Coaching Sales Performance: A Case Study

Abstract

Century 21 International, like so many sales organizations, suffered lower productivity and higher attrition from new sales associates than they judged to be acceptable. The answer, Century 21 executives believed, was to develop a twenty-one module, multimedia training program. An external consultant urged them to study the situation prior to committing to any one solution. The results were clear. While new sales people certainly needed to have their field skills “buffed” after going through pre-licensing training and entering the office, that was not their most critical need. Far more important was an in-office support system, someone to tell them how to think through inevitable rejections, how to approach recurring challenges, how to maintain confidence even when sales do not occur, how to prospect portions of the community and how to integrate into the real estate community. The data revealed the need for a solution system comprised of training, incentives, performance support materials, the introduction of a new position, a coach, into each office, and a selection method for that coach. This article describes the front end study, the program, and some of its results in real estate offices across the United States.