Coaching the sales coach at an electronics manufacturing corporation

An electronics manufacturing corporation identified the need to develop coaching amongst its sales managers. Like most organizations, sales managers in the company began as sellers, learning how to uncover customer needs, position their company’s offerings, and close deals. While they developed expertise and performed well as individuals, these skills did not directly transfer to being great sales managers. The organization also recognized that coaching was not an innate skill for most. Some sales managers were able to “figure it out,” but many more fell into traps such as completing their sellers’ tasks for them, rather than equipping them to do so themselves. To break this cycle, BTS partnered with the organization to build a comprehensive approach that combined a targeted training program focused on sales coaching skills, professional one-to-one coaching for sales managers, and mentorship from senior sales leaders.