How to Be More Coachable

As agents grow in the business, one of the things some of them will do is hire a sales coach. If you are new in the business, this is also a viable option for you. The coach’s work is to help you build your sales skills and grow your business by closing more deals. One challenge you will face when you hire a coach is that your current mindset will go against the mindset your coach will be coaching you on. For example, if you have a fixed mindset where you believe every sales call is either a yes or no, then you will struggle to adopt a growth mindset that says every objection can be surmounted. As you work with your coach, here are three questions you will need to ask yourself on your journey to becoming more coachable and more effective at what you do.

If I do everything my coach asks me to do, what’s the worst that could happen?

Think of this as a thought experiment. Let’s say for a moment that you took a month and said within that month; I will do every single thing my coach asks me to do. If he says make three calls every morning before doing anything else, that is what I will do. What’s the worst that could happen? Here are some worst-case scenarios that could happen: you could find yourself outside your comfort zone; you may face ridicule or even rejection from your peers; all the things you try could not yield any results initially; you may find yourself having to work harder than you did in the past. These are real possibilities, but when you think about it, they are not as bad as you would imagine.

What’s the most likely scenario?

Now, let’s look at the most likely scenario of following your coach’s recommendations to the letter. You might land a few more deals; you may learn a few new things, you could find yourself reevaluating your priorities and how you do business; you could make a little more money than you had been making. These are likely outcomes because they would simply be an incremental improvement of where you currently are. Now let us look at the best-case scenario.

What’s the best-case scenario?

So, what’s the best thing that could happen if you decided to follow through on what your coach has been teaching you? Well, you could find your business growing at a rate you have been hoping it would grow for a long time. You could also find your team growing, freeing you up to think about more big-picture stuff. Instead of you working for your business, you could find your business working for you and giving you the chance to spend more time with your loved ones and doing the things you have always wanted to do. These look like some pretty amazing outcomes!

Conclusion

What’s the point we are trying to make? The reality is that most agents will hire a coach but will only implement 20% of what they recommend. In some ways, agents treat their coaches like cheerleaders, to help validate their way of thinking and make them feel good about how they are currently doing. That’s the wrong approach to coaching. By availing yourself fully to your coach, you can have a transformative experience that changes your life, not just a once a week session where you go over your to-do list and try to feel good about what you plan on doing. Get more coachable and see some radical changes begin to emerge in your life.