6 bad things that may happen if you aren’t reviewing your team’s demos

A lot has been made in recent years about the lack of coaching in the field of Sales, and many studies have been conducted into just how successful it can be if done correctly. So if sales productivity can be increased by 88%, why are managers only spending 5% of their time on coaching?

Indeed, this realization is stunning more and more companies into action, and the coaching movement has revolutionized the processes of many companies, but as the stats show, many still are not following suit. This is often not due to lack of will or buy-in, but rather due to being too busy in the short-term to implement such a sweeping change.

In the software industry, a similar trend can be seen, and many businesses are reaping the benefits of beefing up their feedback procedures and allotted coaching time — not just in sales calls, but also in demos. Others, however, are not, and with that unfortunately leave themselves open to the following six bad things that can happen if you aren’t reviewing your team’s sales demos.

1.Mixing up the message

Do you actually know what your reps are telling prospects on a day-to-day basis about what it is your company does? Is the message being communicated in a way that fully does justice to what the product can offer customers and place focus on their pain areas? Possibly not, and you may not even be aware of it.

2.Blissful ignorance

It seems obvious to say, but many salespeople are confident individuals, and without any guidance or correction it’s understandable for them to think that they’re doing a great job and they don’t need to change any of their selling techniques. They thus have no means of knowing what best practice actually looks like, let alone put it into action.

3.Low morale

Or the flipside of number 2. Some reps who would have the chance to flourish if given more feedback on their demos are left to flounder if they don’t feel they can ask for help. This will inevitably cause poor morale amongst multiple people, and the failure cycle will exacerbate until that rep no longer has a job. This always proves costly for both the rep and the company, who now have to go through the expensive process of re-hiring and training.

4.Lack of variety

It’s way too easy for people to become slightly lethargic if left to their own devices for too long. And yes, this even applies to accomplished, driven sales professionals. This can often lead to a malaise that comes in the form of sleepwalking through demos, trotting out the same old lines every day. The problem with this is that prospects are a complex bunch that have different problems and pain areas to be addressed.

5.People can’t learn from one another

Peer coaching is a growing phenomenon in which employees can coach one another in an unofficial thus non-threatening environment. This way, they will be able to learn from one another’s experiences and impart the coaching given to them to their colleagues. The question is, how can they do this without themselves having been coached in the first place, and without the support of a company-wide coaching culture?

And finally the big one…

6.Less Sales!

There’s only one consequence when the previous five points are combined, and that is the most important thing to all sales managers — a decline in sales statistics. It may be that the company is still doing good business in spite of this, but as all CEOs would agree, what’s the point in good when you could be doing great?

Countless companies are enhancing their demo-to-sales ratio through making time for effective coaching and flourishing in the process. If you’re one of those that aren’t, it’s definitely time to reconsider.