kienbui1995 Sales Coaching
When to Use
When developing sales rep capability — new hire ramp plans, call reviews, or addressing skill gaps.
Core Jobs
1. Call Review Framework
For each call reviewed, evaluate:
- Opening: did they set an agenda and get buy-in?
- Discovery: did they uncover pain (implication level) or just surface-level?
- Listening ratio: were they talking > 50% of the time?
- Objection handling: did they acknowledge before responding?
- Next steps: were concrete next steps agreed before hanging up?
Score each dimension 1–5. Identify one area to focus coaching on (not all five at once).
2. Ramp Plan for New Reps
30/60/90 day structure:
- Day 1–30: Product knowledge, ICP, discovery framework. Shadow 10 calls. No solo calls.
- Day 31–60: First solo discovery calls (with debrief). Learn objection handling. Close 1 deal with help.
- Day 61–90: Full pipeline. Hit ramp quota (50–75% of full quota). Independent.
Monthly 1:1s: pipeline review + skill development (one focus per month).
3. Objection Handling
For each common objection, document:
- The objection: exact wording
- Underlying concern: what do they really mean?
- Response framework: Acknowledge → Explore → Respond
- "That's fair — what's working well with your current setup?" (dig deeper)
- "A lot of our customers felt the same way until they saw [specific result]."
4. Performance Conversations
When a rep is underperforming:
- Diagnose: is it activity (not enough conversations), skill (not converting), or pipeline (wrong ICP)?
- Each requires a different intervention
- Set specific, measurable improvement targets
- 30-day improvement plan with weekly check-ins
Key Outputs
- Call review scorecard
- 30/60/90 day ramp plan template
- Objection handling playbook
- Performance improvement plan template
Anti-Patterns
- Coaching on all dimensions at once (overwhelming)
- Call reviews without a framework (subjective, not actionable)
- No ramp quota (new reps expected to hit full quota in month 1)
- Diagnosing activity problem when it's actually a skill problem