Sales Coaching - easily said but often poorly executed

Someone once asked me if I had a mentor to which I replied, "yes hundreds". What I meant was I try to learn something from everyone I meet. In effect I use others great tools, techniques and ways of learning for my own personal growth.

I guess it is a kind of self coaching - learning from others by listening, observing and trying something new.

I coach many people and one of the things I am often told is, "I don't have a coach or a mentor and that is why I am not improving. My boss just doesn't have the time to coach me".

How about using all of your business and personal encounters as opportunities to be coached?

Now I am not advocating that you do not need a coach to help you improve - maybe that is your boss, perhaps it is a mentor outside of your immediate job - but you can use your everyday encounters as coaching sessions. Listen to how some people introduce themselves, observe how some carry themselves, look out for tips on how to act in certain situations when you are with your clients.

Treat everyone you meet as somebody you can learn from and be "coached" by. The difference between being managed and being coached is that managing is about data, projects, doing stuff. Coaching is about improving by communicating, adapting and trying out different methods and ways of doing stuff.

In these challenging times change is inevitable and indeed healthy. Those who thrive will be the ones who are constantly learning, constantly coaching themselves and constantly improving.