Hey, sales leaders, I’ve coached enough teams and observed leaders coaching their teams for years, that I have a few lessons to share that may invite you to re-examine the way you coach your team.If you’re not coaching your team, this is your gentle nudge to start. Implementing a structured coaching program can lead to a 28% higher win rate and an 88% increase in productivity compared to training alone.

Remember working with a client last year. He shared his team's disappointing quarterly numbers and wondered what was missing.  We have great products, competitive pricing, and I'd hired people with impressive sales backgrounds, he said. So why weren't we winning?
After reviewing his coaching notes, I realized he’d been focusing on all the wrong things. He thought what would transform his team would be a new CRM, a revised comp plan, or even hiring "better" people. To his surprise I shared, it will come from fundamentally changing how he led his team.


Let me tell you what I discovered: Great sales teams aren't born – they're coached into existence.

Stop Managing. Start Leading.

Here's a hard truth I've had to share with many sales leaders: If you're still operating in "command and control" mode, you're already falling behind.The old-school approach of "do it because I said so" or "this is how I did it when I was selling" just doesn't cut it anymore. Your reps need more than a boss – they need a coach who's invested in them and their development.Think about it this way: Are you spending most of your time checking boxes and monitoring activity, or are you actively developing your people's skills?

The Coaching Payoff Is Massive (But Most Leaders Miss It)

I was working with a tech company recently where the sales director proudly told me, "I don't have time for all that coaching stuff. My calendar is already packed with meetings."Two quarters later, he was wondering why his team's performance was tanking while turnover was through the roof.Here's what research tells us: Sales teams with effective, consistent coaching programs see 28% higher win rates. That's not a small bump – that's the difference between missing targets and blowing them out of the water.Yet most sales leaders still spend their days buried in forecasts and admin work instead of developing their people. Big mistake.

The Five Coaching Pillars That Transform Sales Teams

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Let me share the framework I use with my leadership clients to turn average teams into sales champions:

1. Let the Data Do the Talking"Alex, you need to get better at closing" is not valuable feedback. However, “Alex, looking at your last five deals, I noticed pricing came up quite late in each conversation. What would you do differently if you had a chance to revisit one of those calls?” may be a more constructive option. The best coaches I work with are data detectives. They use call recordings, CRM analytics, and performance metrics to pinpoint exactly where each rep needs help.

Try this tomorrow: Pull up your team's three most critical performance metrics and look for patterns. Is someone crushing it at prospecting but struggling with demos? Another rep might be generating proposals that never close. These patterns are your coaching roadmap.

2. One Size Fits NobodyHere's a mistake I see constantly: treating your top performer, your steady middle-performer, and your struggling rep all exactly the same way.Your A-player might need coaching on handling complex enterprise deals, while your C-player still needs help with basic objection handling. Cookie-cutter coaching wastes everyone's time.

Try this tomorrow: Have each team member rate themselves on a scale of 1-10 across different sales skills. Then share your ratings. The gaps between their perception and reality are gold mines for coaching conversations.

3. Questions Beat Answers Every TimeWhen I first started coaching sales leaders, I'd watch them dominate conversations with their reps: "Here's what you should have said..." "Next time, try this approach..."But the magic happens when you ask instead of tell.One of my clients, Michael, transformed his team's performance by switching from giving answers to asking questions like: "What do you think went well in that call?" and "If you could do it again, what would you change?"

Try this tomorrow: In your next coaching session, challenge yourself to ask at least three questions before offering any advice. You'll be amazed at what your reps already know but aren't applying. Also, watch their confidence soar when they realize they have all the answers within.

4. Consistency Beats IntensityA one-time motivational speech might feel good, but it changes nothing. Real growth happens through consistent, structured coaching over time.The sales leaders getting the best results have established rhythms: weekly one-on-ones focused on skill development (not just pipeline review), regular call coaching sessions, and quarterly development planning.

Try this tomorrow: Block 30 minutes on your calendar for each direct report every week specifically for coaching – not pipeline reviews or admin updates. Protect this time like you would your most important customer meeting.

5. Catch Them Doing Something RightToo many sales leaders only engage when something's wrong. But if you want behavior to stick, you've got to acknowledge the wins – even the small ones.The best coaches maintain at least a 3:1 ratio of positive reinforcement to constructive criticism. This isn't about participation trophies; it's about neuroscience. Our brains are wired to repeat behaviors that get recognized.

Try this tomorrow: Set a goal to catch each team member doing something right and call it out specifically. "Great job establishing value before discussing price with that healthcare prospect today" is far more powerful than a generic "good job."

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A Real-World Coaching Success Story

Let me tell you about Jessica (not her real name). When she took over a struggling software sales team, only 62% of the reps were hitting quota, and morale was in the basement. Instead of immediately shaking things up with new sales processes or compensation plans, Jessica focused on one thing: transforming how her managers coached their teams.
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She implemented a simple but consistent coaching framework:
*Manager assessment
*Scorecard Development
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30-minute weekly one-on-ones purely focused on skill development
Bi-weekly call reviews with specific, actionable feedback
Monthly team workshops targeting common skill gaps
Quarterly individual development plans with measurable goals
The results? Within just six months, quota attainment jumped to 78%. Within a year, it reached 89%. Even more telling – employee satisfaction scores increased by 34%.
Jessica didn't replace her team; she just changed how they were led.

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"But I Don't Have Time to Coach!"

I hear this all the time from busy sales leaders. My response is always the same: You don't have time NOT to coach. Think about it: How much time do you waste fighting the same fires, addressing the same performance issues, and replacing reps who leave because they're not developing?Good coaching isn't an addition to your job – it IS your job.

Try this tomorrow: Audit your calendar for the past two weeks. How much time did you spend in meetings that didn't directly contribute to developing your team? There's your coaching time hiding in plain sight.

"I Was a Great Seller, But Coaching Is Different"

Another challenge I see frequently: Many sales leaders were promoted because they were stellar individual contributors, not because they knew how to develop others.The skills that made you a great salesperson don't automatically translate to coaching. In fact, sometimes they get in the way because you're too quick to jump in with your own solutions rather than developing your team's problem-solving abilities.Try this tomorrow: Invest in yourself as a coach. Pick up a book on coaching skills, find a mentor who excels at developing others, or work with a coach yourself. The ROI will be well worth it.

From Resistance to Results

When you first shift to a coaching approach, don't be surprised if some team members seem resistant. They're used to being told what to do, not being asked to think critically about their own performance. Start with your most receptive team members. As they improve and succeed under your coaching, the skeptics will come around.

Your 5-Step Plan to Become a Coaching-Centered Leader

Ready to transform your leadership approach? Here's your roadmap:

1. Get honest feedback about your current coaching impact. Ask your team (anonymously) to rate the quality and frequency of coaching they receive.
2. Calendar block for coaching. Schedule recurring one-on-ones with each team member specifically for development. This isn't optional – it's your most important leadership work.
3. Sharpen your coaching saw. Identify your biggest coaching opportunities(maybe it's active listening, asking good questions, or giving constructive feedback) and focus on improving it over the next 90 days.
4. Create your coaching playbook. Establish a consistent framework/ scorecard for your coaching sessions so they don't wander into pipeline reviews or office gossip. **If you need one, message me, I’ll send you mine.
5. Measure what matters. Track key performance indicators before and after implementing your coaching program. The numbers will tell the story.

Remember this: The best sales leaders aren't just chasing numbers – they're developing people. By shifting our focus from controlling to coaching, we’ll build the kind of high-performance, high-engagement team that consistently delivers results.As I always tell my leadership clients: The future of sales leadership isn't about having all the answers – it's about asking the right questions and building your team's capacity to find solutions themselves.

Keep leading,

Karen

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