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Ring up more sales with a telecoach
Sales managers lack the time to motivate staff

Laura Pratt, Financial Post
May 10, 2004

Salespeople no longer have time for week-long retreats with a sales coach. But there might be time to squeeze in a phone call en route to the next pitch.

More and more, the corporate world is coming around to the concept of telecoaching," where a sales coach shares wisdom with clients using telecommunication, rather than through a personal appearance.

There are many advantages to going this route, says Jerome Shore, an executive coach with The Coaching Clinic in Toronto. "Sales managers, whose primary role should be to drive and motivate the sales people they manage, don't have enough time to do what they did in the old days. They have their own sales targets and customer base, and there's too much bureaucracy to deal with." As a result, he says, appropriate coaching takes a back seat.

Mr. Shore says telecoaching is a possible solution. He has clients whom he has never met, and he predicts this will become increasingly common in coming years.

One reason is that telecoaching is a much more practical option. "A telephone coaching episode can go shorter or longer. There's no traffic, no highways, no makeup."

Coaching by phone is also more economical. With no travel time, a half an hour of coaching takes just a half an hour. A telephone call is also less formal. "If you've gone to the trouble of getting all dressed up and you see someone live only to discover that they haven't done anything since the last meeting, you're going to still feel compelled to fill in the full hour," Mr. Shore says. "On a telephone call, you can say, 'There's no reason to talk right now -- let's chat another time.' "

What's more, Mr. Shore has discovered that a telecoaching session can be a more intimate experience than consulting in person. "It's always nice to meet a person face-to-face, but once you've built the rapport, telecoaching can sometimes be more effective than live coaching, because a lot of things that can get in the way won't. Like body language: If you don't see the way a person is reacting, you don't back off. Sometimes, when you can't see the expression on a person's face, you can push them further. And that's a good thing."

Libby McCready, president of Toronto-based Front & Center Communications, says telecoaching also offers absolute confidentiality. "[Salespeople] have a private place to share their thoughts and create a concrete action plan to help them get past a challenge. So the fact that nobody else needs to know that they're feeling challenged is a great opportunity for them." Ms. McCready does almost all of her coaching by telephone.

Rob Nihill, president of Performance Associates International, says telecoaching is an integral part of the process at his Toronto-based sales-effectiveness training firm. Indeed, he says, it is what makes the company unique.

"With most training, you bring people in for two days, heal them and send them forth into the world. We say, 'Let's take one aspect of your selling, such as how to find new customers. Then, before you leave, you must commit to a very measurable activity, like promising to call 20 new prospects in the next week.' "

A week or two later, a PAI coach will engage the participants, a half dozen at a time, in a telecoaching call to check in on their progress. Over the course of the half-hour or 45-minute-long call, the coach walks through each salesperson's commitments and asks them to reflect on their how they did.

"Some people say, 'I had an unbelievable success, and here's what happened.' Others say, 'That's a great idea. I'm going to try it myself.' Or, 'It didn't work at all. Honestly, I didn't make the calls I said I would.' The coach brings them back on track and creates possibility for them because they've become resigned and cynical."

As they are leaving the call, the coach asks each salesperson to make a commitment for the period before the next call.

Mr. Nihill says the system works on many levels. "Salespeople not only compete against the competition, but when they know they're going to come on a call and share how they did with others, there's a natural competition going on between them, and it really ups the ante of their performance."

On top of that, the telephone call promises recognition for a job well done. "With this [telecoaching] approach, they come in, and the people who are already good at building prospects, identifying needs, whatever, get to share their secrets, and everybody says, 'Ooh. Thank you.' Salespeople love recognition. And they're learning from some of the other people in the room, as well."

It seems to work. A car dealership conglomerate whose 16 salespeople have been telecoached by Mr. Nihill for three years increased their sales by an average of 21% in one year. In another case, a group of 12 junior insurance representatives increased their income by 22% during the eight-month period they worked with PAI.

Principals Use Online Coaching to Maximize Strategic Time with Teachers
November 13, 2003

Moveta Nanton, a vice principal at Heart Lake Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario, has experienced a revolution in the way she and her associates coach the nearly 110 teachers at the 1800-student school, part of the Peel District School Board. Nanton says that instead of using her coaching sessions with teachers to deal with heart-felt feelings and problems, she has uses an online coaching tool in advance of these meetings to facilitate the resolution of problems. Currently, she uses The Online Coaching Clinic (www.coachingclinic.com), which makes some 182 modules available to her, none requiring more than 15 minutes of a user's time.

"We've encouraged our principals to use online coaching when an employee might present them with a fairly complex problem-for example, dealing with a conflict with another employee," says Christine Delaney, the Peel School Board's Manager of Health, Wellness and Safety. "Traditionally, a teacher would say to a principal or supervisor, 'One of the parents always seems to get angry when we are talking about the student; I don't know what to say anymore! The principal would listen to 15 minutes of frustration and then would engage in problem solving. There would then be a return visit and more discussion. This has now changed."

"We've positioned online coaching as an immediate, accessible resource for principals," Delaney adds. "With a problem like the one above, The Online Coaching Clinic is particularly appropriate. We say, 'Here are a couple of modules. Work with them, do some reflective thinking and some initial problem-solving yourself. Then come back and at that point we can start some specifics about solving the particular problem.' Principals will therefore be giving their teachers skills to build on and will save time reflecting and processing the issue."

Different Modules for Different Problems
"I have a binder of the different modules," says Heart Lake's Nanton. "When a teacher comes to me with a problem, I select one or two and ask that the modules be completed before we talk. This usually focuses the discussion and turns it toward the direction of problem solving rather than anguishing over the difficulties of the situation." The Online Coaching Clinic is broken into Competencies such as "Managing Others" or "Dealing with Discrimination and Harassment" and there are topics like "Leadership" within each competency. A module within a topic might then be "Better Leadership by . . . Establishing Objectives and Ground Rules."

Each module contains about 150 words of concepts, ideas or direction and a number of relevant questions for the user to reflect on and answer. These questions are sequenced to help the user progressively create new ideas for themselves. Web-based, The Online Coaching Clinic is always available, at an educator's home or office, accommodating different learning styles and an individual's learning pace.

"Principals and vice-principals act as the senior management of an organization and that organization happens to be their school," explains Marjorie Shore, M.S.W., a principal in The Online Coaching Clinic. "They certainly have support through the central administration of the Board. But they basically manage their organization and like all good leaders, the more they are able to coach their employees, the more successful the employees will be."

Work-Life Harmony
The Online Coaching Clinic is part of a blended learning program at Peel which also includes a Work Life Harmony workshop and an e-course, called Balance Bites, which principals get every Monday morning by e-mail.

The workshop gives administrators, principals and vice principals the chance to discover that they are not alone, that many others struggle with the same issues. "The opportunity to follow the workshop up with complementary learning, like the Balance Bites e-course and The Online Coaching Clinic is amazing-and that learning is not a book that will require eight hours of concentration," Shore notes. "It will take 15 or 20 minutes. They can look at a specific module directing them to the right kind of questions to focus their thinking and find a subject or specific piece of information to create strategy and tactics around. It can be done whenever or wherever an administrator has time, even at home."

The Work Life Harmony workshop makes the case that organizations must increase their employee engagement and connection by paying attention to work-life concerns. Shore explains: "A work-life balance policy should be an understanding that in most organizations the one most important thing that an administrator can do is to create an environment in which people feel connected and understood. Reward and recognition must fit into the structure. Rewards can be looked at in terms of mentoring, professional development and motivation. Online coaching is an inexpensive method of providing all three."

"The word is spreading about the program throughout the Board. Every time we've run the program the classes are full." Delaney says. "The Peel Board has some 500 administrators and more than 100 have completed the program, which is why we continue to repeat it." Other organizations use The Online Coaching Clinic as a stand-alone tool to help managers coach their staff or to allow for 7/24 self-development.

Teacher Retention and Leadership Development
Another reason an online coaching option makes sense is that school boards face a significant challenge: to find and retain teachers and develop them into future leaders," Shore adds. "School boards are losing teachers due to retirement and attrition and now boards are in great need of new personnel. School boards that demonstrate work-life balance policies that grow with teachers will be the ones that keep their teachers motivated and satisfied with their occupations."

One of the most often-used online modules covers Motivation. "I send principals and vice principals two modules that help gain new prospective about motivation, how to reward it and how to recognize it," explains Shore. "A good example is Visioning. Every school should have a vision of success-what a successful school environment would look like. Without that vision, everything else you do is blindly throwing a dart at a dartboard - a stab in the dark. These modules help them think through what their vision should be. The more you tune your vision, the more specific you can make it and the more likely you will become more specific and strategic in your actions to achieve it."

According Vicki Wilson, a Toronto coach who utilizes The Online Coaching Clinic with clients in finance and law, many executives, like principals, are not trained in the leadership skills they must employ as they grow in an organization. As they lead bigger teams soft skills are much more critical than the skills that got them promoted.

Describing the passage from teacher to principal, Shore explains: "When teachers train, they train technically and as principals they have a new hat. They are wearing a leadership hat and they have had very little training there. The soft skills are far more effective in a leader than technical prowess."

Shore advises that school boards wishing to use online coaching tools should appoint one person to have ownership of the program. "Our material is rich and it works best when we can equip people to act as coaches and consultants to participating administrators. They can then add complementary programs such as the Monday morning e-course of Balance Bites that will get administrators more motivated to use the modules. That's the smart way to do it."

Career Coaching Goes Online
September 9, 2003, Toronto Metro, www.metro.ca
(reprinted with permission)

Between taking the kids to daycare and handling that big business report for tomorrow's meeting, workers simply do not have the time for personal development.

Jerome Shore, Managing Director of The Coaching Clinic has the answer. The majority of people who seek coaching to help balance their lives have to map out a good portion of their day to travel to and from coaching.

The Coaching Clinic offers companies solutions to this problem by offering business and personal development through electronic coaching [e-coaching] and working intelligence.

"Working intelligence," explains Shore, "is working more intelligently; not repeating unproductive behaviour, doing more of the right stuff and less of the wrong."

Workers who are licensed to use the Online Coaching Clinic can log on and access 182 modules designed to go through the same thinking process as if the employee where talking to a coach. Depending on the issue an employee is dealing with, they can drill down into their own appropriate topic from change management, handling difficult people to priority setting.

"There are 100 words that explain the topic of choice and then there is a series of self directed earning questions which allow employees to be creative around the problem they need coaching on," says Shore. The Online Coaching Clinic is a great tool for managers who need support when they are acting in a coaching role, especially in areas that are not their expertise.

One of the biggest complaints of training courses is that they are like Chinese food, they fill you up for the day but leave you back where you left off days and weeks later. The Coaching Clinic can help with that too. You can arrange to have content specific e-mails sent directly to designated employees every Monday morning.

These 100 word tips are reminders of content of a previously held workshop or a topic management particularly believes their staff needs help with. Employers love electronic coaching systems because it offers long term training over time rather than a simple quick fix and nothing else. There are no absences from work and e-coaching is very cost effective.

Employees enjoy it because they don't have to dress up, they don't miss any work, they are learning on the spot and they can work at their own pace on their own time.

For further information on any of these electronic coaching systems contact Jerome Shore at coach@coachingclinic.com or visit their Web site www.coachingclinic.com.

COLLEEN CLARKE
FOR METRO TORONTO


The Peel District School Board and
The Coaching Clinic
Press Release, September 16, 2002

The Coaching Clinic has announced that the Peel District School Board has chosen The Online Coaching Clinic to deliver e-coaching to its professional and administrative staff. The e-coaching will be used to support Work Life Balance and Professional Development initiatives.

Toronto, Monday, September 16, 2002

The Online Coaching Clinic [TOCC] will be used by the Peel District School Board [PDSB] as the third leg of a blended learning program aimed at increasing the Work Life Harmony of Principals and Vice-Principals in the almost 200 schools in the Peel District School Board. They will have access to all of TOCC's e-coaching modules.

The entire wellness initiative, called Take One Step, Wellness at Work, includes workshops called Do it ON Purpose and weekly e-newsletter called Balance Bites. The Balance Bites complement the workshop learning and direct readers to TOCC which increases usage. PDSB's Work Life Harmony initiative which is entering it's second year, aims to encourage a balanced lifestyle for participants and give them the tools, in turn, to promote balance for teachers in their schools.

TOCC now includes 168 e-coaching modules in nine competency areas related to Emotional Intelligence. These include: Stress Management, Time Management, Managing Yourself, Managing Others, Communication, Managing Change, Fourteen new modules will be coming on stream in September 2002 on the subject of Dealing With Discrimination and Harassment. The learning design focuses on solution focused questions to promote creative thinking. Each module takes about 15 minutes to complete.

"Our goal is to help our professional and administrative staff be among the best prepared in their field. This will help us to continue to recruit and keep the best and the brightest teaching and support staff. Our Take One Step work life harmony program supported by TOCC has received enthusiastic response from our administrators." Debra Mitchell, Superintendent of Human Resources at the Peel District School Board.

About The Online Coaching Clinic

The Online Coaching Clinic was created by The Coaching Clinic to extend the reach of its workshops and executive coaching. Users of The Online Coaching Clinic include Bell Mobility, the National Bank of Canada, the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario. LawPRO, the Lawyer's Professional Indemnity Company in Ontario, Canada has had over 3,000 lawyers, 20% of all in private practice in Ontario, sign up to use its customized version of TOCC called the Online Coaching Centre. For additional information about The Coaching Clinic and The Online Coaching Clinic, call (416) 787-5555 in North America.

Contact:
The Coaching Clinic
Jerome Shore
416-787-5555
coach@coachingclinic.com

or

Peel District School Board
Debra Mitchell
905-890-1010 x2637

practicePRO news: LPIC's Online Coaching Centre Racks Up Success April, 2002

If there was ever any doubt about the bar's willingness to embrace online learning, the success of LPIC's Online Coaching Centre has put those doubts to rest:

To date, more than 18,000 individual OCC modules have been downloaded by the more than 3,000 lawyers who have registered to use this Web-based self-coaching tool.

In addition, entire workshops, consisting of about 20 to 25 modules each, were downloaded more than 1,400 times. Based on feedback from some law firms, the modules within these workshops are being accessed internally by hundreds of lawyers in each of these firms.

Close to 1,800 lawyers completed the required three modules and filed their online Survey and Declaration to qualify for a $50 premium credit, to be applied to their 2002 insurance premiums. In fact, overwhelming last-minute response prompted LPIC to extend the filing deadline to September 28 from September 15.

The two most-accessed workshops are: Overcoming Procrastination, and Getting Stress Hardy. The top ten modules and the numbers of times they were downloaded are as follows:

  • Putting first things first (544)
  • Knowing why you want to be stress hardy (443)
  • Cleaning up the messes in your life (419)
  • Changing your thinking about stressful situations (365)
  • Focusing on your goals (331)
  • Understanding the components of your life (324)
  • Using a To-Do list (317)
  • Letting go of unhelpful beliefs (315)
  • Handling multiple projects (262)
  • Delegating to the future (261)