What Sales Managers Can Learn from Professional Soccer Coaches

20.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup this yeat where the players put on a terrific show. One very overlooked aspect of the tournament, however, was the efficacy of the coaching staff. In many ways, professional soccer coaches are like sales managers. Both are tasked with leading their teams to success. They do this by designing a winning strategy and providing guidance when the waters get rough. Use the following tips to turn your sales representatives into true champions.

Evaluate Constantly

Your sales team is likely comprised of a mixture of all-star and rookie representatives. Nevertheless, all team members are integral to business growth. A good coach will know how to get the most out of every player. Similarly, sales managers need to be continuously evaluating their employees so they can make sure everyone is on track. If managers are aware of how top-performers spend their workday, they can relay that information to employees who are struggling as suggestions for improvement. By being knowledgeable about how your employees work, you can implement processes and technologies that enable them to reach their fullest potential. Without a familiarity of your team’s strengths and weaknesses, your organization’s internal operations will not be up to par..  

Be Vigilant

Soccer coaches check in with their players during the off-season to ensure they are keeping up with their training and nutrition regimen. Those who are slacking off or are altogether noncompliant will certainly receive input from their coach. Eric Esfahanian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Gryphon Networks, writes that it’s critical for managers to have visibility into what their sales team is doing when they are not working in the office. With the rise of remote teams, this capability is becoming increasingly necessary.

Certain Field Activity Management software lets managers achieve visibility with time and mileage tracking and data collection functions. If managers know how much time their employees spend on the road and at client visits, they can create the most efficient schedules possible to optimize  representatives’ working hours. With the ability to capture data such as notes about clients’ activities and histories, managers can have a clearer understanding of their organization’s relationships with clients. With some software solutions, all of this information can be displayed in real-time, allowing managers to react to issues in the field as they are occurring.

Make Rapid Adjustments

On the field, coaches are forced to think on their feet when the opponent does something unexpected. Likewise, sales managers have to tweak their strategies when things don’t go as planned. This is where coaching techniques come into play (no pun intended). Monthly performance reviews don’t do the best job at helping representatives improve because they lack specific details. Therefore, it is difficult to identify what issues in the field led to lackluster numbers. Constant communication between managers and representatives is the key to overcoming this challenge.

It’s impossible for managers to physically be with all of their representatives to mitigate problems that arise in the field. However, by utilizing an instant messaging platform, employees can reach out to managers for direction at a moment’s notice. With a faster  response time than email and texting, instant messaging empowers employees to handle issues promptly without waiting for input from their manager. This capability helps to establish a trusting relationship between clients and your organization, because clients will know your team is reliable.

Regardless of whether your team is battling for the championship title or striving to hit quota for the quarter, there is a lot at stake. Soccer players and sales representatives work extremely hard to help their teams succeed. As a manager, it’s your job to be a source of support and guidance in good times and in bad. By staying observant of your team and responding to problems instantly, you put your team in a position to outdo the competition.