Providing constructive and consistent feedback is an important part of coaching your sales reps to success. Being an effective sales coach and understanding how to give productive feedback and drive success on your teams takes practice.

Opportunity reviews and sales calls are two areas where you can make a great impact as a sales coach. Here are some key questions to use in both of those areas that will help garner positive results:

 Opportunity Questions to Ask

  1. What stage of the buying process are we in? Each stage may require different messaging and handling. Sellers should have a solid understanding of what buying stage they’re in.
  2. What are the customer’s largest technical and business problems? Understanding the business problem from the customer’s point of view is crucial to effectively communicating value.
  3. What are the economic buyer’s top positive business outcomes? The salesperson needs to understand the success factors for the key decision makers.
  4. What are the technical buyer’s top required capabilities? The technical buyer can stall a purchase before the decision is made if they don’t feel the solution will meet their needs. Sellers must maintain awareness of buying influencers at every level and adjust messaging accordingly.
  5. Which of our differentiators are part of the decision criteria? This question helps the salesperson maintain focus on the key elements that will drive the sale.

Sales Call Questions to Ask

  1. What was the ratio of speaking to listening? If your salespeople are doing most of the talking in their conversations, you have a great opportunity to coach them on better discovery.
  2. Did they adjust their message to the buying audience? Good listening should lead to audible-ready responses to the buyer’s stated needs.
  3. Did they ask open-ended, two-sided Discovery Questions? Good questions lead to better understanding of the buyer, and therefore a better ability to meet their needs.
  4. How well did the salesperson implicate pains and uncover requirements before discussing solutions? This is a critical component in order to create and capture value for the customer.
  5. How well did the salesperson attach solutions to the buyer’s biggest business problems? Being able to synthesize customer insight and attach a differentiated solution to the buyer problems will help drive the sale and preserve margins.