You will be able to read a rep's numbers and decide what to coach.
A rep is behind target for the second month running. You sit down for the one-to-one with a vague plan to "talk about the numbers". Ten minutes in, you are both talking about effort, attitude and how hard the market is, and neither of you has looked at a single figure that would tell you what is actually going wrong. You leave with a promise to "push harder", which helps nobody.
The numbers from lesson 8.1, Leading and lagging measures, can make that conversation far more specific. This lesson shows how to read one rep's numbers, find the stage where things go wrong, and turn that into the opening question of a coaching conversation.
Start by sorting the problem into one of two kinds. Low activity means the rep is not doing enough of the work that feeds the pipeline: too few first meetings, too little prospecting. Low conversion means the activity is there, but deals are not moving from one stage to the next as often as they should.
The two usually have different causes. Low activity is most often about time or will. The rep may be buried in admin, spending too long on a few big deals, avoiding prospecting because it is uncomfortable, or simply not motivated. Low conversion is most often about skill: something in how the rep runs a particular stage is not working.
Treat this as a starting point that will sometimes be wrong. A rep with low activity might lack the skill to prospect efficiently, and a rep with low conversion might be rushing because they are short of time. But the split tells you which question to ask first. Activity problems start with a conversation about time and priorities, as in lesson 3.3, When a new hire falls behind. Conversion problems lead to the call reviews in module 6.
When you look at a rep's numbers, compare them with their own history before you compare them with the team. A rep's past performance already accounts for their territory, their client mix and their style. A drop against their own past is a change in them, and it is the clearest signal you will get.
Then compare with the team. This tells you whether a rate that has always been low for this rep is still a gap worth closing. It also tells you whether a drop affects everyone, which would point to something outside the rep, such as a price change or a competitor.
Here are Raj's numbers for the quarter before Wei Ming started the coaching in module 6. The figures are examples, and the stages are the ones from module 4.
This quarter, Raj reached meeting agreed on 24 deals, problem confirmed on 9, proposal seen on 6, and won 2. His conversion from meeting agreed to problem confirmed was 37.5 percent, from problem confirmed to proposal seen 66.7 percent, and from proposal seen to won 33.3 percent.
The previous quarter, his rates were 54.5 percent, 75 percent and 44.4 percent, from 22 meetings, 12 problems confirmed, 9 proposals and 4 wins.
The team's rates this quarter were 60 percent, 74.1 percent and 40 percent, from 90 meetings, 54 problems confirmed, 40 proposals and 16 wins.
Raj's activity was fine. He had more first meetings this quarter than last. The problem was conversion.
Look at where the fall is largest. From meeting agreed to problem confirmed, Raj dropped from 54.5 percent to 37.5 percent, a fall of 17 percentage points, and he is now 22.5 points below the team. At the next stage, he dropped about 8 points and is about 7 below the team. At the last stage, about 11 points down on his past and about 7 below the team. The first stage is clearly the weakest.
That matches what Wei Ming later heard on Raj's calls in lesson 6.1, Coach one behaviour at a time: Raj heard a problem and moved straight to the product without finding out what it cost the buyer. The numbers pointed to the stage, and the calls showed the behaviour. Either could have come first. Used together, they make a much stronger case than either alone.
Be careful with small numbers. With only six proposals, one deal more or less changes Raj's proposal-to-won rate by more than 15 points. Look for the largest and most consistent gap, and treat small differences on small counts as questions to check.
Send each rep their numbers a day before the one-to-one: their rates this period, their rates last period, and the team's. Do not add your interpretation. Let them look first.
This changes the conversation. The rep arrives having seen the same figures you have, and often with their own explanation. The discussion starts from facts that neither of you is arguing about. And it shows respect: nobody likes being surprised by their own numbers in a meeting.
Then open with a question that points at the stage, without accusing. Wei Ming's opening question for Raj was: "Your first meetings are up, but fewer of them are getting to problem confirmed than last quarter. What do you think is happening between the first meeting and the second?"
Raj's answer was that buyers seemed interested in the first meeting and then went quiet. That led straight into listening to a recorded first meeting together, which is where module 6 picked up.
In the activity below you will take one rep's numbers, find the weakest stage and write the opening coaching question. Compare with the rep's own past before you look at the team.
Take one rep's numbers, find the weakest stage and write the coaching question you would open with.
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