A sales manager sits across from an account manager who is not hitting his target. The conversation is about the number: how far behind, how much is still needed, what is in the pipeline. Both leave the room with the same feeling. More has to happen. But what exactly, nobody knows. Coaching on behavior helps you hold that conversation differently.
Why coaching on numbers delivers little
A number is an outcome. It says that something is wrong, not what. A sales rep who hears that he is behind works harder at what he was already doing. Sometimes that helps. Often it does not, because the problem sits in a specific piece of behavior that nobody has named.
Coaching on behavior means you hold the conversation about what someone does, in a concrete situation. The number is the trigger, not the subject.
There is a human side too. A conversation about a shortfall quickly feels like an appraisal to the sales rep. He starts defending or promising. A conversation about one concrete situation feels different. You can look at it together, without anyone having to justify themselves.
From number to behavior in three steps
- Find the phase. Where does it get stuck? Few new conversations, many quotes that go nowhere, or deals that drop out at the last moment? Your KPIs per phase point to the spot.
- Find the moment. What happens in that phase that makes the difference? For example: is the quote discussed in a conversation or only emailed?
- Name the behavior. What does the sales rep do at that moment, and what could he do differently? So concrete that you can see it again next week.
The difference in the conversation is big. "Your quote conversion is low" becomes: "Of the last five quotes, you discussed two in a conversation. What holds you back with the other three?"
A competency profile as shared language
To talk about behavior, you need words that everyone understands the same way. A competency profile per role helps with that. Keep it limited: four to six competencies that make the difference for this role, each with two or three behaviors you can observe.
An example for an account manager:
- Probing. Asks at least one follow-up question after an answer before naming a solution.
- Keeping the lead. Closes every conversation with a concrete next step and a date.
- Following up. Calls within the agreed period after a quote, even when the answer is probably no.
Link the behaviors to your core values where you can. Then a coaching conversation is not only about technique, but also about how you want to treat customers.
The rhythm of the conversations
Coaching does not work in one annual review. It works in a fixed rhythm of short conversations. An example:
- Every two weeks a half-hour one-on-one. One competency, one situation from the past weeks, one agreement for the coming weeks.
- Once a quarter a ride-along. Half a day with the sales rep, with one behavior to watch for agreed in advance.
- Twice a year a development conversation. Which competencies have grown, where is the next step?
Start every conversation with the agreement from last time. Whoever knows it will come back gets to work on it.
How a coaching conversation on behavior runs
Half an hour is enough if you use a fixed structure. This order works well in practice:
- Look back (5 minutes). What was the agreement last time? What happened with it?
- Choose a situation (5 minutes). The sales rep names one conversation or deal from the past weeks. Preferably one that did not go the way he wanted.
- Rewind (10 minutes). What exactly happened? What did he say, what did the customer say? Ask for facts, not feelings.
- Look for an alternative (5 minutes). What could he have done differently? Let him search himself first before you give a tip.
- Agreement (5 minutes). One behavior, at a concrete occasion in the next two weeks. He writes it down himself.
Notice that as a manager you mostly ask. That is not a trick. A sales rep who comes up with the alternative himself is more likely to carry it out.
A worked example: where is it really?
Suppose an account manager has twenty first conversations in a quarter. Those lead to twelve quotes. Three of those become orders. The team averages five out of twelve. These numbers are fictional, but I come across the pattern often.
So the first conversation is not the problem. Twelve quotes from twenty conversations is fine. It sits between quote and order. Working harder on new conversations helps little here. Then he only produces more quotes that go nowhere.
The question becomes: what happens after the quote is sent? The conversation reveals that he emails quotes and then waits. He feels pushy when he calls. The agreement for the next two weeks: discuss every quote in a meeting, and call within three working days. In two weeks you look together at how that went.
Common mistakes in coaching on behavior
Wanting to improve too much at once. Nobody remembers five improvement points from one conversation. Choose one. The rest comes later.
Giving the solution yourself. It is faster, but the sales rep carries out someone else's idea less well. Ask first. Only give a tip if he cannot work it out himself.
Talking about personality. "You are too passive" is about who someone is. "You did not call after the last three quotes" is about what he does. The second you can change.
Letting conversations slide. When it gets busy, the one-on-one is the first to go. That is exactly when you need it. Keep the rhythm, even if the conversation is shorter for once.
How coaching connects to the other building layers
Coaching on behavior leans on the rest of your method. The KPIs per phase from building layer 7 show you where to look. The phases and exit criteria from building layer 2 give the conversation a fixed place. The win points from building layer 3 and the activities from building layer 4 show which behavior you expect.
Without that basis, coaching becomes a matter of taste. With it, you talk about the same method, with every sales rep.
Frequently asked questions
How do you coach a sales rep who is not hitting target?
Start with the numbers per phase to see where it gets stuck. Then find one concrete situation in that phase and discuss what the sales rep did. Agree on one behavior that he does differently in the next two weeks.
How often should a sales manager coach?
A short one-on-one every two weeks works well, supplemented with a ride-along per quarter. The fixed rhythm matters more than the length of the conversation.
What is the difference between coaching and appraising?
Appraising looks back at the result. Coaching looks at behavior and at what someone can do differently next time. Keep them separate, otherwise every coaching conversation becomes an appraisal.
What goes in a competency profile for sales?
Four to six competencies that make the difference for the role, with two or three observable behaviors per competency. For example probing, keeping the lead and following up.
Capturing it
Capture the conversations with their rhythm and fixed topics in the Conversation cycle of building layer 6, and the behaviors per core value in Core values in behavior. The competencies per role go in Job profiles of building layer 5. That way sales manager and sales rep speak the same language, even when a new manager arrives. How to turn every conversation into notes with coaching tips is explained at meeting and conversation notes. You put your team's learning points in a yearly schedule in the new building block Sales development, and with the Coaching workspace you follow per person whether they land.