Trends in the Value Selling of Software
By Tom Cissell

Use of Sales Coaches
Certainly career coaching and mentoring are not new trends. Highly specialized coaches for specific careers such as in finance and sales have been around for awhile.  However, these coaches were procured by individuals wanting to change or advance their careers.  There is an increasing trend towards the use of company sponsored sales coaches to improve sales team’s effectiveness.  These coaches will help a sales team develop a strategy, reinforce the sales process, and advise on the use of tactics.   The coaches might be employed by the company or more likely are consultants.  Some sales coaches specialize in value selling techniques and early in the sales process they might help the team develop a strategy for data collection to support the development of a business case.  Later in the sales process, the coach might advise on the use of value selling collateral and tactics.  As the sales team matures, the coach’s participation usually declines but are still retained for consultation on strategic order pursuits.

Some coaching is done over the phone, but some coaches are even invited to attend customer meetings so that they can observe first hand the objections and hurdles that must be overcome.