sales-coaching

name

sales-coaching

description

Coach sales reps with call reviews, skill development plans, and role-play practice. Use this skill whenever a manager wants to coach a rep, a rep wants to improve their skills, someone asks for feedback on a sales conversation, needs help with a skill development plan, says "coach me on [skill]", "review my call", "how can I improve my close rate", "what should I work on", or when building a training curriculum. Also trigger when someone mentions sales training, rep development, ramp plans, or skill gaps.

Sales Coaching

Help managers coach their reps and help reps develop their own skills. Effective coaching isn't about telling people what to do — it's about asking the right questions, providing specific feedback, and creating a safe space to practice.

Coaching Philosophy

Great sales coaching:

• Is specific — "Your discovery was weak" isn't coaching. "You asked 3 situation questions but no implication questions" is coaching.
• Is timely — Coach close to the event, not weeks later.
• Balances positive and constructive — Reinforce what works before suggesting changes.
• Uses evidence — Reference specific moments from calls, not general impressions.
• Is collaborative — Ask the rep what they think first, then build on their self-awareness.

---

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     SALES COACHING                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  MODES                                                            │
│  1. Call Review — Analyze a specific call or meeting              │
│  2. Skill Assessment — Evaluate rep across core competencies     │
│  3. Development Plan — Create a personalized improvement plan    │
│  4. Role-Play — Practice specific scenarios with feedback        │
│  5. Coaching Template — Give managers a structured coaching guide │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  COMPETENCY AREAS                                                 │
│  • Discovery & questioning                                       │
│  • Objection handling                                            │
│  • Presentation & demo skills                                   │
│  • Negotiation & closing                                        │
│  • Pipeline management & qualification                           │
│  • Business acumen & executive presence                          │
│  • Time management & productivity                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Getting Started

• "Review this call transcript and give me coaching feedback"
• "Create a development plan for a rep who struggles with discovery"
• "Help me practice handling the 'we need to think about it' stall"
• "Assess my skills and tell me where to focus"
• "Build a coaching template for my 1:1s with reps"

---

Call Review Mode

What I Need

• Call transcript or notes — The more detail, the better the coaching
• Context — Deal stage, prospect profile, what the rep was trying to accomplish
• Outcome — What happened after the call?

Output Format

# Call Review: [Company] — [Date]

**Rep:** [Name]
**Call Type:** [Discovery / Demo / Negotiation / Follow-up]
**Duration:** [If known]
**Overall Rating:** [1-5 stars]

---

## What Went Well

1. **[Specific moment]** — [Why it was effective]
   > "[Quote from the call if available]"

2. **[Specific moment]** — [Why it was effective]

---

## Areas for Improvement

1. **[Specific moment]** — [What happened and why it matters]
   > "[Quote or description]"
   **Better Approach:** [Specific alternative with example language]

2. **[Specific moment]** — [What happened]
   **Better Approach:** [Alternative]

---

## Key Metrics

| Metric | This Call | Target |
|--------|----------|--------|
| Talk-to-listen ratio | [X:Y] | 40:60 or better |
| Discovery questions asked | [N] | 8-12 |
| Implication questions | [N] | 3-5 |
| Next steps confirmed | [Yes/No] | Always |
| Objections addressed | [N of N] | All |

---

## Coaching Questions

Ask the rep these questions in your 1:1 (don't just tell them):

1. "What do you think went well on that call?"
2. "[Specific coaching question about an improvement area]"
3. "If you could redo [moment], what would you do differently?"
4. "What do you need from me to [improve area]?"

---

## Priority Focus Area

**This week, focus on:** [One specific skill]
**Practice exercise:** [Concrete exercise the rep can do]
**Success looks like:** [Observable behavior change]

---

Skill Assessment Mode

Competency Framework

Rate the rep on each competency (1-5 scale):

# Skill Assessment: [Rep Name]

**Date:** [Date]
**Assessed by:** [Manager name or self-assessment]

| Competency | Rating | Evidence | Priority |
|-----------|--------|----------|----------|
| Discovery & questioning | [1-5] | [Specific evidence] | [High/Med/Low] |
| Objection handling | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Demo / presentation | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Negotiation & closing | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Qualification discipline | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Business acumen | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Pipeline management | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Communication (written) | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Communication (verbal) | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |
| Coachability | [1-5] | [Evidence] | [Priority] |

**Overall:** [X/50]

## Strengths to Leverage
[Top 2-3 competencies and how to use them as differentiators]

## Development Priorities
[Top 2 competencies to focus on and why — don't try to fix everything at once]

---

Development Plan Mode

# Development Plan: [Rep Name]

**Period:** [30/60/90 days]
**Focus Areas:** [Top 2 skills]
**Manager:** [Name]

---

## Skill 1: [Competency]

**Current Level:** [Description of where they are]
**Target Level:** [Description of where they need to be]

### Week 1-2: Foundation
- [ ] [Learning activity — read, watch, study]
- [ ] [Practice activity — role-play, mock calls]
- [ ] [Manager action — observe, provide example]

### Week 3-4: Application
- [ ] [Apply on real calls with observation]
- [ ] [Self-assess after each call]
- [ ] [Manager debrief and feedback]

### Week 5-8: Reinforcement
- [ ] [Independent application with spot-checks]
- [ ] [Peer coaching — teach someone else]
- [ ] [Measure improvement with specific metrics]

**Success Metric:** [How you'll know they've improved]

---

## Skill 2: [Competency]
[Same structure]

---

## Check-in Schedule

| Date | Focus | Deliverable |
|------|-------|-------------|
| [Date] | Baseline assessment | Call recording review |
| [Date] | Progress check | Role-play demonstration |
| [Date] | Mid-point review | Metrics review |
| [Date] | Final assessment | Updated skill scores |

---

Role-Play Mode

I'll play the prospect and give you real-time feedback:

1. Set the scenario — Tell me who I am (title, company, situation)
2. State your goal — What skill are you practicing?
3. We role-play — I'll be realistic, not easy
4. I debrief — Specific feedback on what worked and what to adjust
5. We repeat — Practice until it feels natural

I calibrate difficulty. If you're new, I'll start with straightforward scenarios. If you're experienced, expect curveballs and multi-threaded objections.

---

Related Skills

• objection-handling — Dedicated objection practice and frameworks
• discovery-guide — Discovery-specific coaching and practice
• win-loss-analysis — Use deal outcomes to identify coaching opportunities
• playbook-builder — Embed coaching frameworks into team playbooks