A great coach is really a sherpa — a guide who knows the terrain and how to reach a hiker’s desired destination.

Sherpas do not tell people what to do. They understand who their mountain climber is and where they want to go. But they give them choices. They say, “We’ve got two paths we can take here. If you take path one, we’ll have a lot of steep climbing and ice, but you’ll get there a lot faster. Path two is less technical, but it will take you twice as long.”

As a new home sales manager, seek to give your salespeople sufficient information for them to make an educated decision and then coach them based on that choice. Consider what I said last week about the categories training falls into.

Ask your new home sales professionals what they’d like to focus on for the week. Say, “Would you like to work on something you’ve never tried before (maybe something in category three which will be a little more difficult) or something you’ve done before but need to be more consistent at?”

I’m a control freak (most sales managers are) and I sometimes lack the patience to let salespeople chart their own course. But unlike a flight instructor, who gives do-or-die instruction, my job is to know the goal and offer information and options about how to reach it.

The idea is that either way, they reach their goal. We, as sherpas, just lead them to it.

As a sales professional, author, professional speaker, and consultant, Jason Forrest helps home builders increase closings and profits through leadership sales training. His books include Creating Urgency in a Non-Urgent Housing Market and 40 Day Sales Dare for New Home Sales. He can be reached at jason@jforrestgroup.com and www.jforrestgroup.com.