Everything You Need to Know About AI in Customer Service

The banking industry is undergoing a digital transformation, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems are at the forefront of this change. By providing a centralised platform for customer data, interactions, and analytics, CRMs empower banks to deliver personalised and efficient services, fostering customer loyalty and driving business growth. We’ll look closer at the significance of CRM in banking, exploring its numerous benefits, addressing challenges in adoption, and highlighting future trends and innovations. Additionally, we present a compelling case study showcasing a successful CRM implementation in the banking sector. 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a CRM in Banking When selecting a top CRM platform for your banking institution, it is necessary to carefully evaluate potential solutions to ensure they align with your specific requirements and objectives. Here are 10 key questions to ask during the selection process: 1. Does the CRM integrate with your existing, financial and banking organisation and systems? A seamless integration between your CRM and existing banking systems is essential to avoid data silos and ensure a holistic view of customer interactions. Look for a CRM that can easily integrate with your core banking system, payment platforms, and other relevant applications. 2. Can the CRM provide a 360-degree view of your customers? A CRM should offer a unified platform that consolidates customer data from various touchpoints, including online banking, mobile banking, branches, and contact centres. This enables bank representatives to access a complete customer profile, including account information, transaction history, and past interactions, resulting in more personalised and efficient customer service. 3. Does the CRM offer robust reporting and analytics capabilities? Leverage the power of data by selecting a CRM that provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities. This will allow you to analyse customer behaviour, identify trends, and gain actionable insights into customer needs and preferences. Look for a CRM that offers customisable reports, dashboards, and data visualisation tools to empower your bank with data-driven decision-making. 4. Is the CRM user-friendly and easy to implement? A user-friendly interface is essential for ensuring that your bank’s employees can effectively utilise the CRM. Consider the technical expertise of your team and opt for a CRM with an intuitive design, clear navigation, and minimal training requirements. Additionally, evaluate the implementation process to ensure it can be completed within your desired timeframe and budget. What is a CRM in the Banking Industry? Customer relationship management (CRM) is a crucial technology for banks to optimise customer service, improve operational efficiency, and drive business growth. A CRM system acts as a centralised platform that empowers banks to manage customer interactions, track customer information, and analyse customer data. By leveraging CRM capabilities, banks can also gain deeper insights and a larger understanding of their customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviours, enabling them to deliver personalised and exceptional banking experiences. CRM in banking fosters stronger customer relationships by facilitating personalised interactions. With a CRM system, banks can capture and store customer data, including personal information, transaction history, and communication preferences. This data enables bank representatives to have informed conversations with customers, addressing their specific needs and providing tailored financial solutions. Personalised interactions enhance customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall banking experience. CRM enhances operational efficiency and productivity within banks. By automating routine tasks such as data entry, customer service ticketing, and report generation, banking CRM software streamlines workflows and reduces manual labour. This automation allows bank employees to focus on higher-value activities, such as customer engagement and financial advisory services. Furthermore, CRM provides real-time access to customer information, enabling employees to quickly retrieve and update customer data, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. Additionally, CRM empowers banks to analyse customer data and derive valuable insights. With robust reporting and analytics capabilities, banks can identify customer segments, analyse customer behaviour, and measure campaign effectiveness. This data-driven approach enables banks to make informed decisions, optimise marketing strategies, and develop targeted products and services that cater to specific customer needs. CRM also plays a vital role in risk management and compliance within the banking industry. By integrating customer data with regulatory requirements, banks can effectively monitor transactions, detect suspicious activities, and mitigate fraud risks. This ensures compliance with industry regulations and safeguards customer information. In summary, CRM is a transformative technology that revolutionises banking operations. By fostering personalised customer experiences and interactions, enhancing operational efficiency, enabling data-driven decision-making, and ensuring risk management, CRM empowers banks to deliver superior customer service, drive business growth, and maintain a competitive edge. The 10 Business Benefits of Using a Banking CRM 1. Streamlined Customer Interactions: CRMs enable banks to centralise customer data, providing a holistic view of each customer’s interactions with the bank. This allows for streamlined and personalised customer service, improving customer satisfaction and reducing the time and effort required to resolve customer queries. 2. Enhanced Data Management and Analytics: CRMs provide powerful data management capabilities, enabling banks to collect, store, and analyse customer data from various sources. This data can be leveraged to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and buying patterns. Banks can then use these insights to optimise their products, services, and marketing strategies. 3. Increased Sales and Cross-Selling Opportunities: CRMs help banks identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities by analysing customer data and identifying customer needs and preferences. By leveraging this information, banks can proactively recommend relevant products and services, increasing sales and revenue. 4. Improved Customer Retention and Loyalty: CRMs help banks build stronger customer relationships by enabling personalised interactions and providing excellent customer service. By understanding customer needs and preferences, banks can proactively address issues and provide tailored solutions, fostering customer loyalty and reducing churn. 5. Enhanced Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management: CRMs assist banks in complying with industry regulations and managing risks effectively. By centralising customer data and tracking customer interactions, banks can easily generate reports and demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. CRMs and other banking software programs also help in identifying and managing potential risks associated with customer transactions. 6. Improved Operational Efficiency: CRMs streamline various banking processes, including customer onboarding, loan processing, and account management. By automating repetitive tasks and providing real-time access to customer information, CRMs help banks improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. 7. Increased Employee Productivity: CRMs provide banking employees with easy access to customer data and real-time updates, enabling them to handle customer inquiries more efficiently. This reduces the time spent on administrative tasks and allows employees to focus on providing exceptional customer service. 8. Improved Decision-Making: CRMs provide banks with data-driven insights into customer behaviour and market trends. This information supports informed decision-making, enabling banks to develop and implement effective strategies for customer acquisition, retention, and growth. 9. Enhanced Customer Experience: CRMs help banks deliver a superior customer experience by providing personalised interactions, proactive problem resolution, and quick response to customer inquiries. This results in increased customer satisfaction and positive brand perception.10. Increased Profitability: By leveraging the benefits of CRM systems, banks can optimise their operations, increase sales, and reduce costs, ultimately leading to increased profitability and long-term success for financial service customers. Case studies highlighting successful CRM implementations in banking Several financial institutions have successfully implemented CRM systems to enhance their operations and customer service. Here are a few notable case studies: DBS Bank: DBS Bank, a leading financial institution in Southeast Asia, implemented a CRM system to improve customer service and cross-selling opportunities. The system provided a 360-degree view of customers, enabling the bank to tailor products and services to individual needs. As a result, DBS Bank increased customer retention by 15% and cross-selling opportunities by 20%. HDFC Bank: India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, implemented a CRM system to improve customer service and operational efficiency. The system integrated various customer touch points, such as branches, ATMs, and online banking, providing a seamless experience for customers. HDFC Bank achieved a 20% reduction in operating costs and a 15% increase in customer satisfaction. JPMorgan Chase: JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the United States, implemented a CRM system to improve customer interactions and data management. The system provided a centralised platform to track customer interactions and data, allowing the bank to gain insights into customer behaviour and preferences. As a result, JPMorgan Chase increased customer interactions by 15% and improved data accuracy by 20%. Bank of America: Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the United States, implemented a CRM system to improve sales and cross-selling opportunities. The system provided sales teams with real-time customer data, across sales and marketing efforts enabling them to tailor their pitches and identify potential cross-selling opportunities. Bank of America achieved a 10% increase in sales and a 15% increase in cross-selling opportunities.These case studies demonstrate the tangible benefits of CRM in the banking industry. By implementing CRM systems, banks can improve customer retention, customer service, cross-selling opportunities, operating costs, and marketing campaigns. Overcoming challenges to CRM adoption in banking While CRM systems offer numerous benefits to banks, their adoption can be hindered by certain challenges. One of the primary obstacles is resistance from employees who may be reluctant to embrace new technology or fear job displacement. Overcoming this resistance requires effective change management strategies, such as involving employees in the selection and implementation process, providing all-encompassing training, and addressing their concerns. Another challenge is the lack of proper training and support for employees using the CRM system. Insufficient training can lead to low user adoption and suboptimal utilisation of the system’s features. To address this, banks should invest in robust training programs that equip employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively use the CRM system. Training should cover not only the technical aspects of the system but also its benefits and how it aligns with the bank’s overall goals. Integration challenges can also hinder the successful adoption of CRM software in banking. Banks often have complex IT systems and integrating a new CRM system can be a complex and time-consuming process. To overcome these challenges, banks should carefully plan the integration process, ensuring compatibility between the CRM system and existing systems. This may involve working with the CRM vendor to ensure a smooth integration process and providing adequate technical support to address any issues that arise. Data security is a critical concern for banks, and the adoption of a CRM system must address potential security risks. Banks must ensure that the CRM system meets industry standards and regulations for data protection. This includes implementing robust security measures, such as encryption, access controls, and regular security audits, to safeguard sensitive customer information. Finally, the cost of implementing and maintaining a CRM system can be a challenge for banks. CRM systems require significant upfront investment in software, hardware, and training. Banks should carefully evaluate the costs and benefits of CRM adoption, ensuring that the potential returns justify the investment. Additionally, banks should consider the ongoing costs associated with maintaining and updating the CRM system, as well as the cost of providing ongoing training and support to users. Future trends and innovations in banking CRM Navigating Evolving Banking Trends and Innovations in CRM The banking industry stands at the precipice of transformative changes, driven by a surge of innovative technologies and evolving customer expectations. Open banking, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and voice-activated interfaces are shaping the future of banking CRM. Open banking is revolutionising the financial sphere by enabling banks to securely share customer data with third-party providers, with the customer’s explicit consent. This fosters a broader financial ecosystem, offering customers access to a varied range of products and services, while fostering healthy competition and innovation within the banking sector. AI has become an indispensable tool for banking institutions, empowering them to deliver exceptional customer experiences. AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants provide round-the-clock support, assisting customers with queries, processing transactions, and ensuring swift problem resolution. Additionally, AI plays a pivotal role in fraud detection and risk management, safeguarding customers’ financial well-being. Blockchain technology, with its decentralised and immutable nature, offers a secure platform for financial transactions. By maintaining an incorruptible ledger of records, blockchain ensures the integrity and transparency of financial data, building trust among customers and enhancing the overall banking experience. The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming banking by connecting physical devices to the internet, enabling real-time data collection and exchange. IoT devices monitor customer behaviour, track equipment status, and manage inventory, empowering banks to optimise operations, reduce costs, and deliver personalised services. Voice-activated interfaces and chatbots are revolutionising customer interactions, providing convenient and intuitive access to banking services. Customers can utilise voice commands or text-based chat to manage accounts, make payments, and seek assistance, enhancing their overall banking experience. These transformative trends necessitate banks’ ability to adapt and innovate continuously. By embracing these technologies and aligning them with customer needs, banks can unlock new opportunities for growth, strengthen customer relationships, and remain at the forefront of the industry. How LIKE.TG Can Help LIKE.TG is a leading provider of CRM solutions that can help banks achieve the benefits of CRM. With LIKE.TG, banks can gain a complete view of their customers, track interactions, deliver personalised experiences, and more. LIKE.TG offers a comprehensive suite of CRM tools that can be customised to meet the specific needs of banks. These tools include customer relationship management (CRM), sales and marketing automation, customer service, and analytics. By leveraging LIKE.TG, banks can improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and reduce costs. For example, one bank that implemented LIKE.TG saw a 20% increase in customer satisfaction, a 15% increase in revenue, and a 10% decrease in costs. Here are some specific examples of how LIKE.TG can help banks: Gain a complete view of customers: LIKE.TG provides a single, unified platform that allows banks to track all customer interactions, from initial contact to ongoing support. This information can be used to create a complete picture of each customer, which can help banks deliver more personalised and relevant experiences. Track interactions: LIKE.TG allows banks to track all interactions with customers, including phone calls, emails, chat conversations, and social media posts. This information can be used to identify trends and patterns, which can help banks improve their customer service and sales efforts. Deliver personalised experiences: LIKE.TG allows banks to create personalised experiences for each customer. This can be done by using customer data to tailor marketing campaigns, product recommendations, and customer service interactions. Increase revenue: LIKE.TG can help banks increase revenue by providing tools to track sales opportunities, manage leads, and forecast revenue. This information can be used to make informed decisions about which products and services to offer, and how to best target customers. Reduce costs: LIKE.TG can help banks reduce costs by automating tasks, streamlining processes, and improving efficiency. This can free up resources that can be used to focus on other areas of the business. Overall, LIKE.TG is a powerful CRM solution that can help banks improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and reduce costs. By leveraging LIKE.TG, banks can gain a competitive advantage in the rapidly changing financial services industry.

Some ecommerce trends and technologies pass in hype cycles, but others are so powerful they change the entire course of the market. After all the innovations and emerging technologies that cropped up in 2023, business leaders are assessing how to move forward and which new trends to implement.Here are some of the biggest trends that will affect your business over the coming year. What you’ll learn: Artificial intelligence is boosting efficiency Businesses are prioritising data management and harmonisation Conversational commerce is getting more human Headless commerce is helping businesses keep up Brands are going big with resale Social commerce is evolving Vibrant video content is boosting sales Loyalty programs are getting more personalised User-generated content is influencing ecommerce sales Subscriptions are adding value across a range of industries Ecommerce trends FAQ 1. Artificial intelligence is boosting efficiency There’s no doubt about it: Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the ecommerce game. Commerce teams have been using the technology for years to automate and personalise product recommendations, chatbot activity, and more. But now, generative and predictive AI trained on large language models (LLM) offer even more opportunities to increase efficiency and scale personalisation. AI is more than an ecommerce trend — it can make your teams more productive and your customers more satisfied. Do you have a large product catalog that needs to be updated frequently? AI can write and categorise individual descriptions, cutting down hours of work to mere minutes. Do you need to optimise product detail pages? AI can help with SEO by automatically generating meta titles and meta descriptions for every product. Need to build a landing page for a new promotion? Generative page designers let users of all skill levels create and design web pages in seconds with simple, conversational building tools. All this innovation will make it easier to keep up with other trends, meet customers’ high expectations, and stay flexible — no matter what comes next. 2. Businesses are prioritising data management and harmonisation Data is your most valuable business asset. It’s how you understand your customers, make informed decisions, and gauge success. So it’s critical to make sure your data is in order. The challenge? Businesses collect a lot of it, but they don’t always know how to manage it. That’s where data management and harmonisation come in. They bring together data from multiple sources — think your customer relationship management (CRM) and order management systems — to provide a holistic view of all your business activities. With harmonised data, you can uncover insights and act on them much faster to increase customer satisfaction and revenue. Harmonised data also makes it possible to implement AI (including generative AI), automation, and machine learning to help you market, serve, and sell more efficiently. That’s why data management and harmonisation are top priorities among business leaders: 68% predict an increase in data management investments. 32% say a lack of a complete view and understanding of their data is a hurdle. 45% plan to prioritise gaining a more holistic view of their customers. For businesses looking to take advantage of all the new AI capabilities in ecommerce, data management should be priority number one. 3. Conversational commerce is getting more human Remember when chatbot experiences felt robotic and awkward? Those days are over. Thanks to generative AI and LLMs, conversational commerce is getting a glow-up. Interacting with chatbots for service inquiries, product questions, and more via messaging apps and websites feels much more human and personalised. Chatbots can now elevate online shopping with conversational AI and first-party data, mirroring the best in-store interactions across all digital channels. Natural language, image-based, and data-driven interactions can simplify product searches, provide personalised responses, and streamline purchases for a smooth experience across all your digital channels. As technology advances, this trend will gain more traction. Intelligent AI chatbots offer customers better self-service experiences and make shopping more enjoyable. This is critical since 68% of customers say they wouldn’t use a company’s chatbot again if they had a bad experience. 4. Headless commerce is helping businesses keep up Headless commerce continues to gain steam. With this modular architecture, ecommerce teams can deliver new experiences faster because they don’t have to wait in the developer queue to change back-end systems. Instead, employees can update online interfaces using APIs, experience managers, and user-friendly tools. According to business leaders and commerce teams already using headless: 76% say it offers more flexibility and customisation. 72% say it increases agility and lets teams make storefront changes faster. 66% say it improves integration between systems. Customers reap the benefits of headless commerce, too. Shoppers get fresh experiences more frequently across all devices and touchpoints. Even better? Headless results in richer personalisation, better omni-channel experiences, and peak performance for ecommerce websites. 5. Brands are going big with resale Over the past few years, consumers have shifted their mindset about resale items. Secondhand purchases that were once viewed as stigma are now seen as status. In fact, more than half of consumers (52%) have purchased an item secondhand in the last year, and the resale market is expected to reach $70 billion by 2027. Simply put: Resale presents a huge opportunity for your business. As the circular economy grows in popularity, brands everywhere are opening their own resale stores and encouraging consumers to turn in used items, from old jeans to designer handbags to kitchen appliances. To claim your piece of the pie, be strategic as you enter the market. This means implementing robust inventory and order management systems with real-time visibility and reverse logistics capabilities. 6. Social commerce is evolving There are almost 5 billion monthly active users on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok. More than two-thirds (67%) of global shoppers have made a purchase through social media this year. Social commerce instantly connects you with a vast global audience and opens up new opportunities to boost product discovery, reach new markets, and build meaningful connections with your customers. But it’s not enough to just be present on social channels. You need to be an active participant and create engaging, authentic experiences for shoppers. Thanks to new social commerce tools — like generative AI for content creation and integrations with social platforms — the shopping experience is getting better, faster, and more engaging. This trend is blurring the lines between shopping and entertainment, and customer expectations are rising as a result. 7. Vibrant video content is boosting sales Now that shoppers have become accustomed to the vibrant, attention-grabbing video content on social platforms, they expect the same from your brand’s ecommerce site. Video can offer customers a deeper understanding of your products, such as how they’re used, and what they look like from different angles. And video content isn’t just useful for ads or for increasing product discovery. Brands are having major success using video at every stage of the customer journey: in pre-purchase consultations, on product detail pages, and in post-purchase emails. A large majority (89%) of consumers say watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service. 8. Loyalty programs are getting more personalised It’s important to attract new customers, but it’s also critical to retain your existing ones. That means you need to find ways to increase loyalty and build brand love. More and more, customers are seeking out brand loyalty programs — but they want meaningful rewards and experiences. So, what’s the key to a successful loyalty program? In a word: personalisation. Customers don’t want to exchange their data for a clunky, impersonal experience where they have to jump through hoops to redeem points. They want straightforward, exclusive offers. Curated experiences. Relevant rewards. Six out of 10 consumers want discounts in return for joining a loyalty program, and about one-third of consumers say they find exclusive or early access to products valuable. The brands that win customer loyalty will be those that use data-driven insights to create a program that keeps customers continually engaged and satisfied. 9. User-generated content is influencing ecommerce sales User-generated content (UGC) adds credibility, authenticity‌, and social proof to a brand’s marketing efforts — and can significantly boost sales and brand loyalty. In fact, one study found that shoppers who interact with UGC experience a 102.4% increase in conversions. Most shoppers expect to see feedback and reviews before making a purchase, and UGC provides value by showcasing the experiences and opinions of real customers. UGC also breaks away from generic item descriptions and professional product photography. It can show how to style a piece of clothing, for example, or how an item will fit across a range of body types. User-generated videos go a step further, highlighting the functions and features of more complex products, like consumer electronics or even automobiles. UGC is also a cost-effective way to generate content for social commerce without relying on agencies or large teams. By sourcing posts from hashtags, tagging, or concentrated campaigns, brands can share real-time, authentic, and organic social posts to a wider audience. UGC can be used on product pages and in ads, as well. And you can incorporate it into product development processes to gather valuable input from customers at scale. 10. Subscriptions are adding value across a range of industries From streaming platforms to food, clothing, and pet supplies, subscriptions have become a popular business model across industries. In 2023, subscriptions generated over $38 billion in revenue, doubling over the past four years. That’s because subscriptions are a win-win for shoppers and businesses: They offer freedom of choice for customers while creating a continuous revenue stream for sellers. Consider consumer goods brand KIND Snacks. KIND implemented a subscription service to supplement its B2B sales, giving customers a direct line to exclusive offers and flavours. This created a consistent revenue stream for KIND and helped it build a new level of brand loyalty with its customers. The subscription also lets KIND collect first-party data, so it can test new products and spot new trends. Ecommerce trends FAQ How do I know if an ecommerce trend is right for my business? If you’re trying to decide whether to adopt a new trend, the first step is to conduct a cost/benefit analysis. As you do, remember to prioritise customer experience and satisfaction. Look at customer data to evaluate the potential impact of the trend on your business. How costly will it be to implement the trend, and what will the payoff be one, two, and five years into the future? Analyse the numbers to assess whether the trend aligns with your customers’ preferences and behaviours. You can also take a cue from your competitors and their adoption of specific trends. While you shouldn’t mimic everything they do, being aware of their experiences can provide valuable insights and help gauge the viability of a trend for your business. Ultimately, customer-centric decision-making should guide your evaluation. Is ecommerce still on the rise? In a word: yes. In fact, ecommerce is a top priority for businesses across industries, from healthcare to manufacturing. Customers expect increasingly sophisticated digital shopping experiences, and digital channels continue to be a preferred purchasing method. Ecommerce sales are expected to reach $8.1 trillion by 2026. As digital channels and new technologies evolve, so will customer behaviours and expectations. Where should I start if I want to implement AI? Generative AI is revolutionising ecommerce by enhancing customer experiences and increasing productivity, conversions, and customer loyalty. But to reap the benefits, it’s critical to keep a few things in mind. First is customer trust. A majority of customers (68%) say advances in AI make it more important for companies to be trustworthy. This means businesses implementing AI should focus on transparency. Tell customers how you will use their data to improve shopping experiences. Develop ethical standards around your use of AI, and discuss them openly. You’ll need to answer tough questions like: How do you ensure sensitive data is anonymised? How will you monitor accuracy and audit for bias, toxicity, or hallucinations? These should all be considerations as you choose AI partners and develop your code of conduct and governance principles. At a time when only 13% of customers fully trust companies to use AI ethically, this should be top of mind for businesses delving into the fast-evolving technology. How can commerce teams measure success after adopting a new trend? Before implementing a new experience or ecommerce trend, set key performance indicators (KPIs) and decide how you’ll track relevant ecommerce metrics. This helps you make informed decisions and monitor the various moving parts of your business. From understanding inventory needs to gaining insights into customer behaviour to increasing loyalty, you’ll be in a better position to plan for future growth. The choice of metrics will depend on the needs of your business, but it’s crucial to establish a strategy that outlines metrics, sets KPIs, and measures them regularly. Your business will be more agile and better able to adapt to new ecommerce trends and understand customer buying patterns. Ecommerce metrics and KPIs are valuable tools for building a successful future and will set the tone for future ecommerce growth.

A good sales coach unlocks serious revenue potential. Effective coaching can increase sales performance by 8%, according to a study by research firm Gartner.Many sales managers find coaching difficult to master, however — especially in environments where reps are remote and managers are asked to do more with less time and fewer resources.Understanding the sales coaching process is crucial in maximising sales rep performance, empowering reps, and positively impacting the sales organisation through structured, data-driven strategies.If you’re not getting the support you need to effectively coach your sales team, don’t despair. These 10 sales coaching tips are easy to implement with many of the tools already at your disposal, and are effective for both in-person and remote teams.1. Focus on rep wellbeingOne in three salespeople say mental health in sales has declined over the last two years, according to a recent LIKE.TG survey. One of the biggest reasons is the shift to remote work environments, which pushed sales reps to change routines while still hitting quotas. Add in the isolation inherent in virtual selling and you have a formula for serious mental and emotional strain.You can alleviate this in a couple of ways. First, create boundaries for your team. Set clear work hours and urge reps not to schedule sales or internal calls outside of these hours. Also, be clear about when reps should be checking internal messages and when they can sign off.Lori Richardson, founder of sales training company Score More Sales, advises managers to address this head-on by asking reps about their wellbeing during weekly one-on-ones. “I like to ask open-ended questions about the past week,” she said. “Questions like, ‘How did it go?’ and ‘What was it like?’ are good first steps. Then, you need to listen.”When the rep is done sharing their reflection, Richardson suggests restating the main points to ensure you’re on the same page. If necessary, ask for clarity so you fully understand what’s affecting their state of mind. Also, she urges: Don’t judge. The level of comfort required for sharing in these scenarios can only exist if you don’t jump to judgement.2. Build trust with authentic storiesFor sales coaching to work, sales managers must earn reps’ trust. This allows the individual to be open about performance challenges. The best way to start is by sharing personal and professional stories.These anecdotes should be authentic, revealing fault and weakness as much as success. There are two goals here: support reps with relatable stories so they know they’re not struggling alone, and let them know there are ways to address and overcome challenges.For example, a seasoned manager might share details about their first failed sales call as a cautionary tale – highlighting poor preparation, aggressive posturing, and lack of empathy during the conversation. This would be followed by steps the manager took to fix these mistakes, like call rehearsing and early-stage research into the prospect’s background, business, position, and pain points.3. Record and review sales callsSales coaching sessions, where recording and reviewing sales calls are key components aimed at improving sales call techniques, have become essential in today’s sales environment. Once upon a time, sales reps learned by shadowing tenured salespeople. While this is still done, it’s inefficient – and often untenable for virtual sales teams.To give sales reps the guidance and coaching they need to improve sales calls, deploy an intuitive conversation recording and analysis tool like Einstein Conversation Insights (ECI). You can analyse sales call conversations, track keywords to identify market trends, and share successful calls to help coach existing reps and accelerate onboarding for new reps. Curate both “best of” and “what not to do” examples so reps have a sense of where the guide rails are.4. Encourage self-evaluationWhen doing post-call debriefs or skill assessments – or just coaching during one-on-ones – it’s critical to have the salesperson self-evaluate. As a sales manager, you may only be with the rep one or two days a month. Given this disconnect, the goal is to encourage the sales rep to evaluate their own performance and build self-improvement goals around these observations.There are two important components to this. First, avoid jumping directly into feedback during your interactions. Relax and take a step back; let the sales rep self-evaluate.Second, be ready to prompt your reps with open-ended questions to help guide their self-evaluation. Consider questions like:What were your big wins over the last week/quarter?What were your biggest challenges and where did they come from?How did you address obstacles to sales closings?What have you learned about both your wins and losses?What happened during recent calls that didn’t go as well as you’d like? What would you do differently next time?Reps who can assess what they do well and where they can improve ultimately become more self-aware. Self-awareness is the gateway to self-confidence, which can help lead to more consistent sales.5. Let your reps set their own goalsThis falls in line with self-evaluation. Effective sales coaches don’t set focus areas for their salespeople; they let reps set this for themselves. During your one-on-ones, see if there’s an important area each rep wants to focus on and go with their suggestion (recommending adjustments as needed to ensure their goals align with those of the company). This creates a stronger desire to improve as it’s the rep who is making the commitment. Less effective managers will pick improvement goals for their reps, then wonder why they don’t get buy-in.For instance, a rep who identifies a tendency to be overly chatty in sales calls might set a goal to listen more. (Nine out of 10 salespeople say listening is more important than talking in sales today, according to a recent LIKE.TG survey.) To help, they could record their calls and review the listen-to-talk ratio. Based on industry benchmarks, they could set a clear goal metric and timeline – a 60/40 listen-to-talk ratio in four weeks, for example.Richardson does have one note of caution, however. “Reps don’t have all the answers. Each seller has strengths and gaps,” she said. “A strong manager can identify those strengths and gaps, and help reps fill in the missing pieces.”6. Focus on one improvement at a timeFor sales coaching to be effective, work with the rep to improve one area at a time instead of multiple areas simultaneously. With the former, you see acute focus and measurable progress. With the latter, you end up with frustrated, stalled-out reps pulled in too many directions.Here’s an example: Let’s say your rep is struggling with sales call openings. They let their nerves get the best of them and fumble through rehearsed intros. Over the course of a year, encourage them to practice different kinds of openings with other reps. Review their calls and offer insight. Ask them to regularly assess their comfort level with call openings during one-on-ones. Over time, you will see their focus pay off.7. Ask each rep to create an action planOpen questioning during one-on-ones creates an environment where a sales rep can surface methods to achieve their goals. To make this concrete, have the sales rep write out a plan of action that incorporates these methods. This plan should outline achievable steps to a desired goal with a clearly defined timeline. Be sure you upload it to your CRM as an attachment or use a tool like Quip to create a collaborative document editable by both the manager and the rep. Have reps create the plan after early-quarter one-on-ones and check in monthly to gauge progress (more on that in the next step).Here’s what a basic action plan might look like:Main goal: Complete 10 sales calls during the last week of the quarterSteps:Week 1: Identify 20-25 prospectsWeek 2: Make qualifying callsWeek 3: Conduct needs analysis (discovery) calls, prune list, and schedule sales calls with top prospectsWeek 4: Lead sales calls and close dealsThe power of putting pen to paper here is twofold. First, it forces the sales rep to think through their plan of action. Second, it crystallises their thinking and cements their commitment to action.8. Hold your rep accountableAs businessman Louis Gerstner, Jr. wrote in “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?”, “people respect what you inspect.” The effective manager understands that once the plan of action is in place, their role as coach is to hold the sales rep accountable for following through on their commitments. To support them, a manager should ask questions during one-on-ones such as:What measurable progress have you made this week/quarter?What challenges are you facing?How do you plan to overcome these challenges?You can also review rep activity in your CRM. This is especially easy if you have a platform that combines automatic activity logging, easy pipeline inspection, and task lists with reminders. If you need to follow up, don’t schedule another meeting. Instead, send your rep a quick note via email or a messaging tool like Slack to level-set.9. Offer professional development opportunitiesAccording to a study by LinkedIn, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career. When companies make an effort to feed their employees’ growth, it’s a win-win. Productivity increases and employees are engaged in their work.Book clubs, seminars, internal training sessions, and courses are all great development opportunities. If tuition reimbursement or sponsorship is possible, articulate this up front so reps know about all available options.Richardson adds podcasts to the list. “Get all of your salespeople together to talk about a podcast episode that ties into sales,” she said. “Take notes, pull key takeaways and action items, and share a meeting summary the next day with the group. I love that kind of peer engagement. It’s so much better than watching a dull training video.”10. Set up time to share failures — and celebrationsAs Forbes Council member and sales vet Adam Mendler wrote of sales teams, successful reps and executives prize learning from failure. But as Richardson points out, a lot of coaches rescue their reps before they can learn from mistakes: “Instead of letting them fail, they try to save an opportunity,” she said. “But that’s not scalable and doesn’t build confidence in the rep.”Instead, give your reps the freedom to make mistakes and offer them guidance to grow through their failures. Set up a safe space where reps can share their mistakes and learnings with the larger team — then encourage each rep to toss those mistakes on a metaphorical bonfire so they can move on.By embracing failure as a learning opportunity, you also minimise the likelihood of repeating the same mistakes. Encourage your reps to document the circumstances that led to a missed opportunity or lost deal. Review calls to pinpoint where conversations go awry. Study failure, and you might be surprised by the insights that emerge.Also — and equally as important — make space for celebrating big wins. This cements best practices and offers positive reinforcement, which motivates reps to work harder to hit (or exceed) quota.Next steps for your sales coaching programA successful sales coach plays a pivotal role in enhancing sales rep performance and elevating the entire sales organisation. Successful sales coaching requires daily interaction with your team, ongoing training, and regular feedback, which optimises sales processes to improve overall sales performance. As Lindsey Boggs, global director of sales development at Quantum Metric, noted, it also requires intentional focus and a strategic approach to empower the sales team, significantly impacting the sales organisation.“Remove noise from your calendar so you can focus your day on what’s going to move the needle the most — coaching,” she said. Once that’s prioritised, follow the best practices above to help improve your sales reps’ performance, focusing on individual rep development as a key aspect of sales coaching. Remember: coaching is the key to driving sales performance.Steven Rosen, founder of sales management training company STAR Results, contributed to this article.