Skill coaching is coaching that develops one selling capability, such as discovery or handling objections, across many of a rep's calls until it shows up without prompting.
One skill, several weeks, live deals
A manager picks the skill the rep's calls show is weakest, often from a scorecard built on the team's method. Each week the skill gets worked on a live deal: the rep plans how to use it on the next buyer call, uses it, and debriefs it afterward. That is the brief, observe and debrief loop of a sales coaching framework, held on one skill for several weeks. Before trusting call scores to show the skill moving, check the scorer: in our research on AI call scoring, one model changed 15% to 17% of its scores between identical runs.
- 01Plan it for the next buyer call
- 02Use it on the call
- 03Debrief it afterward
- 01Plan it for the next buyer call
- 02Use it on the call
- 03Debrief it afterward
The research favors doing it this way. Across 117 studies, skills held or grew when people trained on their own scenarios and had trained managers behind them (Taylor, Russ-Eft and Chan 2005). Skills left unused fade: one review found a large loss after more than a year without use (Arthur et al. 1998). Both are summarized in our Game Winning Kickoffs field study.
A month on quantifying the problem
Illustrative. A rep's last six discovery calls score low on quantifying the problem. The manager makes that the skill for the month. Before each first meeting, the rep plans one question that asks the buyer what the problem costs, and after each call checks whether the buyer gave a figure. In week one the question sounds like "Is this a big problem for you?" and the buyer says yes. By week three it is "What did the last missed shipment cost you?" and the buyer gives a number.
The manager's debrief question stays the same every week: "Did the buyer give you a number, and whose number is it?" By week four the rep asks without being reminded, and the next set of call scores moves on that skill.
Related terms
FAQ
What is the difference between skill coaching and deal coaching? Deal coaching works one live opportunity to find what it is missing. Skill coaching works one capability across many calls. They fit together: the skill is coached on real deals, so it gets used in front of a buyer the same week.
Which skills should sales managers coach? Start with the skill that the rep's own calls show is weakest against the team's method, such as quantifying the problem or reaching the economic buyer. Coach one at a time, for several weeks, on live deals.
Can AI do skill coaching? Yes, for the prep and debrief around each call. An AI sales expert, such as Caty or Keenan on Gap Selling teams and Val on ValueSelling Framework® teams, can help a rep plan where the skill fits in the next buyer conversation and debrief it afterward, for every rep. Managers see which skills are moving across the team (for leaders).