Coach’s Corner: Calling All Managers

and thought leaders discuss a variety of topics to teach and inspire in digestible 15-minute increments.

Incorporating this method into training your salespeople will keep them engaged and help you deliver new information they’ll actually retain.

Remember: Your vendors have a lot of content for training available for you. Just ask them for it.

4. Reward, Reward, Reward
Salespeople are driven by goals, probably more so than other employees. Rewarding them can be simple.

An effective sales training technique is to tell your team members they are doing a good job.

Always use specifics to make these successes tangible and more meaningful. When you see something simple someone has done that is helpful, let them know.

It doesn’t have to always be about the end goal or number. Letting a salesperson know you appreciate something they’ve done, or a simple “good job,” can make all the difference in the world to someone.

Many times, that’s when you see a shift in attitude.

5. Feedback
Don’t forget to give feedback to your sales team.

The most effective feedback is when it’s just happened. Listen in on a customer sale and give feedback right after the customer leaves the store. It’s the most effective real-world training and coaching.

Feedback needs to be fresh and the salesperson can reflect on the experience.

6. Share Success Stories
According to the National Business Research Institute, employee attitude affects 40-80 percent of customer satisfaction, and the study of one retail giant revealed that a 1-point increase in employee engagement led to a $200,000 increase in monthly sales per store.

High employee engagement and morale has a direct impact on the bottom line. Sharing mutual successes also instills a sense of unity in your salespeople and encourages them to work harder and smarter.

When I was strictly in diamond sales I would do “the diamond dance.”

Once I sealed the deal on a sale I would look at my business partner, Mike Mojica, and say, “I am doing the diamond dance!” I’d get up and dance around the office. It was my celebration.

Make sure you celebrate all your sales! I will be in a lot of your stores this fourth quarter and expect to see some diamond dances.

And I bet National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff would love for you to send her some quick videos of your diamond dance at your stores. Let’s see who has the best moves; I’m totally serious about this!

Last Word
Providing reassurance to your sales team through recognition instills confidence and fosters natural skills in the sales arena. Couple that with frequent, flexible and manageable product education and short sales meetings, and you’ll take your team from great listeners to selling superstars.

See you in your stores!

Pat Henneberry is president of consulting and sales training company The Jewelry Coach and an advocate for natural diamonds. Reach her at 512-203-3414, via her website, or on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.