Field Manager’s Guide 12/25/09 Chapter 10 Field Coaching One of the most important activities of a Field Manager is coaching. Too often this area is sadly neglected because managers are not properly trained in the basics of field coaching or perhaps because they spend too little time in the field. We need not emphasize how your success lies in your the time and effort you spend training and developing your team in the field ability to train and develop your sales team and the only way to do this is to be in the field with your team. We’ll begin by taking a look at some step-by-step tips on how to conduct successful coaching. Later we will discuss how to prepare a coaching budget so you can allocate your coaching time more effectively. Before the Call Begin your coaching with a pre-call briefing. Review the status of the target client with the representative. Look over the physician information card. It should list past commitments and prescribing preferences. During the briefing, you should also cover the following points: • Discuss the sales strategy. Decide what products should be promoted on this call. Also list the objectives for each call, the questions to be asked and commitments to be closed. • Decide on your roles. Make it clear to the your representative what you are going to do and what you are not going to do during the call. Be sure your Rep representative knows that the sales call is his or her responsibility. During Your Joint Call During your joint sales call with a new representative you want to remain as 1
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The learner is then able to make the necessary adjustments to improve his or her
performance.
However, many of the skills that our sales representatives use do not offer the samesimple feedback options. In such cases, a Field Manager must use his or her skills to
provide the trainee with feedback that will be as clear as a dart hitting a board. To be
effective with feedback, a Field Manager must also use analysis to observe the
performance and interpret it in a meaningful way. The feedback to the trainee is then
based on the observation and analysis of the performance. The feedback—however
detailed—will fail if the analysis has been neglected or is of poor quality.
[INSERT TRAINER—>TRAINEE—>PERFORMANCE DIAGRAM]
Trainer
Trainee
Performance
Feedback Skills
Analysis Skills
Giving feedback is an interpersonal skill
One difficulty with giving feedback is that it introduces another human element to the
learning system. In this respect, feedback skills are a form of interpersonal-skills
transaction between the Field Manager and representative. Should this relationship be
anything but positive, the representative is likely to create defensive barriers, thus
cutting off the benefits of receiving feedback and the opportunity to practice and
improve.
Having received the feedback, the representative may wish to use this on his or her
next performance. In such a situation, the Field Manager still has an important role to
play. He must design and structure suitable learning opportunities that provide a
supportive climate in which the trainee can try out the modified performance. A carefully
qualities that are difficult if not impossible to change.
Relate Feedback to a Specific Behavior
Focusing on behavior implies that it is something related to a specific situation thatmight be changed—it is less threatening to hear comments about our behavior than our
“traits.” Thus, “when you interrupted me just now, I felt really angry,” not “you are always
interrupting.”
Ask the Representative for His or Her Impressions
Ask the trainee how he or she felt about the interview. This provides an opportunity to
highlight his or her faults and shows you how sensitive he or she is to criticism. You will
still be required to give your feedback by reviewing the representative’s self-criticism,
identifying the more important items, and identifying the good points to provide
motivation.
Give Feedback in Small Doses
Be selective by choosing one or two important points on which to concentrate. Try to
identify the most significant weakness that has the biggest impact on the success of the
representative’s sales calls. For example, a lack of doctor involvement and an
unsuccessful closing technique might result from a poor questioning technique.
Always end your feedback on a positive note by giving praise for those skills that were
effective. Feedback is not helpful when it is:
• Too Critical—Criticism is necessary, but if it is excessive or too negative the trainee
will be demotivated and performance will suffer.
• Too Subjective—Try to make feedback objective. The more subjective it is, the
more it will seem like personal criticism.
• Incomprehensible—The trainee must fully understand the behavior being
• Prescriptive—If you always provide the answers, the trainee will be less likely to
cope with problems in the future. Rather than saying “What you should have done
is...” you should ask “If you were to do that again, what would you do differently?”
•
Excessive—Don’t hammer the trainee into the ground. When you have reached thelimit of negative feedback, switch to a debriefing, e.g., “Right, now what are we going
to do about it?”
Your Role as a Coach
Your performance as a coach will be more effective if you review positive skill usage,
suggest skills needing improvement, and suggest new techniques when providing
feedback.
• Review Positive Skill Usage —Begin your comments with positive skill usage so
your feedback will seem less threatening. Representatives will understand that
you’re there to help, not to criticize. Encourage representatives who are using a skill
effectively to keep on using it with specific comments, such as “You did a good job of
questioning. If you follow that, you’ll do well,” or “Your eye contact was very effective
in keeping his attention. Keep it up.”
• Suggest Skills Needing Improvement —Keep in mind how difficult it may be to
receive feedback about skills that need improvement. Some representatives may
find it difficult to admit a shortcoming to themselves, let alone to another person—
especially their manager. Help your representatives become aware of skills they are
not using effectively with specific comments such as “Your summary included only
features. To show how the product will help patients, you need to match features
with benefits,” or “To avoid causing confusion, it’s important to ask only one question
at a time. You confused the customer by asking two questions at once.”
• Suggest New Techniques—Use your own experience creatively to help the
representative become more effective. The representative will appreciate knowing
what works for you. Another way of doing this is to make the next call a joint call in
However, as a rule, you’ll find that budgeting your coaching time will offer important
benefits to you and your representatives. As the Field Manager, you will have a good
idea of how your coaching time is being spent, and your representatives will have the
benefit of your attention when they need it the most. Overall, you will be doing thegreatest good for the greatest number of representatives, and in the long run everyone
will benefit
10 Reasons Field Managers Don't Give the Praise They Should
High-achieving managers may have difficulty recognizing subordinateaccomplishments that do not approach their own personal standards.
Some managers who expect the best see no need to reward it.
People who have been raised in impersonal environments may have difficulty expressing warm, personal praise.
The manager may not spend enough time with subordinates to see their significant accomplishments.
The organizational tradition or climate may not encourage the giving of praise.
Some representatives are "only" doing their job, and never excel enough in the eyes of managers to warrant praise.
Some managers believe the stick is more motivating than the carrot.
The most common excuse for praising too little is "I'm busy."
Another fear: "They might use it to pressure me for a salary increase or promotion."
"If I tell them they're doing so well, this might lower their performance standards."
The following checklist was prepared as a practical guide to help District Managers, tomaximize productivity and training efficiency when doing joint calls or Field Work
Contacts.
Before
Give the representative enough notice for the visit.
Don’t cancel the visit for trivial reasons.
Check on the business objectives for the day.
Try not to oblige the representative to change his or her itinerary for the day.
Check the call objectives for each business call.
Arrive before the first call in the morning.
Dress for the territory being covered.
Coach, but don’t pressure, the representative before the call.
During
Show confidence in the representative.
Sit or stand discretely and avoid movement that may distract the doctor during the
presentation.
Pay attention to the sales presentation and avoid looking bored or uninterested during the
call.
Avoid making notes during the call.
Be prepared to help the representative if your assistance is requested.
Avoid interruptions during the sales presentation to correct the representative (in front of the