The 21st Century Ride-along

The 21st Century Ride-along, How Sales Leaders Can Develop Their Teams in Real-time Sales Calls, by Antonio Garrido, Sandler Training, 2020 

When you take on a tough job - a presentation, or a sales call - you never know.  But author  Garrido believes that what prepares us first and best is direct feedback.  Practice, practice, practice.  Or as I tell my clients, "Get on the bus."  Garrido reminds us of the invaluable live experience that cannot be replaced by digital contact, not even Zoom:

1.  Having the sales manager present at the meeting gives the prospect or customer a heightened feeling of importance

2.  Ride-alongs help the salesperson identify and build alliances with subordinates and superiors of the key contact, widening their respective networks

3.  Ride-alongs significantly improve the skill and competency of the sales manager.

The idea is to create a real time coaching opportunity.  The author believes this experience is more valuable than quarterly performance reviews after the fact!  To the ride-along Garrido adds a required post-call debrief that emphasizes positive feedback but also clears up misconceptions on outcomes and particulars of the call.  When manufacturing people go to the Gemba, they are trying to build powerful teams, but they are also learning to see important visuals as well as share information to build on.  For that reason alone The 21st Century Ride-along is a good tool for manufacturing people to master.