GROW TO POWER

Who originally developed the GROW coaching model is debatable. Many credit Sir John Whitmore and his colleagues from the world of sport with its creation; others say that GROW developed as a result of Tim Gallwey’s work in his role as tennis coach; Some say that one of the creators was Frank Dick, who from 1979 to 1994 was Director of Training for the British Athletics Federation. John Whitmore, David Whitaker (coach of the British men’s hockey team in 1988) and David Hemery (Olympic 400m hurdles champion, 1968) took courses at Bisham Abbey entitled The Challenge of Excellence.

Although it is not important to know who developed GROW it is useful to understand that it was developed to improve the performance of athletes (specifically athletes) and that the relationship between the coach and the athlete was based and is based on the premise that the athlete wants the coach to help them identify barriers and problems to performance improvement and how to overcome them. That is why the GROW model is widely used by Life Skills coaches where the objective is to identify what people’s life goals are and move them towards their achievement. It is also the reason why many companies now use the TGROW model, where ‘T’ stands for Topic, Topic or Task.

I attended The Challenge of Excellence in 1991 and in 1992 wrote the first of three books on the subject of coaching using the POWER model, which I developed as a more business-focused coaching tool. Since then I have investigated the use of coaching not only in sports, but also in the music, dance and acting professions; the common factor among these professions is the emphasis on excellence in physical performance. I have used this experience to further develop the POWER model to specifically address improving salesperson performance, which has proven extremely effective since if selling is something, it is also physical performance.

The main premise of the POWER model is that the schedule of the coaching sessions should be driven by the sales coach, not by the salesperson; Therefore, the model begins with Purpose and parameters ‘P’: what is the purpose of the coaching session for the coach and the organization. Only after this has been determined will the session move to the Seller Goals and Options (‘O).

The POWER model states that coaching is not a voluntary process, although it eventually leads salespeople to seek out the sales coach to help them improve. The model also does not assume that there are problems and barriers to improvement, but that even if people are performing well, they can improve. Sales coaching involves continuous improvement by examining what salespeople are doing and how they behave that produces current performance. POWER’s coaching model focuses on inputs that cause output and the premise is that no one is so good that they cannot improve.

The GROW model is a very good first step in acquiring basic coaching skills. The POWER model seeks to build on those basic coaching skills and move those involved in improving salespeople’s sales performance to the next level of coaching.

I have identified four possible levels of coach:

Level 1: This is the entry level to coaching; This person will likely work with an experienced coach, learning the basics and coaching. During coaching training, the focus will be on checking that formal training is transferred to the field; that the specific work-related process is being learned and implemented; and that the person is demonstrating basic levels of skills and behavior. It can take between 3 and 12 months to reach this level.

Level 2: After twelve months of experience at Level 1, the coach should be able to assume the role of a full-time coach, focusing on improving performance.

Level 3: It takes at least 24 to 36 months for a sales coach to be described as a “superior” coach. At this level, the coach will be primarily improving the performance of the sales managers.

Level 4: Specialized coaches operate almost entirely as independent consultants, training and improving the performance of senior sales managers and designing and implementing coaching cultures throughout the organization.

Coaches will stick to whichever level they are most comfortable with. It is important not to fall into the trap of many of the best salespeople where promotion to the next level (ie, sales management) is seen as the goal of personal fulfillment. In the same way that good salespeople are not necessarily good sales managers, good level 1 coaches are not necessarily good level 2 coaches, and so on.

I think the main competencies that make a good sales coach are:

1. Build a sales process appropriate to the sales team, the market, and the organization’s goals.

2. Determine the behaviors required of the sales team to effectively achieve organizational sales objectives.

3. Recruit, select and maintain a sales team of sufficient number, quality and competence to sell the company’s products and services.

4. Determine the basic training requirements for the sales team.

5. Ensures that the sales team is sufficiently trained to meet the organization’s sales objectives.

6. Designs and implements a sales coaching process that ensures that the sales team is able to competently achieve basic organizational sales goals and objectives.

7. Uses an effective and robust sales coaching process to ensure continuous improvement for the entire sales team.

8. Instire actions to meet the organization’s needs to identify the next generation of sales coaches.

Specific skills include:

  • Questioning skills

  • Listening skills

  • Observation skills

  • Non-verbal skills

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