Sales Coaching Methods: The 10-5-3-1 Performance Improvement Plan

By Jeff Shore

It’s the Monday morning sales meeting, and 20 professionals are listening to a suit drone on about an administrative issue. You’ve been at this meeting, right? The kind of meeting that causes you to consider faking a cerebral hemorrhage just to have an excuse to leave?

You’re actively daydreaming (planning a vacation, thinking about lunch, etc.) when the manager says, “OK, time for some objections training. Here’s the scenario: the customer is thinking about a purchase decision but at the last minute says to you, ‘I’d like to move forward, but Jupiter is in Virgo, and my swami says any action I take now could result in prolonged ennui.’ Then the manager looks right at you and says, “How are you going to respond? Go!”

When Role-Playing Isn’t

One of the most common questions at the beginning of a sales training session is, “Are you going to make me role-play?” There is such a negative bias against role-playing. Wanna know why? Because most role-playing, well, isn’t.

Look at the case study above. That is not role-playing; it’s improv and requires an entirely different skill set.

Many salespeople struggle with role-playing because they are put in positions of glorified public failure. Who wouldn’t object to that?

When Training Isn’t

Effective sales training is really about just one thing: behavioral change. If training doesn’t lead to a change in performance, it can be deemed a failure. So why do so many managers miss this? They think that if they share a concept at a sales meeting or bring in a speaker to lecture for a few hours, they can call it “training.” You cannot call that training any more than you can explain to someone how to work out and expect to see their muscles grow in front of your very eyes.

Consider a salesperson who attends a training session on how to share the company value statement and decides to immediately implement what he has learned with the first customer he sees. The result? “Let me tell you, our company, we have a vision, or maybe a value, or…no wait…it’s a valuable vision, and we want to be the premier provider of…of…providing premier stuff, valuably. With a vision.”

Don’t laugh – I’ve seen it happen!

But the worst part is what happens next. That very salesperson will do a quick post-mortem after the conversation ends. His brain will offer this assessment: “Yo, big guy—that thing you did with the valuable vision crap—well, that hurt up here. I have an idea for you: DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!”

The Secret to Mastery

It’s not fun. It’s not sexy. It’s not thrilling. Sales mastery is about the hard work of repetition. I don’t know how else to say it:

The destination called mastery is on a road called repetition.

That’s it. That’s the secret. It’s all about repetition in music, art, athletics, surgery, writing software…and in sales. The destination called mastery is on a road called repetition, and on that road, there are neither shortcuts nor express lanes. It’s good old-fashioned roll-up-your-sleeves hard work.

My 10-5-3-1 Mastery Plan

But it’s not just any repetition; it’s constantly improving repetition. And that’s where my 10-5-3-1 plan comes into play.

In Geoff Colvin’s excellent book Talent is Overrated, he talks about moving along the path of three zones:

• The Panic Zone
• The Learning Zone
• The Comfort Zone

The idea is that repetition takes us from one zone to the next.

I agree with Colvin’s concept, but what happens when we reach the “Comfort Zone?” If we’re not careful, we will enjoy the accomplishment, we will settle into that zone….but we won’t challenge ourselves to grow yet further.

The 10-5-3-1 plan is predicated upon the idea that I must constantly raise the discomfort bar if I am to constantly improve my performance. The premise is simple but profound: If it does not challenge me, it does not change me. (How’s that for words to live by???)

Here’s how it works:

10: Practice a very limited and specific skill (overcoming a single objection or explaining just one feature, for example) out loud and into a voice recorder ten consecutive times. Listen after each recording and make notes. Listen for word choice, pace, enthusiasm, relaxed tones, etc. Do it ten times, even if you feel like you have it down. You want to turn the technique into muscle memory. After ten times, you should be comfortable with the technique…which means you need to get uncomfortable all over again.

5: Practice the same technique with a peer five times. Find someone who will be brutally honest with you and who will coach you for performance improvement. This will be uncomfortable at first, but far less so after having practiced repeatedly alone. Get better each time, and continue to build your muscle memory. After five times, it will be much more comfortable.

3: Ratchet up the discomfort by practicing three times with your sales manager. Now you’re into fine-tuning, so pay close attention. You are honing in on perfection! You’re getting insanely comfortable with the technique. So you…

1: Demonstrate your perfected skill in front of the entire sales team. You can do this…you’ve put in the necessary repetition. You’ve moved from the panic zone to the learning zone to the comfort zone. By now, you should be on autopilot.

Here’s my question: How ready are you to now take your perfect technique and use it with an actual prospect? How high is your confidence level? How bold will you be when others are uncomfortable? How ready are you to master this presentation?

Get To Work

Here’s an idea: TRY IT! Right away! I mean, pick a skill and get to work on it right now. Please feel free to download my Mastery Accelerator resource to help you in your practice. Find the voice recorder feature on your smartphone and lay that baby down. Do not hesitate; do not give your comfort addiction the chance to derail your quest for mastery.

Master your presentation through repetition, and you’ll change someone’s world!