How will ChatGPT impact sales coaching? w/Thomas K. Cheriyan

Thu Apr 27 2023

Tom Charian and Rattle

The guest on the show is Tom Charian, Director of Revenue Enablement at Rattle.
Rattle creates a bridge between what reps need to do and the data in Salesforce or any CRM used.
Rattle makes data proactive in Salesforce using workflows called RATLs.
CSMs can now get pinged on Slack or Microsoft Teams saying when to start renewal process for an account.
Training can be taken out of the equation and Rattle can be leveraged instead to ensure that processes are followed.

Tom Charian's view of coaching is similar to that of a doctor where critical issues leading to symptoms must be understood before prescribing solutions.
He uses the Rex framework (Results, Effort, Knowledge, Skills) for sales coaching.
Effort is compared with peers' effort levels to determine if more dials need to be made by SDRs.
If sales reps are making many dials but not seeing results, move on to the next part of the framework, EK (knowledge)
Peel the onion and deep dive further into what they're doing on calls, objections they're getting, and how they explain value proposition or messaging
Check call recordings or sit with SDRs to see where coaching is needed
If it's not a knowledge issue, work on building skills such as confidence and objection handling

Many managers know they should coach but are not coaching.
Before installing coaching in a sales team, speak to the people who ought to be on the receiving end of coaching.
Frequently, it comes back that they are not being coached or don't feel like it's helping them.
To hold coaches accountable for coaching, the CRO must create a culture for the entire sales organization and set expectations.
Part of a frontline manager's role is to own the team number and professionally develop their team members.
Interviewing for a frontline manager includes asking about their coaching style and strategy.
The CRO owns the entire culture for the sales org and is responsible for instilling that culture.
Companies with a culture of coaching exhibit it consciously or unconsciously during training sessions where senior leaders participate as well.
Seeing senior leaders put themselves in vulnerable positions during role-playing communicates that feedback and coaching are important.

Leadership needs feedback to grow and develop
Leaders need to model the culture they want to see in their organization
AI is a double-edged sword with both upsides and downsides
AI can be used for coaching, but it lacks the emotional element of human coaches
Chat GPT can provide objective feedback on calls and meetings that managers don't have time to listen to
Using AI tools like Chat GPT can help managers save time and be more reliable in coaching their reps
Leveraging AI tools for coaching will be a game changer in the art and delivery of coaching

Chat GPT is a generative pre-trained transformer AI framework that uses large language models to predict what should be there, what isn't there, and what's coming next.
Tools like author.ai and GONG can use conversational intelligence analysis to listen to recordings and pull out coachable moments.
AI tools like chat GPT can analyze long audio files or transcripts of calls and provide coaching insights, but the quality of the output depends on the prompt given and the experience of the user.
Chat GPT is just one model and can get things wrong, so it's important for users to know how to interpret its output.
Coaching may not always be the right intervention suggested by chat GPT, so managers need to have other tools in their toolkit like situational leadership.

Chat GPT can be used for coaching exercises like role-playing and team settings.
The bot can be given the persona of a prospect to see how reps respond.
Customizing prompts and role-plays can change the level of difficulty and reveal best practices.
Coaching with Chat GPT is versatile and not limited to reviewing transcripts.
Language analysis and other AI-based tools will augment coaching in the future.
Companies that don't leverage Chat GPT for coaching are missing out on a competitive differentiator.