Why is sales coaching done the way it’s done?
Well, to be blunt, a better option hasn’t existed. Sales coaching software, accompanied by the strategies and tactics to drive change, have all relied upon humans helping humans or humans monitoring humans (via software).
Multi-billion dollar software companies and sales consulting organizations have all been built on this approach. It is flawed, outdated, and ineffective.
Take a look at G2, and see how many companies are now providing sales coaching software, it’s flooded. How do you even begin to differentiate the old way from the new way?
But before we dive into the good stuff, we need to give this some context. Let’s go back in time and tell a story.
Let’s start at the beginning
219 years ago to be exact…
It is 100 years before the period of Modern Physics, and 77 years before the light bulb is invented. We can assume that Thomas Young was trying to demonstrate the wave behavior of light, by candlelight, while performing his groundbreaking experiment.
So what is the cliff notes version of what he discovered in his Double Slit Theory Experiment?
The simple act of observing a particle has a dramatic effect on the behavior of that particle. The moment observation or measurement is introduced into or onto a quantum system, things change.
7 octillion, that’s 7 followed by 27 zeros.
That is how many atoms are in your body.
If one particle changes behavior when it’s watched or measured, how do you figure 7 octillion respond when being monitored and measured?
Traditional sales coaching software, barge, whisper, and role-playing… all completely ignore the basic understanding of how your body behaves when being observed by another human.
99.99% of our body is made up of atoms of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.
Each of these behaves differently under observation and measurement.
If your company claims to unlock reality or scale the science of sales, then in reality it should probably take into account the actual reality of the science of the humans doing the selling.
Why is Abstrakt different?
It is our belief that sales is part science and part art.
An “abstract” is the summary of the most essential parts of a scientific paper, and Jackson Pollock’s (abstract artist) splatter paint art is a glorious representation of how messy sales can get.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) has finally progressed to a reliable level where real-time sales coaching software is now a viable option when considering how to remove humans (and the subsequent interference) from the most revenue-impacting functions in an organization.
Yes, we are arguing that the very people organizations hire to influence top-line revenue or ensure quality, are also the biggest detractors of goal attainment. It is not their fault, it is the human body’s fault. It is kind of a tricky situation to be in.
However, facing the reality of the situation is easier if one understands the science (and data) behind the decision. Leaders claim to want data to drive decisions, well, here is the data, it’s been available for 219 years.
With real-time sales coaching software, humans are no longer required to coach or measure humans. Reps and Agents are no longer “being watched” and are not in a constant struggle against how their body behaves and how their manager wants them to behave.
Consider the last time you took a proctored exam, performed an instrument in front of a crowd for the first time, or had your manager sit next to you while you cold called… your body felt different.
Your heart rate was elevated, your eyes were dilated, your senses were heightened; you were “nervous”.
That was your body reacting to being watched.
Overcoming this is only accomplished through years and years of practice.
Organizations facing the challenging times of today don’t have years to ramp up their agents and reps.
Back to sales basics
Let’s dust off the old science books and start ignoring the catchy headlines of popular companies today. Let’s get back to the basics, of understanding the actual science of sales.
If current techniques in sales coaching are flawed, let’s change them.
If you don’t believe us, take a look at our 2022 Current State of Call Coaching survey. With over 1,300 submissions, you’ll see why there is such a divide when it comes to leaders and reps.
Here is what we suggest that works for us and all of our customers.
- Sales leaders need to focus on employee growth and development. Not how to handle the same objection over and over again.
- Utilize real-time sales coaching software to tell them exactly which parts of a call they need to listen to. No more spending hours of their time listening to call recordings.
- Focus on tactics and strategies with their team. What’s working or not working? What is something unique they’ve heard while cold calling? And so on.
When sales leaders implement those three things, their team takes off.
No more stuck in the old ways of sales management.