“Would your people hire you to be their coach because of the difference you make to them?”
This is the question Alan Fine (the co-developer of the GROW coaching model) often asks the executives and leaders he works with.
As a leader, I loved this question. Not because the answer was clearly “yes” and it made me feel great, but because more uncomfortably, the answer was “no.” And that self-reflection forced me to no longer be a “manager,” but instead a leader, no matter what my role was, fundamentally changing my perspective, my approach, and my mindset.
The GROW model reminds me of one of my favorite board game’s mottos: “A minute to learn, a lifetime to master” (Bonus points if you know the game without Googling it!). The GROW model is incredibly simple, revolving around three core principles:
- Leveraging GROW
- Active Listening
- Using an InsideOut Mindset
I’ve been using the GROW model for coaching for the past five years with my team, colleagues, and yes, even my family and friends. More recently, I’ve become a certified training facilitator of the GROW Model through InsideOut Development. As I was preparing to facilitate another group of future leaders whom I’ll be taking through GROW later today, I reflected on how these three simple things can not only help us be better leaders to the people in our organization, but they can help us be better business partners to our customers.
We’re selling daily to our customers, and are very comfortable with the B2B sales process. We understand what to expect, what roadblocks typically come up, and what we believe our narrative should be that will excite and inspire the customer.
That being said, in many instances for our customers, it may be the only time they will ever make a significant purchase decision on behalf of the business. And guess what? We as vendors don’t make it any easier for them. According to a recent Gartner study about B2B buying, 74% of B2B buyers found the buying process complex, while only 27% reported achieving a high-quality deal.
So how can we slow down, simplify the sale, and coach the customer through an experience that produces the outcomes they’re looking for? We coach them. We define coaching as helping others make decisions and commit to actions that produce results (i.e. outcomes). Results are exactly what our customers want, so let’s look at how we use the GROW model to coach employees and explore how we might apply the GROW model to help coach our customers.
GROW is an acronym that stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will.
- Goal: In the GROW model for coaching when working with a coachee, our goal is just the goal of the conversation (not to get confused with the coachee’s long-term goals). When we’re working with our customers, it’s understanding the project's goal, and how it aligns with the personal goals of the key stakeholders and the organization's goals. A key question we might ask as we’re understanding the customer’s goal might be: What are the consequences if you do not reach this goal?
- Reality: In our coaching conversation, we need to understand the current state. It’s important not to get mired in the details and we don’t want to judge their reality. The same holds for our customers, we need to explore the current state without judgment… What’s preventing you from getting there today? What have you done about this so far? What results did it produce?
- Options: Now that we understand the current state, we want our coachee to explore all the possibilities. Our customers can do the same. Tell me what you might do if anything were possible. Remember to ask, “What else?” We want our customers excited about their ideas. Which options do you like the most?
- Will: What will you do, and by when? Finally, we need action from our coachee and our customer. We also need to ensure we know what results are expected, show we care about our customer’s outcomes, and are committed to their success. What are your criteria and measurements for success? What resistance do you think you’ll run into? What will happen once you reach your goal? What would you do next?
Remember to stay authentically curious throughout the process, focusing on their goal.
So ask yourself, “Would your customers hire you to be their coach because of the difference you make to them?”
In a future installment we’ll be investigating the InsideOut Mindset and the importance of active listening throughout the process, but in the meantime, start leveraging GROW to be a coach. Coach your customer through their buying journey, simplify their experience, and be the differentiated business partner that allows them to produce results.