One of the main roles of the sales manager is to provide feedback to the sales person. It is important that the feedback result in an increase in motivation and performance. Here are some suggestions for delivering feedback to the salesperson:

Use Questions Rather Than Statements

It is important that you understand things from the salesperson point of view before you offer your feedback. Open-ended questions are much more likely to cause the salesperson to do some serious self examination than simply delivering statements from your own perceptions. Questions such as the following are helpful:

• Why did you choose to handle it that way?
• How did you see your actions improving the customer's position?
• Tell me how you came to that decision.

The goal in the conversation is to get the salesperson to see things more from a management point of view. Your questions can go a long way toward doing that by getting the salesperson to think through his/her actions. While you may be tempted to jump in and make statements, keep in mind that at the end of the conversation you can always add the things that are important to you. But if you want the salesperson to learn, he must wrestle with the issues and come to a larger understanding.

It is also important to see a feedback session as a dialogue between the coach and the salesperson. Pay attention to how much you're talking. It should be less than 50 percent of the time. If not, chances are you are telling rather than asking and the outcome may be less effective.

Play It Back

Paraphrase back everything you hear from the salesperson. This serves two purposes: first, it ensures that you understand what is being said, and, secondly, it allows the salesperson to hear how he is coming across. If the excuses are lame and inappropriate, chances are they will understand that by hearing it played back.

Always attach metrics to feedback. Don't just say I want you to do better, but say how much and by when. Data driven discussions are much harder to refute and it makes it much more unlikely that your feedback will be perceived as personal.

Finally, state your expectation for the future. Whether it is numerical or behavioral, spell out that you expect real change and that it is not negotiable.

Offer your help in meeting the challenge. Suggest follow-up meeting dates and times to check on progress.

What Feedback secrets do you have? Share them on our forum. 

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