The Right Cadence For Coaching - Victoria Abeling - Coach2Scale - Episode # 012

Coach2Scale: How Modern Leaders Build A Coaching Culture

Today’s guest is an accomplished sales leader with an extensive career in the cybersecurity industry. Victoria Abeling is the Head of Americas Sales Development, Commercial and International Sales at VMware Carbon Black. Victoria and Host Matt Benelli discuss why the cadence of coaching matters, why looking into losses is as important as looking into wins, and how to avoid giving bad feedback to your team.

Takeaways:

• Both sales managers and sales reps should stop looking at coaching as something they receive as a punishment for failing at their job. It is the job of the sales leaders to help their reps get better at their craft and this is best done through coaching.
• Sales leaders should use an operating cadence as a way to assess priorities by breaking down their calendar into different views, from the yearly perspective, all the way down to the weekly view. For example: Promotions = Yearly, Performance Reviews = Half Yearly, Sales Quotas = Quarterly, etc.
• A great way to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales team is to provide great coaching for them on discovery. Help them develop the skills to ask curious questions early on in the pipeline.
• As a sales leader, encourage your sales reps to prioritize disqualification. Help them understand that saying "no" or parting ways with unqualified prospects is just as important as closing good deals. By focusing their time and efforts on promising opportunities and leveraging data-driven coaching, your team can make the most impact and maximize their sales success.
• Utilize data to provide objective feedback and coaching to your team. Analyze patterns in wins and losses, identify areas for improvement, and use the insights to tailor coaching sessions and training initiatives.
• Avoid reacting defensively to harsh feedback and criticism. Instead, thank the person for their feedback and use the restraint of your response to change their perspective.
• Implement regular one-on-one meetings, performance reviews, and training sessions. Develop standard operating procedures to ensure a consistent coaching cadence. Publish a coaching calendar to keep the team informed and engaged.

Quote of the Show:

• “My job is to make you better at your craft and in order to do that, I have to spend time in order to help you get better at what you're doing and by that, I coach you” - Victoria Abeling

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaabeling/
• Company Website: https://www.vmware.com/

Shoutouts:

• Bryan Cox
• Josh Lesley

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Yb1wPzUxyrfR0Dx35ym1A
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-build-a-coaching-culture/id1699901434
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2NvYWNoMnNjYWxlLWhvdy1tb2Rlcm4tbGVhZGVycy1idWlsZC1hLWNvYWNoaW5nLWN1bHR1cmU
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fd188af6-7c17-4b2e-a0b2-196ecd6fdf77
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-5419703
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Coach2Scale

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