NHL hockey players train constantly, even though they’re already in the big league – why wouldn’t a sales team? That’s the question to ask your business coaching clients when they argue against training sessions for their sales people.

I got to listen in on a conference call with Brian Tracy and Jim Masters, one of our top FocalPoint coaches, the other day. It was super inspiring to hear them talk—I took notes for you. Take the info and apply it to your own business coaching sessions.

Brian and Jim are mentoring all of the members of the Total Business Makeover workshop that took place in San Diego. Brian led off the meeting by talking about a few business improvement concepts.

Have a great vision.

Imagine the greatest business your vision could ever conceive.

Great leaders have great vision. Brian used the story of Ray Kroc’s trip west in 1954 as an example. That trip turned into a nationwide franchise: McDonald’s. He also mentioned Bill Gates vision of a "Computer on every desktop".

As a business coach, we need to help our executive clients find their own great vision. Hopefully, their vision includes something to do with massive sales, because, as Brian suggested, “If you lead the troops in your business, you have to focus on making sales!” At the end of it all, it comes down to selling!

Become a great businessperson.

Focus on the results. Get your client to realize their job is to focus on the money. That is simply the fact. Brian says, “Ask for money before nine a.m. every morning!”

Encourage clients to meet with customers every day before 9 a.m.: it’s like starting an engine. Imagine the person who works all day and never asks for a deal even once! Is that really being in business?

Develop a great business plan.

You can't hit a target you can't see. Help your client build a strong business plan.

Here’s some questions to guide them through the process:

• What is your goal this month? How about today? How about in the next hour?
• Do you know your metrics? How much did you sell today?

Brian pointed out that sales reflect competence as a businessperson. If sales are lagging that’s okay, but get a plan in place to get better at selling!

Remind your clients: Never stop selling, never stop making calls.

Produce a great product or service.

Are the customers happy with the product? If your client had to start all over again, which products or services would they focus on? Which are their most successful lines? What can they do to improve what is being produced?

Develop a great marketing plan.

Brian always says, “Talk about what your product does, not what it is.”

Coach clients to work on marketing all the time, and, if they don’t get it, refer them back to point number two – because a great marketing plan will make for great sales and that makes a great businessperson.

Attract and keep customers.

Your coaching client should be able to give you a list of their best customers. And if they can do that, then they can find out what keeps those customers coming back.

A company should aim at being the best supplier around.

Develop great numbers.

Management executives need to know what their key number is. Ask your client what number matters most in their business: Number of sales? Profit per sale? Profit per product? Acquisition cost per customer? Lifetime value? Renewal period?

There is always one number that predicts the success of a business more than any other. What is it and how do they move it?

Here’s an example of how the “numbers question” worked for a non-profit group:

When business author Jim Collins asked an opera society he was working with, “What is your number?” They realized they needed to focus not on the number of donors, but on the value of the donor. So… They asked the big donors, “What can we do to make it more special for you?” And the answer was, “Make it worth our while.” The opera added more services for high-end donors: meet the singers, pre-show event, nicer seats, etc. Guess what? That pulled in more high-end donors! They solved their problems by focusing on the right number.

Those are just my notes from that call. Calls like these are standard for FocalPoint Coaches. You get 250 hours of them a year!

Thanks for reading. I monitor the comments daily, so please post any questions or feedback below.