Sales 2.0 Helps Managers Become Better Coaches

There’s nothing like experience when it comes to closing deals, which is why it’s so important for sales organizations to share their best practices. Unfortunately, not every organization and every manager can provide the kind of coaching that allows even beginning sales pros to become quickly productive.

One way to make sure that coaching takes place in a timely manner is to put some of that "best practices" experience online. For example, a new product called SalesCallPlanner from the sales training firm Richardson helps sales pros envision, map out, and prepare for key customer calls. It provides a step-by-step planning process and a series of just-in-time training, videos, audio, and coaching reinforcement tools to organize and prepare dialogues to help move the sale forward.

For those situations where personalized coaching would help, SalesCallPlanner allows sales managers to review sales call plans, and then provide feedback and coaching before or after a meeting. "It lets salespeople prepare more fully and quickly for sales calls with the help of what seems like a personal trainer and coach," according to Richardson founder Linda Richardson.

The product definitely helps sales team focus, according to Chris Hens, president of White Springs, a technology company that helped Richardson implement the application. "For years, customers have been looking for ways to increase the effectiveness and utilization of sales training," he says. "Integrating SalesCallPlanner directly within customers’ CRM/salesforce automation applications can significantly increase training impact because it brings learning into the context of the user’s daily sales environment."

BIO: Chris Hens is President and COO at White Springs, a company that engages in joint ventures with sales methodology authors. More than 300 companies in 20 countries currently use White Springs-powered sales methodologies. Prior to working at White Springs, he was senior partner at the CRM vendors OnTarget and Siebel Systems, and a regional manager at Entex Information Services.