Leverage Sales Coaching Software to Boost Team Performance

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Whether it’s a football team or a sales team, you need a coach to turn your rookies into pros. Good managers can coach sales reps to learn new skills, build rapport and close deals confidently. They give the team unbiased and constructive feedback to improve their sales game.  

That said, finding the time to provide your teams with regular coaching isn’t easy. While everyone may receive the same training when they join the team, on-the-job coaching must be personalized to be effective. Coaches must address individual strengths and weaknesses. 

It becomes easier when you use a good sales coaching software tool. In this article, we’ll look at how sales coaching software can boost your team’s performance and we’ll help you find a software solution that works for you. 

What is sales coaching?

Sales coaching refers to the training of sales representatives so as to improve their performance. 

Coaching requires one-on-one sessions and is typically led by sales team managers. They must first listen to calls, analyze conversion metrics and check the rep’s current performance. The coach and sales rep must then work together to identify opportunities for improvement. Self-diagnosis empowers sales teams to take ownership of their performance. 

To be effective, sales coaching should be a continuous process and not a one-time event. Coaches should offer sales reps  regular feedback and follow-up to encourage growth and improvement. Coaching focuses on upgrading soft skills such as communication, negotiation, objection handling and deal closings. Sales coaches also help sales agents set individual targets that are aligned with team goals.

Why is coaching an important part of sales enablement? 

Sales coaching helps sales reps improve their skills and adapt to an evolving market. The sales team and the company can both benefit from it.. 

1. Better self-confidence

Not closing deals can undermine your sales reps’ self-confidence. They may know all the answers and yet they can still doubt themselves. With the right coaching, they can identify what’s keeping them from closing deals and work on turning things around.

It may be something as simple as changing the pronunciation of certain words. Knowing where the issue lies and having a solution to it can boost your agents’ confidence in themselves. And by sounding more confident during sales calls, they will ultimately increase their sales numbers. 

2. Stronger working relationships

Regular coaching makes employees feel supported by the organization. It gives them the tools and opportunities necessary to learn new skills and grow their career. Investing in sales coaching can improve working relationships between sales teams and their managers. It can also foster loyalty among employees and encourage them to stay longer with the company. 

3. Improved conversion rates

This is probably the most obvious benefit. Knowing what to say, when, and how, can help sales agents push leads through the sales funnel and increase conversions. It also standardizes the sales process and ensures that every agent on the team gets the support they need. Not only are individual targets reached, but the company’s sales and revenue also increase. 

4. Increased accountability

Part of coaching is helping agents recognize their weaknesses on their own. They also work together to set achievable goals. Beyond this, regular coaching sessions offer a platform to measure improvement and review progress, helping each agent take ownership of their growth. 

5. Adapting faster to changing markets

When coaches recognize a strategy that works with one particular agent, they can share it with others to democratize knowledge across the organization. This makes it easier for teams to adapt to changing customer needs. For example, customers from a certain region may prefer to be called in the evening rather than in the morning. 

6. Better customer relationships 

Sales coaching not only brings benefits to your business and employees, it also allows customers to enjoy a better experience. Their requests are handled faster and sales conversations are more engaging. This strengthens customer relationships and fosters customer loyalty. 

What is a sales coaching software solution?

Traditionally, sales coaches had to listen to live calls to assess agent performance. But since teams usually handle multiple calls simultaneously, a coach is only able to listen to one call at a time. A sales coaching software solution can help with that.

Sales coaching software is a tool or platform designed to facilitate the coaching process. It is a comprehensive solution made up of multiple tools ranging from call recorders to AI-generated call analytics. It empowers sales coaches to make data-driven decisions during training sessions. 

There are several types of sales coaching tools:

1. Live Call Coaching Software

With live call coaching, coaches can listen to calls, guide agents without the prospect hearing them, or join a conference call. They can also listen to recorded calls and transcriptions. It makes it easier for them to see how keywords have been used in conversations and evaluate their impact. 

2. Recorded Sales Call Coaching

Sales coaching software that records and transcribes calls helps with conversational analysis. It allows coaches to see how keywords have been used in conversations and assess their impact. Coaches can listen to phrases with specific keywords rather than entire conversations.

3. CRM Sales Coaching Software

This software is integrated with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms. It provides insights on customer journeys through the sales funnel, sales activities and goals. The data can be used to provide tailored feedback on sales activities and customer relationships. 

4. Simulation Sales Coaching Software

Simulation sales coaching platforms are used to create mock-up sales scenarios.  Sales agents can use these platforms to practice what they have learned. Coaches can then assess their performance and help them refine their sales pitch in a controlled environment. 

5. Gamification Sales Coaching Software

Gamification is a good way to keep the sales team engaged in training activities. By designing coaching programs with reward systems that use badges, leaderboards, etc., sales coaches promote healthy competition. It also encourages participants to keep working on acquiring new skills. 

6. Sales Coaching Software with Performance Analytics

These tools enable coaches to access data on call activities and measure sales performance. Tracking and analyzing these key metrics help sales coaches make personalized coaching recommendations. 

7. VoIP Sales Coaching Software

Leveraging VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology for sales coaching gives sales teams access to a wide range of productivity-enhancing features, including sales call recording, call transcripts, CRM integration, tagging, call commenting, and so on. It makes it easier for sales teams to manage calls and sales coaches to guide them to success through action plans. 

AI in the sales coaching process

Just like in other sectors, AI in customer-facing processes has made a niche for itself. AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) technologies can play a significant role in the training of sales teams. AI-Powered Sales Coaching Software makes it easier to analyze sales data and predict sales trends to provide personalized recommendations. See below how AI can influence sales coaching.

Call transcription for performance monitoring

Even with access to recorded calls, sales managers may not have the time to listen to every call. With AI, managers can access automated call transcriptions for sales training. This helps identify the keywords and product-related terms used in each sales conversation. Coaches can then give agents specific sales training tips. 

AI-generated call summaries for on-demand coaching

AI-generated call summaries are free from bias. They accurately capture key moments during customer interactions, the main topics of conversation and the calls-to-action used. Managers can also use these concise summaries to review every call in a timely manner. 

In addition, the call summaries are easy to look back on whenever required, particularly to assess agent performance improvement over the coaching period. 

Talk-to-listen ratio analysis for content recommendation

The talk-to-listen ratio as assessed by AI sales coaching software illustrates the balance between the time an agent spends talking and the time they spend listening to customers. While agents must talk confidently about the product/service on offer, they must also listen to the customer. This is the only way to understand what the customer needs. 

With AI, this ratio becomes easier to analyze. Coaches can then use it to guide sales reps on any changes they should make to their script.

Top Sales Coaching Software

Choosing the right platform is key to reap all the benefits of sales coaching, you must choose the right platform. There are several sales coaching software solutions available on the market today. Below are some of the top-rated software options for businesses.

1. Aircall

Aircall is a VoIP business communication service that simplifies call management and supports sales coaching. As a cloud-based communication system, it is an easily scalable solution particularly well-suited for remote teams. Aircall also provides sales leaders with call recordings and other tools to make it easier for them to study and analyze team performance. 

With call summaries, call transcriptions, talk-to-listen ratios and more, the AI Starter Plan by Aircall gives coaches access to conversation intelligence. It is easy to integrate with CRM systems and other tools for unbiased call analysis and data-driven coaching. 

2. Close

Close is a CRM that offers reporting features for calls, SMS, emails and more, along with activity tracking. Syncing communication across different channels gives managers a picture of how sales reps are performing. Close also offers live call coaching through the Listen, Whisper and Barge functionalities while staying connected to the CRM. 

While the Listen functionality gives coaches anonymity on calls, the Whisper feature lets them guide sales reps without the customer’s knowledge. With the Barge feature, they can join a call and speak to both parties. 

3. Flockjay

Flockjay is a platform that offers data-driven sales coaching. It provides sales coaches with data on top performers which they can use to replicate best practices. It also enables remote coaching and peer-to-peer learning. 

Flockjay uses AI to assign quality scores for sales calls and real-time analytics to identify sales coaching opportunities. It also uses gamification tools to create a more engaging process.

4. Brainshark

This call coaching solution focuses on content for sales coaching. Team leaders can create and customize learning text- and video-based learning content to train teams. Content from PDF files and web pages can be transformed into presentations. 

These presentations and product videos can be sequenced to be delivered at different stages of training. Content can be individually assigned to employees and a certificate can be generated upon completion of  a course. Simultaneously, trainers can track activities and monitor performance metrics. 

5. Grain

Grain is a sales coaching software tool that automatically records, transcribes and summarizes sales calls. Sales coaches can access and review these files instead of having to listen to hours of recorded calls. 

Grain allows coaches to create highlights of key moments, add comments and share them as feedback across collaborative tools. These recordings can also be stitched together to create training material for the entire team. 

Upgrading to VoIP Connections for Better All-around Sales Coaching

If you’re looking for an all-inclusive sales coaching platform, a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) business communication solution may be the answer. This sales coaching tool offers cost-effective communication, real-time monitoring and access to performance analytics. 

Aircall is one of the leading VoIP service providers for businesses across industries. Users can choose between two monthly pricing plans and leverage the AI Starter Plan for more effective sales coaching. 

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Published on December 1, 2023.