Building a sales plan: Promoting from within

The surest sign of a successful plan is the portion that addresses how you are going to build your own team of coaches. While it is always healthy to bring in new ideas when seeking out additions to your team, the brightest players that simultaneously show leadership skills should flourish in your system. Never underestimate the reason you hired a sales rep. Good role models make great leaders if fed the right concepts and encouragement. Designate some time each day to the simple task of thinking about the personality of each of your team members.
Analyze the individual, but never get assumptive. Some of our greatest leaders where discounted early on in life and inevitable are part of a story where they ended up surpassing those that held them down. Create an environment that affords your team members to make amends for their past. Give them the tools and training to become better tasked with leading by example. The harder someone works to climb their way up, the more likely they are to relish in the opportunity.
Drive is a key part in becoming a leader, as are skill and intelligence. However, the key ingredient to any leader is a preference to help those in need. Without this natural inkling to be there for others, one is incapable of coaching. Hunt for this in your employees. Look for those who by habit are there for their peers. They are rarely the ones talking about it, and are more often only thanked by the appreciation they get from the team. Modesty is a rare sales quality, but the humility to aid your peers without trumpeting your endeavors is not the same thing. It is better.
When growth or attrition permits you the challenge of bringing up a new manager/coach, make sure to create an open playing field. If you are already biased and leaning towards a particular candidate, interview them after you have interviewed the rest of the candidates. Keep your ego in check; do not answer questions for them, or curry special favor. Make their interview the toughest, as you already think they are the best, let them prove it. Your team will often surprise you, but only if you are open minded and give all of your potential leaders a chance.
Start with the end in mind. Hire people with the intent of giving them a career path. If they have chosen leadership as a direction, then build a plan that gets them there. Do not dangle carrots, create objectives and your team will reap the benefits.

Building a sales plan: Planning to Train – Hunters »« Building a sales plan: Planning your CRM