A coaching culture in sales is one where every rep is coached on their live deals every week, by managers who are skilled at it, and reps ask for coaching unprompted.
What it looks like week to week
You can see a coaching culture in the calendar and on the deals. Each rep has a weekly one-on-one that works a real opportunity to its next buyer conversation. Important deals get reviewed before the calls that decide them. Managers coach to one standard, usually the team's sales method, so reps hear the same thing from every manager. And reps bring deals to be coached before they are asked, because the coaching has helped them before.
- A weekly one-on-one on a real opportunity
- Important deals reviewed before the calls that decide them
- Managers coach to one standard
- Reps bring deals before they are asked
- The coaches get coached too
Frequency is only half of it. Across 1,246 pharmaceutical reps, managers' coaching skill predicted goal attainment, and frequent coaching from less skilled managers was linked to worse results (Dahling et al. 2016, via our Game Winning Kickoffs field study). So a coaching culture also invests in coaching the coaches. The full manager playbook is in our sales manager coaching guide.
The same Monday meeting, twice
This example is illustrative. In a team without a coaching culture, the Monday meeting walks the pipeline and asks for close dates, and reps hear about skills once a year at the kickoff. In a team with one, the same Monday meeting asks what each committed deal is missing, a rep volunteers a stalled deal for the group to work, and by Wednesday that rep has talked it through with their coach and booked a call with the buyer's finance lead. The manager spends fifteen minutes before each one-on-one finding the one gap to raise.
Three checks a sales leader can run
A coaching culture shows up in counts a leader can take from the calendar and the CRM in an afternoon.
| Check | Weak | Strong |
|---|---|---|
| One-on-ones that end with a planned buyer conversation | A few; most end with updated close dates | Most, with a named buyer and a date |
| Deals reps bring to be coached without being asked | Almost none; coaching happens when a deal is already in trouble | Several a month per rep, before the decisive call |
| Two managers scoring the same recorded call | Different scores for different reasons | Close scores, and they can point to the same moments |
The third check is the one teams skip. If managers do not agree on what good sounds like, reps hear a different standard from each of them, and the coaching stops adding up.
Related terms
- Coaching cadence: the schedule of meetings a coaching culture runs on.
- How to set a sales coaching cadence: the procedure.
- Bryce: our AI expert for sales managers, with a team read and one-on-one preparation.
FAQ
How do you build a coaching culture in a sales team?
Start with a weekly one-on-one per rep that works a live deal, one written standard for good, and training for managers on how to coach to it. Then make coaching easy to ask for, so reps bring deals before decisive calls without being told.
What are the signs of a coaching culture?
Reps bring deals to be coached unprompted, one-on-ones are about a specific opportunity, managers use the same standard, and important deals are reviewed before the calls that decide them. Pipeline meetings ask what a deal is missing as well as when it will close.
Can a coaching culture make performance worse?
A coaching culture can make performance worse when most of the coaching comes from managers who are not yet skilled at it. In the Dahling study above, frequent coaching from less skilled managers was linked to worse results. Building a coaching culture means building managers' coaching skill, as well as scheduling more coaching.