During the holidays, it can be almost too busy to coach employees. But you can still keep staff focused on creating an engaging experience and maximizing sales opportunities by Coaching With Why.  

After an employee has engaged with a customer, you can ask the employee, “Why did that customer have a great experience?”  

If they can’t answer, they aren’t being intentional with their service. Remind the employee to do something intentional with the next customer and tell you afterward what they did.  

That whole coaching takes less than a minute. 

The same goes for staff making holiday sales. 

After the sale, you ask them, “Why did the customer buy those specific items?”  

If they can quickly answer, they were very intentional in their sales approach. Awesome! 

If they can’t, give them a quick tip like finding out who the person is shopping for and tell you after the next customer. 

If a customer leaves without making a sale, ask the employee why the customer didn’t purchase.  

They should be able to tell you. If not, remind them to learn more when working with customers to ensure they complete their shopping and have a great experience. 

Into Action 

Make Coaching With Why a priority for the rest of the holiday season. 

 So let me ask three questions:  

1) If Santa used "coaching with why" with his elves, what questions might he ask? (I think it might be why they made so many Barbies this year.) 

2) Have you ever had an employee respond with “why not?” Or should I ask about a former employee? 

3) How many more sales and customers can you create with a better knowing of the why?