Categories: Sales Coaching Tools | Front-line Managers
One of the key ways sales leaders can improve sales performance is by helping their managers coach their teams. Ensure your managers are spending the right amount of time coaching the right people all while taking into account their skills and level of motivation. A Skill/Will matrix can help your front-line sales managers account for differences on their team and coach individuals to success. We cover this matrix and how to use it in a special series on The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast. 
Own the Coaching Process by Executing the Skill/Will Model
The Y-axis in the diagram represents “Skill,” or a person's ability to do a given job. The X-axis represents “Will”, or a person's motivation. The resulting quadrants provide a way for you to coach and adapt your leadership activities based on a person's skill and will. In this episode, John Kaplan provides an overview of the matrix and how it can help your managers adjust their coaching cadence and tailor it to the individuals on their sales team.
Coaching your 3s and 4s (high-will people):
High-willed talent are the people you want to have on your team, they’ll improve your ability to succeed and maintain a competitive advantage in your market. In the episode, John Kaplan shares how to leverage and retain level 4s (high-will, high-skill talent) and help level 3s (high-will, low-skill talent) become top performers.
Coaching your 1s and 2s (low-will people):
Low-willed talent aren’t necessarily your ideal team members, but it’s likely your managers may be dealing with some of these people right now. In many cases, people with high will can slide into the low-will category, due to a lack of leadership and management attention. In this episode, we cover how managers can effectively coach and manage level 1s and 2s.
Coach Your Coaches to Make an Impact
As a sales leader, you have the opportunity to build your managers into great sales coaches.
Effective manager coaching can be the key component to improving ramp time and driving repeatable results from the best-of-the-best on the team. What skills are your managers missing that may have a big impact on your number? What roles do they play well and where do opportunities for improvements lie? Can your managers provide effective feedback? Do your managers stay in sync with their sales team or is there evidence of a disconnect? Get answers to these questions. We have a comprehensive guide with the best resources for assessing your front-line manager's skills and building strong sales coaches.
