GROW TO POWER

It is debatable who originally developed the GROW model of coaching. Many attribute its creation to Sir John Whitmore and his colleagues in the world of sport; others say that GROW developed as a result of Tim Gallwey’s work as a tennis coach; some say that one of the creators was Frank Dick, who from 1979 to 1994 was Director of Training for the British Athletics Federation. John Whitmore, David Whitaker (coach of the British men’s hockey team in 1988) and David Hemery (Olympic champion 400m hurdles, 1968) taught courses at Bisham Abbey entitled The Challenge of Excellence.

Although it is not important to know whose developed GROW it is useful to understand that it was developed to improve the performance of athletes (specifically athletes) and that the relationship between the coach and the athlete was and is based on the premise that the athlete wants the coach to help them identify barriers and problems to improving performance and how to overcome them. This is why the GROW model is widely used by life skills coaches, where the goal is to identify what people’s life goals are and move them towards achieving them. It’s also why many companies now use the TGROW model, where ‘T’ stands for Topic, Topic, or Task.

I attended The Challenge of Excellence in 1991 and in 1992 I wrote the first of three books on the topic of coaching using the POWER model that I developed as a more business-focused coaching tool. Since then, I have researched the use of training not only in sports, but also in the professions of music, dance, and acting; The common factor between these professions is the emphasis on excellence in physical performance. I have used this experience to further develop the POWER model to deal specifically with improving salesperson performance, which has proven to be extremely effective since if selling is anything, it is also physical performance.

The main premise of the POWER model is that the agenda of the coaching sessions should be driven by the sales coach, not the salesperson; therefore, the model begins with ‘P’ Purpose and parameters: what is the purpose of the coaching session for the coach and the organization. Only after this has been determined does the session proceed to the seller’s Objectives and Options (‘O’s).

The POWER model affirms that coaching is not a voluntary process, although it eventually leads salespeople to seek out the sales coach to help them improve. The model also does not assume that there are problems and barriers to improvement, but rather that even if people are performing well, they can improve. Sales coaching involves continuous improvement by examining what salespeople do and how they behave, which produces current performance. The POWER coaching model focuses on the inputs that cause the output and the premise is that no one is so good that they cannot improve.

The GROW model is a very good first step in acquiring basic coaching skills. The POWER model seeks to build on those basic coaching skills and move those involved in improving the sales performance of salespeople to the next level of coaching.

I have identified four possible levels of trainer:

Level 1: this is the entry level to coaching; this person will likely work with an experienced trainer, learning the ropes and technical training. During coaching training, the focus will be on ensuring that formal training is being carried over to the field; that the specific process related to the job is being learned and implemented; and that the person is demonstrating basic levels of skills and behavior. It can take between 3 and 12 months to reach this level.

Level 2: After twelve months of experience at Level 1, the coach should be able to take on a full-time coaching role, focusing on improving performance.

Level 3: It takes at least 24-36 months for a sales coach to be described as a ‘top’ coach. At this level, the trainer will primarily improve the performance of sales managers.

Level 4: Specialist Trainers operate almost entirely as independent consultants, coaching and improving the performance of senior sales managers and designing and implementing coaching cultures throughout the organization.

Trainers will stay at whichever level they feel most comfortable with. It’s important not to fall into the trap of many top salespeople where promotion to the next level (ie, sales management) is seen as the goal of self-fulfillment. In the same way that good salespeople are not necessarily good sales managers, good level 1 coaches are not necessarily good level 2 coaches, and so on.

I believe that the main competencies that make a good sales coach are:

1. Build a sales process appropriate to the sales team, the market, and the organization’s goals.

2. Determines the behaviors required of the sales team to effectively achieve organizational sales objectives.

3. Recruits, selects and maintains a sales team of sufficient quantity, quality and competence to sell the company’s products and services.

4. Determine the basic training requirements for the sales team.

5. Ensures that the sales team is sufficiently trained to meet the sales objectives of the organization.

6. Designs and implements a sales coaching process that ensures the sales team is capable of competently achieving the basic sales goals and objectives of the organization.

7. Uses an effective and robust sales coaching process to ensure continuous improvement of the entire sales team.

8. Instigates actions to meet the needs of the organization to identify the next generation of sales coaches.

Specific skills include:

• questioning skills

• listening skills

• observation skills

• nonverbal skills