We all know sales is a competitive and pressurised role where success hinges on more than just product knowledge and sales techniques.
A salesperson's mindset – their beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives – play a critical role in determining their performance.
Sales coaching, which specifically targets mindset development, can unlock a salesperson's full potential, leading to increased sales, improved resilience, and enhanced career fulfillment and satisfaction.
Sales, as a profession, is filled with rejection and setbacks. The mindset a sales rep takes to their role can dictate whether they will experience success or failure in the role.
There is the negative mindset or fixed mindset characterized by fear of failure, self-doubt, and limited beliefs about capabilities, which will hinder a salesperson's ability to bounce back from challenges and persevere in the face of adversity.
Conversely, a positive or growth mindset enables resilience, optimism and sees challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement.
The link between mindset and sales performance is well established, with a plethora of books and journals covering the topic, such as Wang and Netemeyer, 2002, who found that self-efficacy or the belief someone has about their own ability to achieve a desired level of performance in a given task, is a significant predictor of performance.
The idea is that these people are more likely to benefit from high motivation and exert increased effort towards their sales role.
However, where bad stress comes in (and we all know it comes in for most sales roles), this can deplete resources and self-control for the salesperson, thus negatively impacting performance. (Amin, 2020).
Thus it is a combination of the right mindset, balanced with techniques to manage the stresses of the role that can enable optimal performance.
A further observation is that quality sales coaching is still very absent in almost every businesses, especially in regard to mindset. Martin (2017), found that too much emphasis is placed on sales techniques and strategies with little to no time spent on developing beliefs and attitudes that greatly increase sales performance.
When businesses decide to invest in L&D for their sales team, they will usually bring in a trainer for the 20%, i.e. the mechanics of sales; those hard skills to write the right email, find the right prospect, and use the right call script.
This is fine and useful but the focus needs to be on the 80% that dictates success i.e. how much the seller goes into that call or writes that email really believing in themselves, feeling positive and communicating authentically as themselves without the pressure and expectation of a sales target influencing how they show up.
5 ways mindset coaching works in sales
Sales coaching programs incorporating mindset development equip salespeople with the tools and strategies to create a winning mental attitude.
- Challenge Negative Beliefs: Through coaching conversations and self-reflection exercises, salespeople can identify and challenge limiting beliefs that hold them back. Coaches can help them reframe negative thoughts into positive affirmations that empower them to approach challenges with confidence.
- Develop Growth Mindset: Coaches can introduce and reinforce the concept of a ‘growth’ mindset and guide salespeople in applying it to their sales activities. This involves encouraging them to view setbacks as learning experiences and opportunities to develop new skills.
- Boost Self-Efficacy: Sales coaching can help salespeople build self-efficacy by focusing on their past successes and highlighting their strengths. With a coach's guidance, salespeople can set achievable goals and celebrate milestones, further bolstering their confidence in their abilities.
- Increase Resilience: Coaching can equip salespeople with coping mechanisms for dealing with rejection and setbacks. By practicing visualization techniques, relaxation exercises, and positive self-talk, salespeople can develop emotional resilience and bounce back from challenges more effectively.
- Promote Goal Setting: Effective coaching can guide salespeople in setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). These goals provide a clear roadmap for success and a sense of direction, which can enhance motivation and prevent feelings of overwhelm.
Sales coaching that focuses on mindset can also address specific challenges that come up time and time again:
- Imposter Syndrome: Feeling like a fraud despite accomplishments is a common challenge. Coaching can help salespeople recognise these feelings and develop strategies to overcome them.
- Fear of Rejection: Sales coaching can equip salespeople with the skills to handle rejection constructively and move on to the next opportunity.
- Reduce stress and prevent burnout: The demanding nature of sales can lead to burnout. Sales coaches can help salespeople develop strategies for maintaining a healthy work-life balance, which can improve their overall well-being and performance.
The data backs up the theory, such as research by CSO Insights and the Sales Executive Council found companies that invested in a well-integrated coaching programme, saw 10-60% increase in quota attainment which would justify any ROI argument many times over.
The trend to want to implement a ‘coaching culture’ within a business is often discussed and it is true that helping the leaders of an organization, including those in sales, to manage their team as a coach (with a focus on asking not telling) can help create an environment that enables teams to thrive.
However, it is only with an external coaching function, focused on mindset, which is therefore completely independent and where there is no conflict of interest as exists for a manager who is ultimately responsible for the reps performance, will the coaching be transformational.
By equipping the AEs and closers and individual contributors in sales, with the mental tools and strategies they need to thrive, coaching programs can foster a growth mindset, enhance self-efficacy, and promote resilience.
This, in turn, leads to increased sales figures, improved employee satisfaction, and a more positive work environment.
In today's competitive landscape, investing in sales coaching that addresses mindset is no longer an option, it's a necessity for organisations that want to see their sales teams reach their full potential.
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