Global Manager as Coach training

NCR is a global corporation which supplies approximately half of the worlds’ automatic cash machines. We were asked to integrate performance coaching skills into NCR’s existing sales training modules for sales managers in EMEA, Asia Pacific and the USA in order to embed both sales skills and performance coaching skills.

Solutions

We integrated a three day performance coaching skills course into NCR’s existing sales training and delivered the programme repeatedly in London, the USA, and Kuala Lumpur. The course comprised:

• Performance coaching skills training with a focus on what is useful to sales managers
• Collaboration with NCR’s sales training materials and facilitators
• Exercises which enabled the managers to practise the sales techniques using the coaching skills
• Emphasis on cross cultural issues as participants are from UK, Continental Europe, America, India, Singapore, Australia etc.
• An extended program of paired telephone practice culminating in mentoring conference calls one month after the training.

Outcome

Managers say that the coaching approach saves them time and is useful in most situations, with staff and clients.

“Coaching makes the right things happen. The most useful part about the training was embedding coaching into another program, i.e. combining coaching in the general sense with Sales Process work products in the specific sense“ – John Newton, Global Learning Director, NCR Corporation

Feedback from managers on the Performance Coaching/Sales Training course:

• “My boss uses GROW at every meeting now; the meetings are much more focussed; GROW keeps dialogue shorter and to the point, and empowers us.”
• “The highlights of my day are where I have been able to leverage the framework and the sense of achievement in the other person”
• “A good framework to interact with colleagues and customers – I am using the technique to get more out of the discussion than previously”
• “The more you can make the person comfortable, the higher the quality of the input they will give you”
• “Bright ideas come through – at times the solution that came out was better for the team than my own solution would have been”
• “Repeating back to the person slows down a scattered thought process and makes the person stop and put thought into their direction”
• “The model works not only in verbal discussions but also in email and instant messaging exchanges as well.”
• “Although the coachee may sometimes give you the same solution you would have given them, what you are really doing is buying their commitment!”
• “Having a practice partner was like having an agony aunt; it would be useful in any course”
• “Coaching focuses not what you can’t do but on what you can do”