How to Know if a Sales Coach is Right for You
A Guide Designed to Help You Know What to Expect, Ask All The Right Questions, and Make a Confident Investment in Growing Your Career or Business
by Luis Báez
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re struggling to decide if a sales coach can help you become a successful sales professional or entrepreneur. Building a business is exciting. It’s a way for you to use your skills, make a difference, and create a substantial income for yourself if it’s done correctly. But getting your first sales can be a long and frustrating process. The expertise of a sales coach can make it easier though!
My Own Experience with Sales Coaches
No one can start a business all on their own. Even when I started my own business after all the experience I'd had leading sales teams and closing over half a billion dollars in sales, I still had so much to learn! The idea of building a business that was both profitable and purposeful would have been impossible if I’d only utilized my limited skill set to try to get there.
In an attempt to fill the gaps in my knowledge, I went down the rabbit hole looking for the magic strategy to get my business off the ground and start succeeding immediately. I Googled like crazy looking for a quick-fix solution.
When I finally found an online business expert that appeared credible, I quickly booked them. It was my first major investment in my business. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was a huge mistake. Within two weeks, I realized his teaching style was completely incompatible with my learning style. He wasn’t right for the type of business I was building, and his program had major flaws that left me confused and unable to take my new business to the next level.
That’s the moment I had an epiphany. It’s not that the program wasn’t “right” for me. It’s that it was intentionally designed to prevent me from succeeding. If my business succeeded, I wouldn’t have needed the business coach anymore. By holding me back, the coach was almost forcing me to continue using his services. It was his mission to take my money without providing the services he claimed he would.
The Benefits of a Sales Coach
Although this was one of the hardest lessons I’ve ever learned, it was a lesson that motivated me to start my own sales coaching business and help others achieve their dreams. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to you. I want you to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted for your sales career or business. My goals for coaching you are your goals as an executive or entrepreneur. I want to see you achieve:
Consistent month to month business growth
A more flexible schedule with mental space and energy for things besides work
Greater work-life balance
More time for friends and family
A healthier lifestyle where you have time to sleep in and care for yourself
Maybe you’re at a point where you think all of this is impossible. Maybe you’re so drained from long days and weeks, putting everything into your work or business only to get next to nothing in return. But all of this is possible when you have the right tools and the commitment to get there.
Although I’m going to help you achieve these things, I also need you to dedicate yourself to the process. You have to be willing to:
Ask questions
Learn from others
Ask for help when you need it
Because I’ve been through the processes of B2B sales and starting my own business, I understand exactly what you’re going through. I want to be one of your biggest supporters!
How to Identify the Right Sales Coach
You might be thinking that all of that sounds great—but how? How does a sales coach actually help you accomplish those things? The most effective sales coaches have a process that they’ve carefully perfected. Every great coaching program should be:
1. Personalized
It should be personalized to your learning style and your business objectives
2. Skills-based
The number priority of the program should be on helping you improve skills and techniques rather than just crunching numbers
3. Revenue-focused
While it may sound simplistic, any program you try should be focused on maximizing revenue.
The best programs should also encourage selling in an authentic way. I think that when you invest yourself completely into your business, people are attracted to it.
Sales Coach Services
When I talk to many solopreneurs, sales professionals, and business leaders for the first time, often they know they want a business coach or a sales coach but they’re really not sure why. They just know that the process of building a business feels complex and even lonely—because it can be.
There are many ways that you might benefit from working with a business coach or sales coach. They can:
Review your marketing tactics and optimize sales
Help you create and validate offers
Shadow your sales calls, identify areas for improvement, and guide you into making better calls
Conduct weekly calls for strategizing and keeping you accountable
Review correspondence with prospects, improve your negotiating tactics, and help you close more sales
Help you create sales collateral such as decks and proposal templates
Develop a strategy for increasing customers
Act as your sales rep during your launch and help you close more sales
These are just some of the potential advantages of a sales coach. Don’t be limited by them. They should inspire you to think of other ways a sales coach can be an asset to you.
Signs Now is the Right Time to Hire a Sales Coach
Now that you have some ideas of how your sales coach can help you, it’s time to start thinking about when the right time to get a sales coach is. Many people need one at several points during their sales and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Ideally, you should get one right when you start your business or prospecting. But if that time has already passed, you should at least try to hire one as soon as possible. The sooner you hire the sales coach, the faster you can start improving processes and maximizing sales. If you’re still not quite sure, be on the lookout for these signs:
Lack of Revenue
Being dissatisfied with the amount of revenue you’re getting is the number one reason to turn to the expertise of a sales coach, regardless of how new your business is and what your business model might be.
Serious Confusion
If you have no idea how to price your services or package them for your customers, you’re going to have a much harder time getting your business off the ground and you’ll likely lose money. A good sales coach can help you figure all of this out and relieve stress.
Unsuccessful Pitches
Few things are more frustrating than doing pitch after pitch only for no one to hire you or make a purchase. This is a sign that it’s time to get help from a sales coach to figure out what you’re doing wrong.
Numbers Overload
Maybe you have a passion and purpose for your business, but you hate working with the numbers. This is no way to run a business. A sales coach can help you build your confidence so you can get over this hurdle.
Time to Scale
Maybe your business got off to a surprisingly successful start and you’ve experienced steady income since then, but now you’re ready to scale. A sales coach can help by introducing automation and new offers to help your business grow and thrive.
Hiring Process
If you’re ready to make your first sales hires, it’s the perfect time to hire a sales coach. They can help you implement training to make successful sales reps.
Fired Up About Selling? Take Your Next Step With Me
Strategy Sessions with Luis
You a solopreneur, sales professional or business leader stuck in a rut? Talk it out with me! I've been there, and I can guide you past sales anxiety, fear of rejection, and all the maddening mindsets that keep you from getting the results you deserve.
