Coaching is a critical component of a sound sales training campaign in an organization.  Coaches design an action plan for each sales agent based on their identified strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth.  The design of this action plan will show the creativity of the coach including their ability to relate to and influence the sales agent by changing their behavior.  That is the ultimate goal of this action plan, to change behavior.  The behavior change is what should move the sales needle in the positive direction for the organization. 

Here is a creative way to communicate required behavior changes and a fun and easy way to document the coaching session.  This is called the Coaching Prescription.  It is a play-off of a prescription pad that comes from the Dr. 

*Note:  This by no means is an all encompassing action plan.  This is an on-the-spot solution used to document the coaching session. 

Coaching Prescription Card

All of us need a mentor.  Did you used to have one, but don’t anymore?  Who was your 1st mentor?  How did your mentor change your life?  Do you currently have a mentor?  Who is he/she?

A mentor can help assess strengths and weaknesses, as well as help you develop new skills for success and help keep your creativity loose. If you and your mentor share the same employer, your mentor can foster your sense of belonging within the organization, help you navigate the company culture and politics, as well as let you know who the organization’s key players are.  If you own your own business, do not think it is not important, an outside mentor can provide you with warm leads, ask you tough questions about your own business (prepare you for the ‘real world’) and give you confidence that you are moving your organization in the right direction.  All mentors provide a fresh perspective — a new way of looking at a problem or issue. Ideally, your mentor will motivate you to do your best work.

• What does an Instructional Design / Training & Development / Knowledge Management  mentorship look like? 
• How is one created? 
• What would both parties benefit from the relationship?

I look forward to your best practices and discussion points on this topic.

May 2009 be the year to shine! These are fast-changing, unprecedented times and Instructional Lab can help you retain and motivate your current employees and/or clients through training and development. An investment in your relationship with them sends a powerful message. It shows that you value them.

Training motivates people and encourages them to remain with their employers. It is worth remembering too that an economic downturn will not necessarily discourage the best employees looking around to further their careers elsewhere. Staff motivated by a commitment to their professional development in their current position should be less likely to stray.

Training and development for your clients will help reinforce your value proposition.  It is important to do this NOW because cutting back on skills development will be problematic for your organizations long-term sustainability.

Instructional Lab offers a series of solutions for your training and development needs.  Job Aids, Webinars, Self-Paced Learning, Instructor-Led Training and E-Learning can be quickly designed to bridge the gap between your expected performance and actual performance. 

For a FREE consultation, contact Samantha Kitover at slk@instructionallab.com or 312-285-5563