Some sales managers believe they’re coaching their people, but few actually know where their reps stand. What they’re great at, where they struggle, or what skills they need to develop. And even fewer managers have a consistent process behind their coaching.
When leaders do coach, it’s often focused on whatever’s right in front of them that week.
A deal falls through, so now we’re focusing on micro-commitments.
Someone misses their pipeline target, so prospecting becomes the topic.
Next week, it’s presentation skills. The week after, CRM cleanup.
It all depends on the “weather” or the mood that day, and that’s how leaders lose credibility with their team.
Building a Coaching Process That Sticks
At Vendi, we’ve helped companies move away from this reactive model by building simple, visual scorecards that benchmark 15–20 key sales attributes.
Things like:
- Territory planning
- Pipeline management
- Follow-up discipline
- Presentation skills
- Mindset and professionalism
- Time management
It’s nothing fancy, but it provides a clean snapshot showing where each rep excels, struggles, and needs to grow next.
How Teams Respond
The top performers love it.
They crave feedback, recognition, and clarity around their growth path. They want to know their effort is seen and that their leader notices the work behind the results.
Low performers usually resist it at first. It feels like scrutiny. But over time, when they see the process is consistent, fair, and actually helps them improve, they come around or self-select out.
That’s exactly what every leader wants: to coach up or coach out, with clear expectations.
Data That Drives Better Decisions
This approach gives leaders real data to bring upstairs.
If the whole team is strong in one area but results are still lagging, that’s not a rep issue. It’s likely a product, pricing, or positioning issue.
That’s a valuable conversation to have with ownership or the board because it’s backed by data, not just opinion. The same data can identify skill gaps across the team and guide where to invest, whether that’s hiring a trainer, joining a class, or bringing in outside expertise.
Coaching That Builds Energy
Once a structured process is in place, road days and field rides become more purposeful and fun. You can pair reps intentionally for peer learning, build friendly competition around improvement scores, and track growth over time.
When reps can see their progress and their teammates’ progress, it creates a contagious sense of momentum. Coaching sessions become something the team actually looks forward to.
Making It Intentional
Because the scorecard is a living, documented tool, you can easily link it to other development opportunities like podcasts, books, or courses to make it meaningful. It’s not random homework. It’s structured, measurable growth.
At its core, this process makes coaching intentional, not emotional.
When you coach intentionally, you don’t just get better reps, you become a better coach.
And you build a stronger, more confident team that believes in the process and in you as their leader.
Cheers,
Kyle Jager
