KIA&B 2019 March/April 2019 | Page 19

Adaptability Next Steps Exceptional salespeople pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. When faced with a new challenge, they adapt their approach to fit a marketplace change or a buyers’ behavior style. Need help moving from selection to skill development? With Caliper Precision Series, you can empower your teams with training on their specific development needs on a schedule that fits for them. What are you waiting for? Get started today by visiting www.calipercorp.com! Discounts apply to all KAIA members. Sales managers can help their teams get into these habits and coach them into improvement in these three ways: 1. Flexible Thinking – Deepen awareness and perspective by accessing different ways of thinking. This will lead to a greater understanding of how their customers think. 2. Plan Ahead – Instead of getting stuck into one solution, have a contingency plan in place for when plan A doesn’t work. Planning allows salespeople to examine the opportunities and threats in current and future situations, and understand what resources they have to fix them. 3. Be Curious – Curiosity helps to open the mind, enable growth, and encourage new ideas. By being curious, salespeople can develop unique approaches to problems and hopefully find the results needed. Be Prepared Activate your Coaching Skills 1. Maintain your positive outlook 2. Know how to navigate conversations 3. Ask good questions 4. Listen to what they have to say Building upon planning in adaptability, salespeople who take the time to prepare for every meeting tend to be more successful. They have a deeper understanding of the products they’re selling, frequently asked questions, what their customers need, and what they want to accomplish in this meeting. Managers can set clear expectations for customer meetings and coach each salesperson in specific preparation skills. Enter every meeting with a purpose and be prepared to accomplish that purpose. 5. Encourage them to share 6. Coach in the moment “Organization who coach their em- ployees can effectively and frequently improve business results by 21%, com- pared to those who never coach.” Caliper’s Esstials for Coaching report | March - April 2019 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER KIA&B_MarApr2019_Draft.indd 17 17 4/19/2019 10:11:39 AM