust, true growth through coaching may be hindered. Along with lack of trust, other barriers may include; time constraints, company policies and process around training, or past negative experiences.

• They may be assuming what you need to work on. Where are they gathering data to help you improve? Are they looking at metrics that could be skewed or may not be based on reality? Information from your supervisor, along with solid coaching around improvement areas can certainly help. Yet again, most supervisors will tell you what to fix and how they think you should best fix it. Without regular observation and targeted development around specific areas of improvement, assumption based training may not generate the desired results.

Is a Third Party Trainer or Coach Your Best Source?

You will gain a lot from a third party coach. I, myself am a business coach and help company leaders from many different businesses reach their objectives. I also hire my own coach and have seen much of my success through this type of development. With a third party coach, the agenda of the supervisor doesn’t exist. In this case, the coach is generally more effective at seeking to understand and help. You should certainly have a third party coach help provide that necessary outside perspective.

Horvat says, "A third party mentor has always been a best practice I use. Someone outside your company allows for unbiased opinions which potentially brings new ideas or skills to the table."

Thus, third parties are excellent resources for performance increases in any aspect of business.  However, there are several obstacles around use of a third party coach that may hinder improvement if not addressed up front. Be mindful of these two potential roadblocks:  

• They may not understand your job role or businesses IQ. A great coach will learn a lot about you, what your trying to accomplish. Together you will co-create a plan to help you get there, and even hold you accountable in your plan! The part they may lack, is their ability to know the true ins-and-outs of your job role. Over time, a coach will learn this, but initially they may not be able to make suggestions that are directly related to specifics on your job. They must be skilled at facilitating your ideas into actionable plans to improve.

• They may not have seen you in action. A coach will listen to things from your perspective and generally see things through your lens. This  means they also potentially share your blind spots. If this is the case, potential solutions could be missed. Roleplaying with your coach may help, but overall, real world observation and participation makes a difference.

Are Coworkers Your Best Source of Advice?

Your coworkers may offer great insight into what your doing well and what you can improve upon. After all, they get to see you in action and are often either in direct competition with you, or are part of your team. You can also observe and imitate the top performers among your peers to help yourself better succeed.

When it comes to seeking assistance from coworkers, Horvat says, "As a manager, I suggest writing down three to five people you trust and respect in your business and seek out their input on a regular basis. You will gain insight on what works for them and bounce ideas off of them before introducing change to your team."  

Though your coworkers can definitely help you, there are still a few reasons your peers might not be the best performance coaches for your career development and improvement:

• They may be biased. Are they concerned you're trying to outshine them? Sometimes, coworkers can put up a guard when they fear you could outperform them. In this case, you may not receive the best advice.  

• They won't hold you accountable. A supervisor or third party coach will usually help hold you accountable for your action plans and career development. Your peers are usually worried about ensuring they get their job done, and will not necessarily follow up or help hold you to your commitments for improvement.

Are Your Customers, or People You Serve Your Best Source?

This, often neglected, resource is a never ending well of information, ideas, suggestions, and accountability. The people you sell to, service or serve can be your best performance coach.

Horvat tells us, "If I had to pick one of the four choices to receive feedback from to grow my career, I would choose the customer... I know that if I'm taking what my customers tell me and applying it to my day-to-day role, I can build a business because I'm listening to what drives my business."

The people we serve are extremely important coaches for several reasons:

• Your improvement is in their best interest. As selfish as this sounds, everything people do is based on receiving a payoff. So what’s in it for them in helping you improve? If you’re in sales, the transaction will better for your buyer if you improve in your role. Thus they are willing to help you improve, (especially after the transaction). If you’re a leader, your team will  be better off if you improve in your role, thus they are usually willing to help you improve. If you’re in the service industry, your growth will directly improve the services you provide for your clients, thus they are probably willing to help you.

• They have seen you in action, and have directly engaged with you. When you want to help your child work on a baseball swing, you get in the batter box with them. Review the basics, then watch them swing. As they do they swing, you point out ways for them to improve.

Observation in this way is the best way to point out areas for improvement. In the same way your clients or staff members have worked directly with you and are well aware of what they enjoyed about you. They have also witnessed your processes and behaviors, and know what you can work on.

How to Leverage Your Best Source of Career Advice

We believe those we serve are our most abundant and impactful source of information on areas to improve. Read the surveys they complete, read your online reviews, the good and the bad to learn and improve. More importantly, start off your engagements by asking them in person, upfront, to help you improve by paying attention during the interactions:

"Customer (or team member) I am always wanting to improve in my [process, management style, sales abilities] so that I may better serve you as your [manager, leader, salesperson, customer service rep]. Throughout our time together, would you be willing to pay attention to what I do best and where I can improve? Then later on, could I ask for your opinion on this to help with my performance?”  

Here are some questions you can ask regularly, or after each engagement, or salesale, (whatever frequency makes sense for you and the people you ask), that will help you identify what you can do to grow in the most effective way:

• How would you describe [me, my products, my services] to your friends and family?

• What did/do you like best about my [process, sale, product, management style]?

• What did/do you like the least?

• What is one area I could change, add, or remove that would help make this better for you?

• What did I do to meet or exceed your expectations?

• Where did/do I not meet or exceed your expectations?

• Do you have any other suggestions? Or Is there anything else?

We highly suggest diversifying your performance coaching input channels by seeking out great coaching from many angles. By all means, seek input from your supervisor or those above you. Ask your peers what they think you can do better. Hire a business or career coach to help you see through a different perspective, lend support, and build on self accountability.  Just remember, the people that are observing you closest and have the most to gain from your improvement are your clients, or the employees that work for you. Actively seek their input and utilize their ideas to best improve your performance.

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The Problem

Admitting a vulnerability can be downright uncomfortable to do as a manager. One reason I often discuss these issues openly is to help other managers see these potential blind spots. Another is to display humility and focus on self improvement. Today's blog is no different: The goal in sharing this challenge is to help you, as a manager, realize the importance of having one-on-one coaching sessions with each member of your team. Also, to help you understand how these interactions will affect your employees, your company, and your career. 

As a young sales manager I never had enough time to accomplish all the things I wanted to do on a daily basis. I wanted to sit down with each team member and allow time for feedback around their efforts. Ideally, I wanted to have time to discover their goals and focus on strategic business planning to achieve them. In my world this wasn’t possible. My intentions to do these things were there, but I had many reasons or excuses to not take action. I would run out of time because I was cleaning up after my employees, putting out fires, and solving problems for them. This was in addition to all the paperwork, reports, meetings, client interaction, tasks, and other activities that were required of anyone in an upper management role.

Eventually, my eyes were opened to the benefits of performance coaching. I realized how powerful the activity can be for both parties involved if done regularly and properly. I still had so much going on all the time, I couldn't squeeze in these intimate meetings with everyone on my team. I downplayed its importance because I just had to get everything else done first.

In my opinion, I was doing a mediocre job of holding myself, and my team, accountable to meet regularly. Though, as my coach put it, I was “successful in spite of myself", something else was missing. The missing factor was identified with a single sentence I read in a book. The name of the book was called, "The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results," by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. The book asked, "What's the one thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

The Solution

It didn’t take long for me to connect the two, coaching and focused intention. After some deliberation around this question I made a decision. If I make coaching one-on-one with my entire team my “one thing” , everything else would be easier or unnecessary". They would grow into the type of employees that could solve their own problems by thinking things through and taking ownership. My team would prevent fires from starting by developing their customer service and communication skills. They would develop business plans that would ensure they hit or exceed their goals. I would help them care for their plans long term, and be an accountability partner for them along the way. By making performance coaching my, one thing, I would improve my team, crush barriers to success, and help my company reach new heights. I made a decision, and committed to make the time for one-on-one development for myself and my team.

11 Positve Results from Our Time Spent Coaching

I started spending at least 15 plus hours each month coaching with my team. Here are some of the results, as stated by my employees themselves. These are just a few of the hundreds of remarks and coaching wins we have celebrated over the past couple years.

1. Coaching Creates Confidence: "It feels great to know that I am doing the activities that will lead to my success each week." “I love being apart of the winning team!” and “It’s amazing being able to communicate effectively with my CEO. What a relief!”
2. Coaching Helps Employees Grow: "I know I'm moving my career in the right direction." and “I’ve hit all my professional goals this year! I can't wait to see where I end up next year!”
3. Coaching Fosters Accountability: "I did say I would do that moving forward and I didn’t this time. I own my mistake." “I give myself a ten on staying accountable for my actions this month.”
4. Coaching Defines Purpose: "I used to sell for the money, now I realize there are so many more important things to sell for."
5. Coaching Initiates Autonomy: "I don’t feel I need to ask you for every answer anymore, I know how to figure things out on my own and I ask myself WWSD (What Would Sean Do?).” This one got a chuckle out of me, as I have said the same thing about my coach.
6. Coaching Inspires Mastery: "I am getting better at my job. The book I just read helped me improve my internet sales process. I sold 7 more units this month than my best month ever!”
7. Coaching Generates Accomplishment: "I've never made this much money in my life. I'll never go back to salary work again!" and “Thank you for helping me get to this point in my career. Its truly a pleasure working with you.”
8. Coaching Gives Fulfillment: "I sold 2 units today! I love my job." and “Only in this office could we have this kind of fun! I really love coming to work each day.”
9. Coaching Lowers Turnover: When I spent time with my employees in a one-on-one environment, they see I care, which helps them feel appreciated. In addition, we solve problems together and make plans that help them reach their sales quotas which in turn help them hit personal financial goals. People meeting sales quotas feel more fulfilled and accomplished; thus, tend to stay on their job longer. Having less than three sales people quit, while promoting seven and hiring six in over a year at a top producing automotive dealership is quite a success story.
10. Coaching Increases Sales and Profit: Our employees are stepping out of their comfort zones to do things they may have never tried alone. They know their managers are here if they need us, but they can do what they need to achieve the results they desire. All the benefits my team sees, I see. As their leader, their success is my success. I feel their victories and wins, and they are addicting!
11. Coaching Lowers Leadership Stress: Since understanding and knowing each member of your team is synonymous with one-on-one coaching. Knowing what makes each member tick, and how to best motivate and inspire them takes a lot of stress off your plate. You will be able to effectively generate buy in around the activities which will help each team member be successful. Less repeating yourself or forcing your hand for action lowers your blood pressure! Maintaining a pulse on your employee's satisfaction levels also comes with coaching. This awareness can prevent costly miscommunication and frustration among your team: also lowering stress.

Did regimented one-on-one coaching free up my time? 

No, it sure didn’t! The ironic part of the entire shift in mindset and action, was in having regular one-on-one coaching sessions with my entire team, it didn’t free up my time at all. It did however, change the activities I was forced to partake in. I spend less time putting out fires and answering questions that someone could self discover. I don’t need to babysit simple processes as much. I don’t need to spend time replacing people that quit anymore, since very few people we coach regularly quit.

Instead of spending my time on these activities, I’ve replaced them with working out more deals for the increased sales. I spend more time chatting with the additional customers that my sales team brings in. I recruit, hire, and train new people in order to grow and keep up with the increase in sales. I enjoy spending more time cultivating leaders for my company. I spend time sourcing and managing a larger inventory for the increased sales volume.

In the end I learned a valuable lesson. No matter what, life in business and management is going to be crazy and challenging. You're always going to be busy and will eternally have a full buffet of tasks and activities to dine on from bell-to-bell. The question is: Would you rather be proactive and spend your time doing the activities that help people grow, produce results, help your company succeed, and build a culture of employees that are drawn to their goals? Or, will you forgo the coaching and spend your time living in reactive mode? As a result you will spend more time cleaning up after mistakes, putting out fires, rebuilding after employees consistently quit, repeatedly need to fire people for under performance, push people to mediocrity, and watch your employees struggle to reach objectives, if you even know what those are with this choice. Both paths are busy, and contain some degree of stress. Either choice will require intense focused effort, and actions on your part to navigate. In contrast, one feels great and helps others, while the other may feel frustrating or even tumultuous at times. It's a a choice between focused intention and growth versus random environmental reactivity.

Take a page from my book. Make the time for regular one-on-one coaching sessions with each member of your team. Learn how to do this effectively, make the appointments and stick to them. It will change your life and your team members lives. Every time you conduct this critical activity, you will learn something and grow from it. If you refuse, at the very least hire someone to coach your individual team members. In doing so, you will spend more time doing the activities that fulfill your career, create success, and energize you.

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Don't worry, I.C.E. is a positive thing! This month marked a huge benchmark to success for my company. For the first time in what may be our dealerships history, we promoted seven people at one time, under one roof top! To see one of my core purposes fulfilled in such a way was extremely rewarding. Consistent business from great marketing, a great product we believe in,extreme  customer satisfaction, and highly motivated purpose-driven employees created the perfect storm. This storm was the need for more leadership, management and sales staff. This need could only be fulfilled in one way: a massive promotion from within! A win for the company, a win for the employees and a win for our clients.

I am proud of our accomplishment, but this article is to help you with a simple process for crafting your very own, home-grown leaders. By following this simple 3 step strategy, I.C.E. we created to build and upgrade our management team, you too can discover and grow such leadership. With a large sales staff, all with their own unique abilities, individual strengths and weaknesses, how do you decide who is the right person for the job? How do you turn good followers into leaders? Follow the three steps below to answer these very critical questions and develop your company's leadership of tomorrow, in other words Identify, Cultivate and Empower your managers.

Step 1: Identify the Potential Leaders

First, you must identify who could be potential leaders. Ask yourself, what qualities are most important for a leader in your organization? Who has the majority or all of the qualities you listed? Of the qualities the candidates are missing, can they be taught, trained or coached on these missing characteristics?

For my car dealership, we wanted the following traits:

• Understanding of the Sale Process
• Five Star Customer Satisfaction
• Clean, Correct and Timely Paperwork
• Highly Trainable and Coachable
• A Good Follower, yet Confident and Autonomous
• Selfless Service: Putting Coworkers and Company Needs First

Once we identified who had the traits above and who didn’t, it was easy to determine who deserved the opportunities presented.

Step 2: Cultivate their Leadership Skills

Before your home-grown leader is ready to take charge, it is important you train and coach them first. Coach your would-be leaders, one on one, knee to knee. By doing this you will determine why they do what they do, and what gets them out of bed in the morning. Once you discover this, you can recruit them by aligning both your efforts.

Let them know, "Steve, what I want for you most, is to reach your desired level of career satisfaction. Based on what you told me in our coaching session, more responsibility and growth is important to you. I want to help you get there and there are some new opportunities on the horizon that will open up soon. Are you open to discussing these new roles and responsibilities now and how you can best serve your company?" For more information on this type of enrollment statement, read “Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions” by Keith Rosen.

We decided to utilize our in-house Training Program I had created and written about in an article this past September, to give the potential leaders practice at training peers. This is a volunteer program and no one was required to train their peers. However, the people that wanted to be leaders, stepped up and acted like leaders. The people we had identified above took the initiative and with little or no resistance, began training their peers to great effect!  

Next, we allow them to shadow the manager in the role above them so they can follow a crawl, walk, run process to taking over the role in the future. Don’t make the mistake of promoting someone, then throw their unprepared mind to the wolves. Set them up for success by cultivating their job and leadership skills.

Lastly, ensure they are comfortable in their new role prior to starting. No new position is ever 100% easy and I believe you have to stretch people's comfort zones to help them grow. However, ensure you build their confidence by testing their mettle, new skills and abilities. Are they proficient enough to do the job? Are they willing to do the job? Ask them how you may best support them in their new role. Ask their peers to show grace and understanding while they get their feet wet learning their new job.  

Step 3: Empower Your New Leaders

Now that your budding, home-grown leader or leaders have been selected and carefully developed, it’s time to empower them. Let your staff know why they have been given this opportunity. This will create drive among your team members who did not get promoted this time. It will also let those team members know what expectations they may not have met in order to make the cut. This gives the unselected team members opportunity to improve and grow as well. Ensure everyone knows the expectations and job description of the new roles for each promoted staff member. People cannot meet expectations they do not know exist!

Let the promoted individuals speak in front of the team. Have them answer the following questions in front of everyone:

• How will you try to best serve your team in your new role?
• What expectations do you have of your new staff members?
• What goals will you work to accomplish in your new role?
• How can your team best support you in this?
• How open to feedback, and constructive criticism from your team members are you?
• How do you prefer to receive this feedback?

Ensure everyone knows the chain of command, pecking order and who answers to whom. Let your team know what's in it for them in these new changes. This will alleviate fear and anxiety, as well as feelings of doubt or dissatisfaction among the entire team when changes like this occur.

You too have fresh, undiscovered leadership talent starting to sprout within your organization. The next great company leader or executive could be ready for photosynthesis right under your feet. Always be looking for the traits that matter for your company's leaders in your direct reports. Once you find them, cultivate their leadership skills with training and coaching to help them grow and bud. Lastly, set them up for pure success by empowering them and enrolling your team in the changes. If you follow this three-step method, your company will be better off for it and your team will love you for it. You will make a positive change in the lives of your employees, while at the same time you will help your company grow! These are both very rewarding events for a leader, ones that you will be proud to have accomplished well into your golden years.

For FREE help on the I.C.E. (Identify, Cultivate, Empower) process, contact Sean Kelley today at KelleyCoaching.com OR via email Sean@Kelleycoaching.com Click HERE to subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

We've all heard the saying "Hero to zero" when the new month rolls around. It's often murmured when our accomplishments from last month are erased from the board, and you get the joy of starting all over again. We say, "Hero to zero!" as we brush off last months efforts and return to the grind.

I believe this phrase came about because of the all too common, "month end hangover". So many sales people leave it all on the floor, so to speak. We work so hard the last week, or last few days of the month, we wear ourselves out! It's no wonder when the first of the new month rolls around, sales often slow down for a few days. After sprinting across the finish line in a mad dash to complete the race, there isn't much energy left to stand up, and start it all over again the very next day. 

As successful sales people know, every minute of every day counts. We should certainly not kick back, relax, and rest on our laurels. That’s the mentality that spawned "Hero to zero". It reminds us that we shouldn’t be tempted to pat ourselves on the back, or celebrate our success from last month. Last months completely finished after all, right? None of the success from last month carriers over into this month, correct?  

Wait a minute... What if last months success still has meaning today? What could be possible if you as a sales representative, could reinvigorate your drive to sell and your motivation to make deals? What if you could hold on to that positive attitude and confidence gained from crushing those goals? What would happen if you carried that momentum into the first week of the new month? 

Before you go cracking the whip on yourself, and start minimizing, or even forgetting about your recent success with the "hero to zero" mentality. For the love of God, take a minute and reward yourself for a job well done! Buy yourself or someone in your family something nice. Do yourself a favor and buy a professional back rub at a local spa. Treat yourself to your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant. Do something you’ve always wanted to do, but never give yourself the time to enjoy. This can actually pay dividends towards hitting your next months sales targets: here is how.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary "Operant Conditioning" is when "the desired behavior or increasingly closer approximations to it are followed by a rewarding or reinforcing stimulus."  

What does this mean for you? This means if the desired behavior for a salesperson is reaching and exceeding goals through selling, then by giving yourself rewards or "reinforcing stimulus", you will actually condition yourself to succeed AGAIN! That’s right, you increase your chances of success, your confidence, and ability to reach and exceed your goals next month simply by rewarding yourself for a job well done! So make the conscious decision to not only feel GREAT about accomplishing your objectives, but purposely give yourself a reward for your efforts. YOU DESERVE IT! 

So the next time you crush those goals, and on the first day of the new month someone tells you, "Forget about what you did last month, its over!" Or "Hero to Zero! Time to get back to work!" Ignore that advice, and instead ask yourself, "How should I reward myself for a job well done?" You deserve the treat, just like anyone else who makes an awesome accomplishment in their career or life! 

At my car dealership we had a record November this year. We exceeded our lofty goal, and on top of that, smashed last years sales by over 20%. I'm going to go to work today, and I will begin the grind all over again. However, I will reward myself by giving my wife and children a fantastic Christmas this year! Also, I think I'll get myself a cool new winter coat to celebrate the success. I may even plan my December reward now, for when we as a team, exceed our new goal for the fresh month!

My question for you: How are you going to reward yourself or your team for a job well done last month, in order to condition yourself for success again this month?

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