Give Your Agents a Feedback Sandwich
How to provide constructive and helpful feedback to your salespeople
(Listen to this week’s TLC Newsletter 👆👆)
This week, I’ve been thinking about how important feedback is been as I grow as a leader.
Most people cringe at feedback. I crave it. What about you?
Much of what we learn in life comes from evaluating our performance. Yet many of us don’t like to receive feedback, which causes us to shy away from giving it to others, too. At best, we offer a little constructive criticism.
At worst, we don’t do our job as leaders.
So if you’re ready for a better way to give effective feedback, then let me serve you a sandwich.
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The Oldest Technique in the Book
There are lots of new ways to deliver feedback. Tons of books on having difficult conversations. And even a turnabout method called feedforward. And while I like them all, sometimes, you just need some good old-fashioned feedback.
Last week, I goofed up.
I was teaching a workshop and I cut off a participant’s question before he’d finished. I assumed I understood what he was saying, and jumped in early. As a result of my haste, I provided a response that wasn’t only incorrect, it sounded unnecessarily harsh.
I could tell by the look on his face; and the fact that he shut down for the next two hours. I was feeling awful, but there wasn’t an opportunity to figure it out. When class ended, I called out to the broker and asked him if I could have a word.
“I feel like we completely miscommunicated earlier this morning,” I said. “I cut you off and jumped the gun, and it shut you down.”
He took a breath and smiled for the first time in two hours. “You did a good job dealing with the class this morning.” (The other instructor had an emergency and couldn’t be there at the last minute).
“I really respect your insights and have been following you for years. I repeat many things you say all the time,” he said.
“I apologize for jumping the gun,” I said. “And if I sounded harsh. I feel like I answered the wrong question entirely and made you uncomfortable.”
“No need to apologize,” he said, “I realized you misunderstood my question. You were dealing with a lot since the class started with an emergency. Anybody can get flustered. Next time, just remember to take a deep breath and slow down.”
He sounded just like my second-grade teacher; and my high-school one; and a couple of college profs. Just slow down, Matthew!
“You’re right. I appreciate the reminder,” I said. “By the way, what were you going to ask in the first place?” I shut my mouth and listened with every ounce of attention. And by the time he finished, I could only say:
“That is a terrific question! I wish I’d not interrupted you because it would have been great to discuss it. And the class would have loved it, too.” I shook my head at myself.
“I thought you would like it,” he smiled. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to talk about this somehow.”
We spent a few minutes discussing his question before we shook hands. I believe he was feeling fine, and I was feeling much better. As I picked up my notes and walked out of the room, I realized that not only did I learn something that morning, but:
I had just been served a feedback sandwich!
If you need to give someone feedback, this evergreen technique is easy to use, simple to complete, and doesn’t require a lot of time. Best of all, you can remember the process since all you need to think of is a sandwich.
Think about the story I just relayed above and you’ll see how it works:
Start with The Bread: Positive Feedback
Begin the conversation by highlighting something the person did well. Set a positive tone and help the recipient feel valued and appreciated. You did a good job handling the emergency…
Add some Lettuce: We’re In This Together
Then, reinforce the connection between yourself and the recipient. When you’re giving feedback, you’re doing it with them, not to them. You’re saying: let us work on this together. I respect your insights and have followed you for years….
Then Add the Meat: Constructive Criticism:
Focus on the area that needs improvement. Be specific. Discuss the behavior, not the person. Offer a clear example. Suggest ways to improve. Keep it easy. Next time, just slow down…
Finally, Finish the Sandwich: Positive Encouragement:
Complete the process with another positive comment or encouragement. Reinforce the recipient's strengths and encourage them to think of the future, when they will do it better the next time. Leave them motivated to improve. I’m sure you’ll find a way to talk about this somehow…
Benefits of the Sandwich Technique
Using this approach helps leaders turn feedback into a growth tool because it:
Encourages Receptiveness: Starting and ending with a positive connection opens the recipient to hearing feedback without feeling attacked.
Builds Confidence: Highlighting their usual good performance or skills builds the recipient's confidence and separates a small mistake from the big picture.
Promotes a Positive Relationship: Using the Sandwich method nurtures relationships and maintains connections between the participants. It models sharing feedback around sharing a meal together.
Make Feedback Even More Desirable
If you use the Sandwich method, don’t forget to make it as “tasty” as possible. Keep these tips in mind to derive even greater effect from the process:
Be Genuine: Deliver feedback in a sincere manner. Be specific and succinct. Whether it’s praise or criticism, generic feedback comes across as insincere.
Keep it Simple: Sometimes a simple ham and cheese sandwich is far more delicious than a foot-long hoagie filled with dozens of flavors. In other words, don’t overwhelm the recipient with too many ideas and too much criticism. Stay balanced by focusing on the most important areas for improvement.
Don’t Forget Dessert: A good sandwich should always be followed up by a delicious dessert. Check in with the recipient of your feedback later, to see how they’re proceeding with improving their performance. Offer help, and turn the moment of criticism into the starting point of optimistic growth.
Get on a Roll
Using the sandwich method is a great way to turn feedback into a powerful and consistent leadership tool. The more your people realize that receiving your feedback isn’t a bad thing, the easier it will be for them to improve.
That’s all for this week. Good thing, too. I’m hungry!
See you on the TLC Mastermind Call.
