1. Recent blackdot research has proven that enhancing the
coaching effectiveness of sales managers is a powerful, yet
often elusive opportunity to improve frontline salesperson
revenue outcomes.
Despite the opportunity represented by effective coaching,
Sales Managers ultimately possess only one head, yet wear
many hats. More often than not, the last thing they have the
time and capacity to do is to turn their attention to coaching
and development. Sales Managers therefore require an
approach to coaching and performance improvement
that cuts through the noise and brings focus, quality and
efficiency to coaching conversations and activities.
To realise the full opportunity represented by coaching,
blackdot undertook a deep-dive analysis of their Benchmark
data to crystalise what high-performing Sales Managers
were actually doing differently when it came to coaching.
These findings represent opportunities which sales
managers can action immediately to drive an uplift in
performance across the sales force.
Unlocking Sales Manager
Coaching Impact
Understanding What Best Practice
Coaching Looks Like to Accelerate
Frontline Salesperson Development and
Performance
© blackdot 2015

2. © blackdot 2015 2
THE ‘4’ MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINES
An Evidence-Based Pathway to Salesforce Performance Uplift
Based on analysis of a significant body of Benchmarking data and a number of recent global sales
manager enhancement projects, blackdot have identified that when managed by sales managers
who live and breathe four specific management disciplines, the probably of reps surpassing their
targets is far greater than when managed by those who do not embody these disciplines. Of these ‘4’
Management Disciplines, there is particularly significant correlation to on-target performance when a
manager is effective in Coaching and Performance Improvement.
Blackdot define ‘Benchmark Managers’ as those who sit in the top quartile after being assessed across
these four areas, while we consider ‘Core Managers’ to be those who fall in quartiles two through to
four. As the graphs below demonstrate, Benchmark Managers consistently generate a significant uplift
in rep performance, representing an exciting opportunity for realising excellent return on investment
from carefully targeted frontline Sales Manager development around these disciplines.
Collectively the combination of Benchmark capability levels across the ‘4’ Disciplines creates very
significant correlation to On-Target-Performance.
COACHING &
PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT
PROCESS
ADHERENCE
SALES
MANAGEMENT
RHYTHM
TEAMING
& QUALITY
STANDARDS
Q1
‘Benchmark’
Q1
‘Benchmark’
Q1
‘Benchmark’
Q1
‘Benchmark’
Q2—Q4
‘Core’
Q2—Q4
‘Core’
Q2—Q4
‘Core’
Q2—Q4
‘Core’
50% 50% 50% 50%
0% 0% 0% 0%
61%
59% 59% 55%
43%
38% 37% 38%
Benchmark Managers
5.1%
Core Managers
1.3%
63%
Q2
1.4x
88%
Q1 Benchmark Managers
47%
Q3
1.9x
40%
Q4
2.2x
Number of times more likely a Q1
Manager will lead reps to target
PROBABILITY THAT A SALES MANAGER PRODUCES
ON-TARGET-PERFORMANCE IN THEIR REPS
AVERAGE TEAM
PORTFOLIO GROWTH

3. © blackdot 2015 3
COACHING :
A Critical Ingredient to High-Performance Sales Management
In this Research Report, we take a deeper look into the first of the four performance-driving management
disciplines; Coaching and Performance Improvement. For sales organisations focused on outperforming
the competition, coaching represents a critical requirement for ensuring they make their number.
For frontline Sales Managers, coaching represents the most direct and powerful mechanism available
for personally impacting frontline performance. High-performing Sales Managers that coach and
performance manage effectively optimise the focus, frequency and depth of support provided to
accelerate each individual’s progression through the ‘performance lifecycle’.
Ongoing blackdot research into what good looks like has shown that high-performing Sales Managers
that provide effective coaching achieve superior sales performance results:
To fully appreciate the sales performance improvement opportunity represented by effective coaching,
blackdot analysed their Benchmark database to isolate the specific elements that differentiate
high-performing Sales Managers from the core when it came to coaching. The results revealed four
specific things:
Let’s now take a look at what specifically you can do to bring these differentiators to life, and the
performance outcomes you can expect when you do.
Sales Managers that provide effective
coaching manage reps that are almost twice
as likely to hit target than reps managed by
Sales Managers that do not provide effective
coaching
Territories managed by better-coached reps
consistently capture a greater amount of
market share. These territories grow 1.5%
faster than territories managed by reps that
receive less coaching
With one recent blackdot Benchmarking client
the impact of providing effective coaching on
sales outcomes was made exceptionally clear.
Across a six-month period, reps managed by
Sales Managers that provided effective coaching
consistently achieved better On-Target-
Performance than those that did not (see right).
To highlight the upside opportunity, if we assume
that the target monthly value of each territory
were $1 million, then across the six month period,
reps managed by Sales Managers that provided
effective coaching would bring in an additional
$750,000, representing 13% more than their
colleagues that did not receive effective coaching.
CASE STUDY
104%
+8%
86%
118%
+17%
101%
113%
+14%
99%
106%
+9%
97%
100%
+9%
91%
95%
+8%
87%
May 14
80%
100%
120%
Jul 14 Sep 14Jun 14 Aug 14 Oct 14
Benchmark Sales Managers Core Sales Managers
They focus on
‘higher-level’
coaching skills
They dedicate
more time
to coaching
1 2 3 4
High-performing
Sales Managers provide
coaching to all of their reps
They are more
consistent when they
do provide coaching
63%Core Sales Managers
88%Benchmark Sales Managers Benchmark Sales Managers
5.8%
7.3%
MORE LIKELY TO
GROW MARKET SHARE
HIGHER
ON-TARGET-PERFORMANCE
Core Sales Managers

4. © blackdot 2015 4
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #1
Simply Provide Coaching to All Reps
It may seem obvious, but an immediate insight jumping out of the data is simply the fact that
high-performing Sales Managers do in fact coach, whilst lower-performing Sales Managers do not.
As can be seen below, the lowest-performing Sales Managers provide coaching to less than half of their
sales teams.
Furthermore, there is also a connection between coaching provision and perceptions of its
effectiveness.
The first requirement of coaching therefore is simply in providing it. When coaching is not provided,
development and performance drop materially.
PERCEIVED REP SATISFACTION WITH DEVELOPMENT
Receive at least 1 hour
of coaching per week
Receive
no coaching
44%73%
SATISFIED
SATISFIED
COACHING PROVISION
Percentage of Sales Managers within each quartile that provide coaching to the reps they manage
100% 88% 53% 43%
Benchmark Managers 2nd
Quartile Managers 3rd
Quartile Managers 4th
Quartile Managers

5. © blackdot 2015 5
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #2
Dedicating the (Optimal) Time
Interestingly, the Benchmark data revealed a coaching provision ‘sweet spot’ of 2–4 hours per week,
after which coaching falls victim to diminishing returns.
Percentage of reps that rate their coaching as ‘highly effective’ for different durations of time
Benchmark Sales Managers provide a greater intensity of coaching, providing more than 1.5x the
number of coaching hours than their Core Sales Manager colleagues, and more than 3x the amount
provided by lowest performing Sales Managers.​
High-performing Sales Managers’ appreciation of the importance of coaching is also most evident when
it comes to new hires (see case study below.)
6.5 Hours
Benchmark Managers
6.4 Hours
2nd
Quartile Managers
4.1 Hours
3rd
Quartile Managers
2.1 Hours
4th
Quartile Managers
OPTIMAL COACHING PROVISION DURATION
< 1 Hour 1 Hour 2 Hours 3 Hours 4 Hours 5 Hours +
80%
39%
52%
79% 82%
72%
58%
0%
50%
100%
Coaching Provision ‘Sweet Spot’
CASE STUDY
With a recent major Benchmarking
client, high-performing Sales
Managers provided 9 hours of
coaching per rep per month to their
new hires, in contrast to just 5.2
hours by Core Sales Managers. Benchmark Sales Managers Core Sales Managers
9 HoursCoaching New Hires per Month
5.2 Hours
Coaching New Hires per Month
COACHING HOURS PER REP PER MONTH

6. © blackdot 2015
CONS
ISTENTCOACHIN
G
CONS
ISTENTCOACHIN
G
COACHING CONSISTENCY FOR NEW HIRES
Core Sales ManagersBenchmark Sales Managers
76% 44%
6
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #3
Coach More Consistently
Aside from simply providing coaching and providing more of it, high-performing Sales Managers are
also more consistent at coaching. High-performing Sales Managers are 7% more likely to provide
coaching to a more regular and consistent drumbeat.
As can be seen below, most noticeably, Benchmark Sales Managers are nearly twice as likely to provide
regular and consistent coaching to new hires.
Why is coaching with consistency so important? For reps that receive coaching with a consistent
rhythm, 81% rated the coaching they received as highly effective. This is in contrast to coaching that
was provided ad-hoc or randomly; which was rated as 29% and 38% less effective (see below).
If coaching is not provided in a consistent manner, chances of it being effective therefore drop
materially.
Consistent Coaching
81%
52%
Ad-Hoc Coaching Random Coaching
0%
50%
100%
43%
COACHING ‘RHYTHM’ EFFECTIVENESS

7. © blackdot 2015 7
HIGH PERFORMER COACHING DIFFERENTIATOR #4
Provide Higher ‘Quality’ Coaching
A crucial distinction between high and core performing Sales Managers is the quality and focus of
coaching when it is provided. Our Benchmarking analysis has revealed two critical elements of 1:1 sales
coaching:
Sales Managers need to be good at both of the above elements, however the Benchmarking analysis
demonstrates that dialogue skills have an 18% higher correlation to coaching effectiveness than
delivery skills. Benchmark Sales Managers’ ability to focus on and effectively execute these
‘higher-level’ coaching dialogue skills is what sets them apart.
Coaches need to ask specific
questions to understand a rep’s problems
and personalise how to deliver the message
based on the rep’s individually-specific
learning preferences and development needs
Coaches need to be prepared,
take the time to coach, provide
feedback, and follow-up on agreed actions
+
63%
45%
18% higher
correlation
to coaching
effectiveness
Dialogue Skills
Delivery Skills
COACHING SKILLS CORRELATING TO COACHING EFFECTIVENESS
DIALOGUE
DIALOGUE
DELIVERY
DELIVERY

8. © blackdot 2015 8
HOW BLACKDOT CAN HELP
Despite the benefits of coaching being widely
accepted, Sales Managers struggle to find the
time to drive sales by helping their people sell.
The challenge lies not only in finding time for
coaching, but also in knowing how to frame the
coaching conversation and executing with limited
preparation time blackdot have drawn on.
In light of these challenges, blackdot have drawn
on the Benchmark insights into what good
coaching looks like to build the ‘Tight-Loose’
Coaching and Performance Improvement
Framework. This system enables Sales Managers
to quickly and easily frame coaching conversations
and deliver focused, relevant coaching efficiently
and to a high quality standard. Armed with this
tool, Sales Managers are able to efficiently and
effectively build individually-relevant,
needs-based development plans which guide their
reps through performance improvement pathways
that ensure your organisation, team and frontline
reps repeatedly hit their number.
High Performing Sales Managers understand the ‘performance lifecycle’ of each Salesperson and
optimise their performance by using the principles of ‘Tight-Loose’ to dynamically adapt the approach
to managing different performance profiles (see the Tight-Loose ‘Performance Profiles’ above.)
Sales Managers can take a ‘Tight’ or ‘Loose’ approach to managing performance at each stage of
the performance lifecycle, with the optimal approach depending on the individual salesperson’s
Performance Profile as determined by their current performance and performance trajectory.
The principles of the ‘Tight-Loose’ Coaching and Performance Improvement Framework represents
the embodiment of individualised, needs-based development. Our research has revealed that
Benchmark Managers apply these principles more than anyone else in their Sales Manager peer group.
The application and deployment of these principles accounts for the higher perceptions of coaching
effectiveness and greater sales outcomes they are able to derive.
Current Performance Vs. Target
Improving
Declining
Below Above
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
Below Target;
Performance
Improving
Below Target;
Performance
Declining
Above Target;
Performance
Improving
Above Target;
Performance
Declining
EXCELLING
PLATEAUING
PerformanceTrajectory
THE TIGHT-LOOSE ‘PERFORMANCE PROFILES’
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
EXCELLING
PLATEAUING
Tight-Loose
Approach
Manager’s Role In
Lifting Performance
Review Frequency
Priorities
Common ‘Gotchas’
Coaching Focus
‘EMERGING’ PERFORMANCE PROFILE: DEVELOPMENT PLANSample
‘Tight-Loose’ Output

9. © blackdot 2015 9
THE ‘4’ MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINES—INTEGRATED SOLUTION-SET
To assist with the execution of this research, blackdot has developed a comprehensive solution-set
designed to help your organisation rapidly realise the fundamental performance shift which targeted
Sales Manager development can offer.
Complete pre-workshop individual
assessment report is provided for each
Sales Manager providing immediately
actionable insights into strengths to
leverage & gaps to address
• Understand your managers’ strengths &
weaknesses against external best practice &
internal comparisons
• Isolate the ‘vital few’ gaps for development
priority which will create fundamental impact
BENCHMARK & DIAGNOSTICS
ShiftTM
provides cloud-based access to
practical resources designed to fast-track
development of critical sales management
skills, dynamic coaching tools enable the best
practice coaching & performance management
of frontline Salespeople
• Create real behavioural shift with ongoing
micro-learning content designed for busy
Sales Managers
• Measure the real change achieved over time
with ongoing benchmarking & diagnostic
functionality
SALES ENABLEMENT PLATFORM SUBSCRIPTION
CORE COMPONENTS OUTCOMES
• Crystallise personal insights & focus areas for
each Sales Manager
• Expedite execution of key learning outcomes
with specialised Blackdot coaching support
INTENSIVE COACHING
Two personalised 1:1 coaching sessions
delivered by a professional blackdot sales
coach to debrief assessment insights
pre-workshop & embed content execution
post-workshop
Two day immersive workshop delivers
practical skills and tools for executing the ‘4’
critical sales management disciplines
EXPERIENTIAL CAPABILITY PROGRAM
• Enhance capability across the ‘4’ Disciplines
in an interactive and applied setting
• Access to the full suite of ‘Tight-Loose’
Coaching and Performance Improvement
Framework Tools
• Consolidate key breakthroughs and
takeaways across your sales management
team
• Workshop common implementation
challenges and leave the course with a firm
plan to create real change
Coaching & performance improvement
Process adherence
Teaming & quality standards
Sales management rhythm

10. © blackdot 2015 10
A RECENT CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
A recent merger and failure to hit minimum sales
targets prompted one global pharmaceutical
company to look at initiatives that would improve
sales performance and address a lack of clarity
at the senior leadership level around initiatives
to pursue.
CHALLENGE
The Blackdot ‘12-4-7’ Organisational Benchmark
was conducted across all Business Units, which
identified a significant sales improvement
opportunity through the establishment of a
consistent sales management framework across
its multiple Business Units that reflected best
practice. The new sales management framework
was designed leveraging Blackdot IP and in close
collaboration with key sales leaders. The
framework was rolled out via a company-wide
sales leadership forum that incorporated the
blackdot ‘4’ Disciplines of Sales Management
Program.
SOLUTION
1. Enhanced rigour and effectiveness of
coaching and performance improvement
initiatives that utilised the ‘Tight-Loose’
methodology
2. Acquisition of clear action plans by Sales
Managers to drive the number of True
Believers™ in the sales process
3. Creation and roll-out of new sales
management rhythm
OUTCOME AND RESULTS

11. BLACKDOT EXISTS TO ASSIST OUR CLIENTS ACHIEVE MORE
REPEATABLE AND PREDICTABLE SALES PERFORMANCE
CONSULTING
SOLUTIONS
BENCHMARKING
& DIAGNOSTICS
CAPABILITY
SOLUTIONS
Through our suite of benchmarking, consulting and capability offerings
we are able to provide specific solutions which enable our clients
to gain control and consistency over sales outcomes and growth.
WHY BLACKDOT?
We’re deep subject
matter experts on sales
force optimisation and
effectiveness
Technology-enabled
benchmarking and
diagnostic, consulting and
capability uplift solutions
We deliver actionable
insights, tools and
learning that drives
uplift
We know what good looks
like and have the casual data
to prove it

12. enquires@theblackdot.com.au
www.theblackdot.com.au
Tokyo
MH Yoyogi-Uehara 3F.
3-6-5 Nishihara, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 151-0066, Japan
+81 03 5465 0367
North America
347 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10016
United States
+44 (0) 20 3551 6894
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The Rocks, NSW 2000
Australia
+61 2 8246 7300
What makes us unique is our total fixation on the use of data-driven, evidence-based techniques
to understand what does (and does not) drive sales performance.
By viewing the ‘sales engine’ holistically, as an ecosystem of component parts that work
interdependently to impact sales results, we’re able to identify the root cause of what’s inhibiting
and enabling your current performance, including quantifying the payoff in actually getting it right.
Armed with this knowledge, we stand alongside our clients who engage us to define, implement and
embed change programs that bridge the gap between ‘hoping’ and ‘knowing’ you’ll deliver top and
bottom line performance improvement.
CLIENT PORTFOLIO
OUR MISSION
Blackdot have completed more
than 400 sales performance
improvement projects, across
12 industries and 142 countries.
We’ve additionally benchmarked
more than 50,000 salespeople,
7,500 Sales Managers and 650
independent sales teams.
CORE INDUSTRY
EXPERTISE
We engaged Blackdot to overhaul our core sales disciplines and enable
our front-liners to best capitalise on their limited selling time. Blackdot
designed and implemented a holistic sales framework and sales
management solution which consists of a bespoke sales process, pipeline
methodology and sales management rhythm all tailored to our unique sales
environment and global business model.
As a result of this more consistent and repeatable approach to proactive
business development we’ve already seen double-digit year-on-year
revenue growth in the first 12 months.
- Andrew Stuart
Head of Futures, Macquarie Group
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