CSP-SE Coach's Observer Guide

CSP-SE Coach's Observer Guide

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Overview
The Coach's Role:
Focuses on developing the capabilities of the individuals on their team. Creates developmental opportunities and assesses performance and skill growth over time.	Provides and models effective, interactive communication to reinforce Challenger behaviors and enhance problem-solving skills. Review post-call action items from your last ride-along with your SE.
When Supporting a Sales Call, Remember:
Confirm Your Role. Are you there to actively support, observe, or model a behavior (or a combination of the three)? Identify Your Goal. Reflect on why you are observing the sales interaction – what are you looking for? Consider identified development goals. When Observing: Remain "In the Moment" Focus on development activities and behaviors	Maintain your predetermined role in an interaction (as appropriate) Capture your thoughts and observations efficiently on the Coaching Guide document. If You "Take Over" – Explain and Coach! In the event that you must step in to actively support the selling, remember that you owe them a debrief and explanation of why you did so – turn this into a coaching moment!
When Providing Coaching Feedback, Remember:
Flex your delivery style to their needs – try explanation, demonstration, visualization, participation Share no more than four observations Start with the good news Balance strengths and areas for improvement Avoid making judgments or assumptions	Provide concrete examples Ensure information is actionable and relevant, but not overwhelming Link messages back to stated development objectives Drive a two-way discussion (not one-sided)

Pre-Call Coaching Questions
Service
When was your last visit? What problems did the customer bring up on the last visit?	What is the current status? How did you address the problems? What do you want to accomplish today?
Teach
What business/industry issue, trend or conventional wisdom will you be focusing on with this customer? Does the customer underestimate the issue? Or, is there a different root cause/driver than the customer is aware of? Or, is this an issue that customer is completely ill- informed about? How have you seen similar customers approach this problem? What are the business problems we solve better than the competition?	How are these business problems preventing the customer from achieving his/her business objectives? How does this impact the senior stakeholder team? What can we teach the customer about a better way to go about achieving his/her business objective? How new/intriguing will this insight be to the customer? Why hasn’t the customer figured it out already?
Tailor
What are some of the latest trends in the industry? How would these trends affect the customer’s business? What is unique about this customer’s position in the marketplace? Where are they most vulnerable? What outcome are you seeking from this conversation? Why talk with this individual? What is the personality type of this individual? How are you planning to tailor the conversation accordingly?	What specific messages will you share during this conversation? Why are these important to this person/team? What are the individual’s job responsibilities and key performance indicators? How will they measure success? How do our offerings help this individual achieve their function-specific goals? How do this individual's goals affect what you will teach him/her?
Take Control
What do you want to get out of this interaction? What will you have to achieve to consider it a success? What gives you power/leverage over your customer in this interaction? What gives your customer power over you? What information do you want to protect from the customer, and what are you willing to share?	What are your next steps to ensure the purchase process moves forward? How are you planning on asking for the sale? What are the specific next steps we expect? What is your understanding of the customer’s buying process?

During Call Challenger Observation Guide
Key Skills	Good Behaviors (Do)	Bad Behaviors (Do Not)
Service
Communication/ Customer Presence	Easily adapts communication style to various audiences Engages team in two-way communication by regularly communicating and soliciting feedback. Listens for understanding Is able to influence a decision or outcome on both routine and difficult topics by reading the customer and changing tactics or approach when needed Constructs a series of questions that leads to productive and collaborative dialogue in a variety of settings (e.g., in dissimilar, hostile, or highly charged situations) Gets to the point Is confident and credible in front of customer. Stays upbeat, positive words and body language Acts as the 'front line ambassador' for ABC's capabilities Conversation is customer centric Messages are consistent with what the SE is presenting Is comfortable with silence in order to give the customer time to think and process information	Uses the same communication style with all customers Talks at the customer instead of encouraging a two- way dialog Speaks up prematurely to fill extended pauses/silence Selectively listens only for those things that support the call objective, ignores everything else, does not acknowledge or respond to what the customer is saying. Asks repetitive questions Is unable to accurately read the customer and adapt their approach Asks only superficial questions that don’t really engage the customer in a thoughtful dialogue Displays body language that communicates lack of confidence, defensiveness or discomfort Conversation is ABC centric Messages are contrary or inconsistent with what the SE is presenting Is uncomfortable with silence, fills the silence or changes the conversation
Problem Solving	Empathizes with the customer. Acknowledges any customer frustration and where they are coming from Demonstrates understanding of the problem. Goes to the main source (who initiated the complaint) Is curious and asks questions to understand the details and clarify the issue Can simplify complex issues. Tries to get below the surface and makes sure the root cause of the customer’s complaint has been identified. Creates detailed action plans that solve for issues with ABDC solutions and services Confidently creates an implementation strategy to resolve the problem Engages/delegates to the correct internal business partner Helps break down service silos and creates and collaborates with internal business partners for success Owns the process until the issue is resolved Summarizes at completion to make sure the details or resolutions are accurate	Sympathizes and commiserates with the customer Uses internal ABC lingo or acronyms and assumes the customer knows what they mean Dismisses the problem as no big deal Avoids asking questions (doesn’t want to dredge up something that might upset the customer more) Does not speak directly to the person with the issue. Relies only on 2nd hand anecdotes about the problem Accepts customer’s generalizations (everything is wrong with my order) and agrees to customer requests without investigating the issue to fully to understand root cause Assumes they know what the customer’s problem is (e.g., seen this before) Automatically assumes that the problem is on the customer’s end. Or automatically assumes ABC is at fault Delegates the problem without identifying an issue resolution strategy Blames lack of resolution on internal business partners Takes an out-of-sight out-of-mind mentality once this issue has been delegated to an internal business partner
Individual effectiveness/ Proactivity/ Time Management	Has a goal for the call in mind Extremely motivated to accomplish set goals Prioritizes energy and resources on the highest value activities Holds self accountable for outcomes Persists regardless of trials or roadblocks Commits to a timeline for goals or customer follow-up, keeps commitments Keeps the customer continually informed of progress, or the lack thereof (and why), in a timely manner	Doesn’t have a call objective, plays it by ear (sees where the conversation goes) Procrastinates or does nothing and hopes that the customer forgets or that it works itself out Blames others (customer or internal resources) for sub-optimal outcomes Backs off when faced with roadblocks Does not commit to a timeline for goals or customer follow up and/or does not keep commitments. Leaves a message with follow-up information, but doesn’t follow up again to ensure it was received by the right person or to see if there were additional questions
Teach
Offers Unique Perspective	Understands the customer's unique situation and top priorities and verifies this by sharing relevant insights to lead to current challenges and areas of focus Prepares a theory or hypothesis regarding the customer's needs which is tested during the conversation Challenges the customer to think differently about their business	Leads with a discussion of products Bombards the customer with excessive questions Introduces a solution immediately
Two-Way Communication	Emphasizes that she/he seeks to partner/collaborate to help achieve the customer's objectives Confirms the customer understands and is interested before proceeding Looks for verbal and physical cues to see if the customer is surprised or interested Asks open questions to help uncover valuable information about the customer’s organization	Asks them to repeat information they have previously given Discusses the specific offering without generating interest/confirming intent Moves forward without fully engaging the customer and validating pain points/challenge areas
Tailor
Knows Customer Value Drivers	Presents information in an easy-to-understand format Presents a realistic end result Establishes how an opportunity directly impacts the contact’s business success	Presents challenges that SE will not be able to solve or that are irrelevant to the customer Uses unrealistic data or irrelevant examples to support arguments
Creates a Customer-Centric Value Proposition	Customizes messages to the customer according to the four tailoring lenses: industry, company, role, and individual Arms the customer with the data or information to back up assertions Delivers a message that can easily be shared internally within the customer's organization Thinks through their strategy for each customer contactâ€“knows conversation will vary based on the role and communication preferences of the customer they are speaking with	Uses generic language that isn’t specific to the customer’s industry, company, and/or role Thinks they can create a complete business case for the customer; does not give the customer the data they need to construct it themselves Introduces a solution to the business problem prematurely Leads with their own personal agenda instead of first grounding the conversation in customer’s operating environment
Take Control
Is Comfortable Discussing Money/ROI	Focuses on the value of the solution—the pain points it solves and the value created for the customer Demonstrates how their solution creates unique value Proves that ABDC has the capability to provide the solution and that it will work Is able to acknowledge and delay price requests to appropriate time in the conversation	Introduces the details of ABDC’s offering too early (does not gain agreement to the value of the general solution first) Leads with a pricing discussion on the first call; does not get the customer to focus and acknowledge the value first
Creates Constructive Tension to Drive Action	Tests whether the customer is bought in to the solution Anticipates any objections the customer may have to the proposed solution and is prepared to respond Understands and articulates the outcome they are hoping to achieve by the end of the conversation Gains the customer's confidence and support of the solution Creates a sense of urgency to drive the sales process Involves the appropriate internal customer contacts in these conversations Clearly explains next steps and guides the buying process	Introduces a solution that is not aligned with ABDC’s value proposition Leaves the conversation open-ended without clarity on next steps/firm agreements to move process forward Masks powerful requests amid run-on sentences, reducing their impact Agrees to customer requests without asking questions to understand the customer’s motivation Speaks up prematurely to fill extended pauses/silence

Challenger Choreography

Post-Call Coaching Questions
Service
How did you demonstrate understanding of the problem? What do you think the root cause of the problem is? Why do you think that? Does the customer understand how this problem will be solved, when and by whom?	How will you engage Customer Care, your SE or other SMEs, if applicable What, if anything, might you have done differently to improve outcomes? What impact would that have?
Teach
How intrigued or provoked was your customer with the insight(s) you shared? How could you tell? What information would have made your teaching more impactful?	Is there anything you would do differently on your next call? What impact would that have?
Tailor
What did you learn about the customer’s economic drivers? How are you measuring success with this individual? How does this individual measure their business success? What goals, motivations, or information did you encounter that you hadn’t expected? How did you respond?	What do you think explains the individual’s perception of us compared to our competitors? How do you adjust your approach based on the four tailoring lenses: industry, company, role, and individual style?
Take Control
What did this conversation do to move the sale forward? When did you feel most uncomfortable? Were you surprised or taken aback by any objections? During moments of tension, was your gut feeling to diffuse the tension or press on? What did you do?	What was your response to customer demands for concessions? What are your next steps?

Coaching Guide Instructions:

To review the quality of Challenger skill execution during a customer sales call, you can use the following form to quickly rate proficiency and to take notes on behavioral observations. Review the checklist and your feedback together after the call. If your ride-along with the SE covers multiple consecutive days, you may use just one form. Note the date range.

Observed Strengths:

List specific behavioral observations or actions the sales associate took.

Bad example: "John did a great job of teaching."
Better but weak example: "John challenged the customer to think differently about their business."
Best: “John challenged the customer to think differently about their business, by sharing (xyz) insight.”

Feedback for improvement:

List specific behavioral observations or actions the sales associate can take in the future.

Bad exaonmple: “Engage the customer more.”
Better but weak example: “Get the customer involved in 2-way communication.”
Best: “Try observing the customer’s body language when you are delivering your insight. Do they look curious, puzzled, interested, etc? Then ask questions to confirm their reaction or interest before leading the customer to a discussion of the solution.This will help engage the customer in a 2-way dialog about their business.”

Development Levels:

Development Levels help an associate understand the big picture of where they stand with their skill sets at the time of observation, but they don’t help an associate grow. For that reason, never complete the development levels without also providing feedback on strengths and improvement opportunities. Generously inflated development levels may make the sales associate feel better at the moment, but it doesn’t help them to grow their skills. Development Levels should be based on observations from the current ride-along only (vs. an overall for the year development level). Remember this is in-the-moment coaching, not a formal performance evaluation.

Development Level Key: Developing, Proficient, Advanced, Mastery

* Please refer to ABDC Competency Model for definitions of the development level key. Contact Dawn Kline if you need a copy.

Action Items:

Use these sections to record specific actions required for Challenger & Core skills development, solution knowledge and follow-up commitments made to the customer.

Should be Empty: