How Mentoring Program Helps Make Your Selling Skills Sharper

Earlier on, we've touched on the difference between a sales job and a sales career. Understanding the differences helps to shape the way you approach your day-to-day dwelling. Some companies have the resources to expand this concept further, and they develop a program called 'Mentoring and Coaching.'

It was actually taken from an age-old concept:
History has it, to achieve the highest order of worship and obedience to God, a human, usually a man, was chosen as a role model... a mentor to pave the way to Heaven...

And please don't bother to rub your eyes because you're still in a Pharmaceutical sales blog. I'm just using the analogy of 'Messenger' because I'm feeling a bit spiritual while writing this particular post. I suspect it had to do with two issues I'm going to touch on herein. So, read on...

I assume you've asked me, 'What's the deal with Messenger, mentor, God, etc...'

I'll show you the connection, and in hindsight, I believe you can see how they connected.

Many companies, Pharma companies included, had adopted at least one mentorship program. And if the company is more sophisticated, it'll throw in a coaching program as well. Would that make a difference? Would it matter? In a more business-sense question,' What's the ROI thus far?'

I remember my first coaching assignment. It was during the first few weeks after I wore my new "Area Business Manager" title. Reason: it was in my job description. This is a classic example of doing the right thing for the wrong idea. Output? Utter failure.

And it was the same for my mentoring assignment. Imagine mentoring those whom you call by nicknames, and just because of the title, you're a mentor now. Again, total failure.

It leaves us with the questions,' So how do you "coach' or "mentor" someone?'

The answer is not in the "how," it's in "when," 'When do you coach or mentor them?'

The question of "when" means it's a question of timing. And timing is like dialing a phone number. Dial the right combination, you get the right person. Dial a wrong one, you get cursed! Or maybe just a vain effort...

Which leads us to the next logical question, 'How do you recognize the "right" timing?' This is close to a "million-dollar" question. If I can answer this, I'll be more productive than those "grey and black" suits consultants (notice the first three alphabets in "con-sultants"), but as far as my experience permits me, there are no hard and fast rules.

It's an open issue and if a big pharma company that sells the "blue pills" with a whole training department bigger than some of its branches sales force, got the "timing" wrong most of the time, can we expect other companies with three people who run a "multi-tasking" roles to perform better?

I'll let you answer that one...

There's always a debate going on that goes "salespeople sell, and marketing people market" but these two got mixed up quickly. Next, they play the blame game. 'Sales are bad because marketing sucks!' or 'Sales are bad because salespeople don't know how to sell!'.

And the same goes for coaching and mentoring...

'Coaching fails because of training sucks!'

'Mentoring fails because of training sucks!'

'Mentoring and coaching suck because they're not trained!'

So, which is which?

Let me answer that one. It depends. It depends on which angle you're approaching this issue. Like the saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' Whose eye is looking at training, coaching, and mentoring?

To me, I'll say that my mentor failed me (well, it feels "good" to blame somebody).

When I first got my assignment for both coaching and mentoring, he let the training handle the theory or classroom part and worst... the practical or field-work as well! Trainers train. That's what they do best. But managers, like my previous "Boss," supposed to mentor me.

You leave something to chances, you get the 'chances' result. That's a fact.

In fact, it's known that SL1 (taken from the "Situational Leadership Model") needs 'high support and high directive.' Another combination will just frustrate the candidate just like trying to teach a pig to sing... "it annoys the pig, and it sounds bad!"

But in "big pharma companies," this is just the norm. Reason: not enough time.

'Why not enough time?'

'Well, we have to do coaching, mentoring, strategic planning, sales monitoring, training, attend management meetings, blah, blah, blah...' I can fill 500 pages of "scrapbook" with such "junks"!

But when you're not performing or when your sales team or team member runs into trouble, like magic, the blame was shifted to YOU! Plus some "thrash-quality" reasons. At one time, I didn't get my performance bonus (even record shows I qualified) because my so-called "mentor" said,' You blunder during the MD's visit to your branch. You screwed up the Hotel booking.'

Duh?!

What happens in a "big pharma" company. Maybe smaller ones are no different...

So, it's a noble intention to emulate God's way of teaching human-kind by send a "human" to coach and mentor other humans, but God had "tight" criteria. He chooses His man with surgical precision. Nothing was left to chance.

And if a human wants to follow this, especially for a company, then someone needs to clearly spell out the criteria. We're not God, true, but the quality is something we can emulate. For those of you who don't believe in God, I hope you get my point.

Be precise. Be concise. "Left no stone unturned" figuratively speaking.

Which brings me to my next point, my second issue:

I just go over it briefly...

I notice that the most "successful" Pharma Sales Rep here in this country, are those who like to give something back, "unconditionally" to others. Be it colleagues, customers, or company. They perform a deed without thinking or should I say less focus on,' What's in it for me.'

They get remembered years after they left the industry and they get all the compliments which they deserve.

In other non-pharma industries, a similar observation was also well documented in the writing of Zig Ziglar, Dr. David J. Schwartz, and Dale Carnegie.

They call this "Gratitude." And gratitude is an attitude that conveys the message,' It's enough for everyone to go around.'

What is the other side of gratitude?

Some of the Sales Reps I knew are reaping the "reward" of such attitude: depression, stress, and tension. The feeling of "things are NOT enough to circulate."

I remember the things I did with a few of my Team Members last time. I always think that the relationship that we had back then, was more than just "work-related." And boy, I was wrong.

Some of the "define" the relationship as just a "professional" and "with-agenda" kind of relationship. Work. That's it. No more. No less. Or in my "interpretation" : non-gratitude relationship.

The Golden Rule said, 'Do unto others as you like it done unto you.'

I know, deep down, one beautiful day, I'm going to return the favor.

I'm just "obeying" the Golden Rule. Period.

PS. Here's an update, written in 2020 (13 years after this post was published), to answer the question of how do sales trainers or managers teach sales skills.