• First, the manager must set aside time for coaching. Some expert believe that in typical sales management position, 75% of the manager’s time should be spent in the field coaching reps.
• Second, to be truly effective, most coaching must be done individually with reps, in sessions that last from thirty-five to forty-five minutes and take place immediately prior to or following rep activities minutes and take place immediately prior to or following rep activities with customers. This make the coaching more relevant and timely.

Coaching that is delayed or out of sync with applicable situation is not nearly so effective. Although certain amount of coaching of sales reps in a group setting is possible, most coaching of reps should be tailored to the individual to reflect the operating realities of different reps, customer sets, and distributors in a territory.

Third, the benefits of coaching are not truly realized until trust has been established between sales manager and rep. coaching involves confronting problems. Unless trust is present, the rep being coached may not feel the manager has earned the right to be as firm and direct as the situation requires. The manager’s authority is not sufficient in itself to ensure that genuine coaching session will occur.

The sales manager shouldn’t dominate a coaching session. Yet this frequently occurs in the absence of trust. Because trust involves shared values and experiences, developing a relationship takes time. Sales managers must recognize the time-consuming nature of trust building.
A great coach performs several key roles for sales reps :
The instructor-teacher role. Sales managers should help reps integrate what they learned in the classroom about products or selling skills with what their experience is teaching the “in the street.” A sales manager can provide quality instruction to reps, on the spot, before o after sales calls about :
- How to probe for genuine customer needs.
- How to categorize customers by sales potential, in ways that make the rep smarter  in qualifying business prospects or more able to typify the key buying influences in an account. Customer categorization help reps stay organized. They can more readily use their accumulated knowledge of what works for customers.
- How to study and categorize competitors. Sales managers who teach reps to better understand competitors are providing them with information useful in setting sales goals in the midst of changing competition in the local territory. Reps covering key urban territories are often subject to more aggressive and numerous competitive maneuvers than are reps in larger, rural territories.
- How to optimally lay out routing plans for customer call cycles, depeding on various accounts’ sales volumes and territory. The manager can guide reps in defining “A.” “B” or “C” target accounts, then help the rep determine feasible call schedules.
- Sales managers can provide quality instruction on what the rep can do to achieve desirable outcomes. Managers can be dispassionate about which approaches work best and/or how these can be finetuned. This improves a sales rep’s adaptive selling skills. Often a manager accompanying a rep can see ways for the rep to improve his of her handling of customer objections of to improve closing techniques. Teaching reps self-assessment skills is a vital part of a coach’s role.

It should come as no surprise that a large number of online purchases are for computers, printers and accessories. After all, these are things web surfers use every day.

But nearly every day I field questions from friends, family and colleagues who are getting ready to make their first computer purchase so they can get on the internet. In many cases, these folks have never even seen the web or have spent little time online. This dilemma presents a special challenge and a unique opportunity at the same time.

How does the affiliate make this offline sale?

The answer to this question is a simple three-step process. First, sign up for one of the many computer equipment affiliate programs available on the web. I use a Dell computer and heartily recommend them, so I signed up for the Dell affiliate program through http://linkshare.com

The next step is to create a sales page that you load to your website. If you don’t have a website you can simply sign up for a free site from one of the many free providers. A favorite of mine is at http://hypermart.net

This page doesn’t need to sell your customer; it simply needs to provide the links through which the customer will click (many affiliate programs such as Dell contain hidden codes that require your customer to click from a web page.)

For an example of my Dell sales page visit http://smarthomebusiness.com/dell.htm

You’ll notice that the page isn’t a hard sell; it’s a simple page with affiliate links to the Dell site. When my customer clicks on any of these links I’ll be credited with any purchases he makes.

The third step is to get your customer to your sales page. This is the obstacle, since your customer may not be on the web yet.

If necessary, ask the person over to your house. Give your him a hands-on demonstration of the very product he’s thinking of purchasing. Once you have your customer online, show him around the net.

Let him navigate. Show him some of your favorite hangouts, your website, your favorite discussion boards, favorite game sites and anything that might interest him. After a few short minutes on the web he’ll absolutely NEED that new computer!

Wrap up your presentation by taking him to your sales page. For an extra-special touch, name the page after your customer, such as “Mark.html”

By now he’s thoroughly hooked on the web and thinking about a purchase. Let him do it by clicking from your sales page.

Now the Dell affiliate program pays a very small commission, but what I’ve gained is far more important’a relationship with that customer that he can’t get at an offline computer superstore.

I’ve walked him through the web, shown him all the bells and whistles on my own computer (including some add-ons he might like) and established myself as a valuable source of technical information.

The next time he wants to make an online purchase, who will he ask? When he wants to buy software who will he come to for advice? And most importantly, when he has questions about affiliate programs or starting his own online business, who will he ask? You guessed it!

The value of this customer is far greater than the few dollars I made on this original sale’it’s the lifetime value of the customer.

Keep your eyes and ears open for offline opportunities such as this. When you discover someone with a specific need, create a specific page to provide the solutions. Your new customer will thank you many times over with repeat business.

About the author: Scot Dantzer is a media consultant and entrepreneur in Philadelphia. Download his newest book, “Dimes-2-Dollars: 8-Steps to IMMEDIATE eBay Profits” from http://smarthomebusiness.com/dimes.htm SmartHomeBusiness.com Internet Marketing for “The Technology Challenged.” http://smarthomebusiness.com

The reps take feedback from customers about what is satisfying their needs and then adapt sales solutions accordingly. The manager becomes less of an “authority” figure than the person working alongside the rep to help him or her develop and do the very best possible job to keep customers happy.

Many formal appraisals rate reps on a series of proficiencies, both quantitative and qualitative. These include skills in such areas as time management, paperwork handling, customer relations, expense control, holding onto customers and avoiding customer turnober, growing new account, and hitting salse forecasts.

These “laundry list” type appraisals fall down on two counts. First, they assume that reps with all of these well-rounded skills will succeed, which is not always the case in an age of narrower rep specialization. And second, they don`t tie ratings specifically enough back to the manager`s stated goals. Rep proficiency levels are only relevant if the are goal-directed.

For instance, if a sales manager`s goals are to grow sales to new accounts, the proficiencies necessary to produce this result among reps differ markedly from those necessary to hold onto and grow sales via “old line” existing accounts. Each goal requires different kinds of training and daily call effort. Each would emphasize different field-level spending priorities in expense budgets. And each requires different skills in sales technique and paperwork handling.

Competition is tougher, and only companies with high sales productivity, low turnover, and the most motivated sales personnel will thrive in future. Great salespeople become a competitive edge when product parity is widespread among competitors. In high-teach businesses, where short product life cycles prevail, the skills of sales reps often maintain a company’s market standing when its products lose their technological edge.

Rep skills really come into in holding customer loyalties while company labs are still working on a “next generation” product. One way to keep morale high is with special forms of recognition, a clear signal from managers of the standard of excellence they wish all employees to emulate.

Teamwork in selling is more critical than it used to be, and because most pay plans recognize individual effort, teamwork excellence is best inspired by group incentives and recognition. Incentives can be flexibly structured to recognize nonrep members of the sales team, such as support personnel and dealer employees.

In an era of more rep and manager stress, special recognition often can be the tie that binds a rep to his or her company and generates a commodity rarer than gold-corporate loyalty.

1. determine early on how much of the recognition and incentive you want to go for team results as opposed to individual results. If your pay plans are already individualized, you may wish your incentive plans to recognize more of a team effort. For instance, the Boston Celtics basketball team does not pay its players individual incentives based on their personal scoring or other performance statistics (as many other teams do). The Celtics have never had the highest-scoring player in the league, but they’ve won more team championships than anyone else has. They have opted to recognize team effort instead of personal effort. At a $17 million overnight express delivery company in Kearney, new jersey, the sales manager lost the ability to get sales reps to work together and help each other as a team when the company got carried away with an overemphasis on individual bonus incentives. When a manager asked a rep to help a colleague, the attitude was “forget it, I’m trying to make my bonus”. One sound alternative is to provide for individual recognition with status award programs (such as a “circle of excellence” for top sales rep, who can earn a plaque or ring) and a travel-trip incentive for team sales result, including all key team-support people.
2. Always opt for first-class awards/incentives and present them with “public” fanfare so everyone in the company is aware of them. If a quality effort is demanded to win an award, the design and selection of the prize should show the same high attention to “quality”.
3. If a travel award is chosen, award winners should out-number management or hosts on such trips;otherwise the travel award winner may question for whom the trip was really arranged. Trip participation by nonreps should have a direct or obvious justification.
4. If a merchandise incentive plan is chosen, offer a cash alternative as a trade-in. It is too difficult to choose merchandise with universal appeal and utility for all the possible winners. Reps may already have color televisions, VCRs, Microwaves, barbeques, or other usual prize. And an unusual prize may not have any value or use to the winner. Reps close to retirement may not value or use to the winner. Reps close to retirement may not value a brand new sail-board. Nondrinking reps may place no value on an award of vintage wines. Because merchandise award are often not as motivating as travel or status awards are, use them sparingly. Often overlooked awards that have universal appeal include investment instruments such as stock and bonds.
5. Set goals for incentives that challenge participants but are within their reach. Any incentive program that doesn’t fit this “fairness” test will fail. Lack of fairness is usually the single biggest complaint reps voice when discussing incentive plan design flaws. Never design a plan that favors top producers only.
6. Promote the incentive plan to ensure reps are totally familiar with the goals, rules, and ongoing results. A steady stream of reminders will bring optimum awareness and motivation. Send information on the program to reps’ home residences, not through the internal company mail. In this way, the rep’s family can be informed and involved, providing even more rep motivation.
7. Wherever possible, build “intermediate steps or awards” into any plan. This avoids an all-or-nothing scenario in which some outstanding intermediate performers never earn any recognition because final results fall off somewhat of the entire group misses the target.
8. Publicize ongoing results as the program progresses. This creates an atmosphere of steady, healthy competition. It also ensure that the program has chosen goals that can be measured and evaluated easily.
9. Always critique a program when it’s over. Use a formal method of polling reps and hosts about the program details, especially for travel award where feedback about accommodations, services, the chosen location, and activities can help prevent any future problems sometimes encountered on such trips.
10. Always make sure that the budget for the program includes a portion of money to pay the tax owed by the winners on their award. There is nothing more demotivating than winning a big prize or a trip for outstanding sales performance, only to return home and face a big tax bill from the authorities. A motivator can turn into a demotivator very quickly
11. Be careful about assuming that cash awards motivate to the equivalent extent of ather possible awards. Perceptual problems accrue to selecting cash as a motivator, because many experience managers believe it takes more cash than the identical cost of different awards to get the same results payoff. Sales reps psychologically think of cash as income almost regardless of how the cash award is dressed up as recognition.
12. Never expect the incentive plan to do the whole job of the sales manager, directing efforts of reps. Motivating reps is always a combination of compensation and solid infield coaching.

New products usually take reps considerably more time to sell than do proven ones. Short-term cash inducements provide the rep with positive reasons to take the time to win over customers to the new product. Cash incentives are becoming less popular. They are often less motivating than expensive merchandise award, a trip, or are cognition symbol such as a ring, plaque, trophy, or desk set.

The rep can show off merchandise awards or share the experience of a trip prize with other, if it was wan by the entire sales team. Reps remember the energy and work that went into the noncash recognition long after the cash award is spent (often to pay bills).if merchandise awards involve choosing from among a selection of prizes, the reps can put their own personal value on the prize, since it may represent something they would simply use the cash to reduce a debt, save for their children’s education, buy a new appliance, or purchase useful, but not “once-in-a-lifetime,” items.

Trip prizes have “fantasy value” as motivators. They keep the rep thinking about and identifying with the trip’s  benefits as her or she pursues extra sales performance. Where sustained performance is desired by the sales manager, a trip prize motivates far more than do merchandise or cash award. Trip prize, combined with recognition awards that are publicly presented with fanfare to the out standing achievers during the trip, are very motivating.

How should sales result be measured for compensation purpose when quotas are being set and measured against volumes? Determining credit in sales territories can bi difficult when national distributions take product from a supplier into a centralized warehouse and redistribute them to multiple locations. Several sales reps, from the supplying vendor and the distributor, may each deserve credit for some portion of the centralized orders brought into the distribution center. There are no hard-and-fast rules to follow to resolve this issue for measurement except to say:
1.    get a good controller/accountant to help make assigned sales-credit calculation as unbiased and as reasonable as possible. Some calculation will never wholly dependent on, or tied to, income rewards. Reps are also motivated by other incentives, such as advancement in the company, praise, meaningful two-way performance appraisals, and constructive coaching.
2.    choose sales measurement for compensation plan calculations that are available on a timely basis. Late sales reporting that holds up compensation check will make for a frustrated sales force.
3.    select measurement that require as few complicated adjustments or calculations as possible. Reps should be able to quickly figure out their pay from “back of the envelope” arithmetic. If the rep needs software and a personal computer to calculate the performance-based portion of a pay plan, confusion and cynicism will result. Reps have to be able to keep score by understanding how their sales result directly translate into rewards. If they don’t understand the scoring system, they will not see the connection between their result and their compensation.
4.    sell the pay plan formula to the sales force. If its got holes in it, they’ll find them. If its fair, they’ll react well to it. Plans that are somewhat imperfect in design but 100% accepted as fair and credible by reps are far superior to complex, “perfectly” engineered plans that nobody in the sales force really understands or accepts.

It pulls the manager into more territories, often boosting his or her own travel time-and this increases stress as the typical frustrations of living on the road escalate (from late planes, to problem rental cars, headquarter communication hassles, and so forth). Because the manager with more reps to supervise tends to spend less time coaching each rep, there is pressure to do the highest-quality job communicating face-to-face in field coaching sessions. Quality supervision replace closeness of supervision. The manager’s own superiors are probably also putting pressure on him/her to boost productivity.
The sales manager is caught in this tug-of-war between senior management’s goal for maximum output from the field, with autonomy and shared decision making. Successful sales coaches must always balance the need to care about their sales reps as people with business pressures to control them, because they are costly resources.

A sales manager perceived as caring only about business result and carrying out abandoned. They wonder how the manager will function if the business hits rough water. Will the manager help them grow and develop? Should they bet their future on such a leader? This is how reps think when the sales manager works too hard for compliance and control at the expense of maximum output.

Should the sales manager be perceived by superiors as too people-oriented, they become anxious that he/she is too soft on subordinate reps and not focused enough on ensuring that orders flow in and shipments flow out.

More than ever, the sales manager of today has to learn to be both bottom-line committed and a fine coach and employee partner. Learning this takes courage and skill, and few sales manager gets much help or sympathy from above. They could echo the words of Tommy Lasorda, the Los Angels Dodgers manager, who said “ I found out that it’s not good to talk about my trouble. Eighty percent of the people who hear them don’t care and the other 20% are glad you’re having them”.

Individualize your pay plans
With compensation and incentive plans requiring continuous updating, and measurement systems becoming more complex with specialization, are there any general maxims sales managers should follow when designing their rep measurement-reward systems? There are some broad design principles that make sense for the volatile 1990s.
With high market instability marked by wide differences in regional growth rates, industry business cycles, and distribution channel shifts, it makes sense not to put too much of any rep pay plan into a fixed pay plan such as salary. A blended approach that combines some salary (in recognition of rep tasks without immediate or direct sales growth consequences) with some variable pay provide the best compromise between short-term sales objectives and long-term goals for account development and sustained relationship building with customers.

Straight commission plans make it difficult for reps to focus on anything but next mount’s sales quota. Long-term growth in new products or new account development almost always suffers because such activities have reproach in the company’s accounting system. This is often unrealistic when the sales are to national distributors shared between several reps, and especially when such distributors ship to their other branches from a central purchasing center.
The supplying company’s sales are reported in accounting reports in one region, when they may ultimately take place in several territories where the distributor operates. To alleviate measurement problems, sales are often pooled. But these system can be problematic when reps are paid 100% on commission. Arguments frequently ensue between reps about who get what credit for the distributor’s total purchase.
Providing more than 65% of 70% of a rep’s pay in salary leaves a company vulnerable if total market potentials or regional potentials between reps shift. The company will be caught with fixed expenses despite a variable part of compensation, make for high ongoing costs. For every dollar in salary, the company incurs another 15 to 25 cents in benefit costs (pensions, life insurance, health care). Putting more pay into a variable part of the plan makes reps realize they must re-earn their money every year.
The watchword in pay plan design should be flexibility. By paying a rep a portion of his or her total income in salary, a manager retains the control to guide reps in fulfilling all the sales basics required for total account service, including account retention. The “plus” portion of planned income that is variable can be customized to specific performance goals. For some reps it can be fine-tuned to pay for finding new accounts, while with others it can be adjusted to pay for upgrading business existing customers
The “extra compensation” can be paid differently, depending on a rep’s territory or sales tenure. So, if the rep’s growth prospects in a territory are poorer than those of other reps, the plus part of the compensation package can reflect lower growth expectations of the manager.
From a sales manager’s perspective, the concept of blended plans is simple to communicate to reps. The rep quickly learns that his or her base rewards day-in, day-out total selling function, including duty a trade shows, keeping an eye on competitors, or making multiple calls over time to crack key accounts. The rep knows that the additional variable compensation is a customized, personalized  issue that reflects his or her skills, workload, assigned region/account and experience level.
Such system ring fair and comprehensible to reps. Should a company want to shift to a more variable pay scheme, it should boost the percentage of the total planned income that will be paid over and above the salary for sales target attainment. For instance, it could move from 30% extra compensation to 35% to 40%. If the company wishes to have the plan even more closely linked to profit result, it could pay compensation for performance based on total gross margins generated by the rep’s results.
Another variation involves paying reps a portion of bonus compensation based on a mix of objectives up to some target sales quata. Once a rep moves beyond this quota, another piece of his or her income could be paid based on gross margins for volumes beyond the targets set. Paying extra compensation form incremental margins ensures that the scheme is self-liquidating. If sales managers do not wish reps to know gross margins, they can structures the payout based on the reps ability to secure orders as closely as possible to “list prices”. This encourages reps to sell without discounting prices and often accomplishes what payouts based on margins do, since premium prices are frequently a proxy for gross margin targets.

Sales stars often overachieve regardless of coaching or compensation. But getting the average reps, who often compromise 60% of a typical sales force, to perform better makes the biggest difference in a team`s soverall results. To coax outstanding performance from the team, excellent sales managers learn to raise the performance “bar” so that their people have to strech their talents to get over it. But they can not raise the bar to such a height that the performance standard is well beyond the abilities of their people.

Spotting and developing of talented reps can go a long way to ensure that the average proficiency level of a sales rep force improves each year. Combining this blend or reps with astute modern computer-based deployment tactics assures the company that market opportunity matching is optimum.

But coaching reps requires a great deal more than assembling a team and setting up customers assignments in an efficient, sensible fashion. If that is all any team needed to do to win, the teams with the most talent would always win, and certainly those that combined high talent with great game plans would dominate all other teams. In real life, of course, that is not the case. Teams with great game plans often lose. And teams stacked with talent often perform below par and are beaten by rivals with less raw talent who are simply better motivated and coached.

In business, a great ‘field coach” in sales can be just as important to defeating competitors for market share as a sports coach is in winning a championship pennat. Sports teams with outstanding records in variably have superior coaching. And behind most succesfull sales organizations are superior district and national managers who know how to manage both human and business needs.