Target sales coaching at the stage and behaviour that most limits a salesperson’s progress.
01 · The picture
Target sales coaching at the stage and behaviour that most limits a salesperson’s progress.
Follow the decisions
01Locate the gap
02Observe behaviour
03Practise a skill
04Review progress
02 · The idea
How I understand it.
A missed sales target is a starting point for diagnosis. Break the buying process into meaningful stages and examine where each salesperson loses opportunities. Compare activity, conversion and deal progression alongside the quality of leads and the time opportunities have had to mature. Two people with similar results may need different help: one may struggle to uncover the customer's need, while another reaches suitable buyers but handles the product discussion poorly. Use observed conversations and customer evidence to test the explanation. Agree a concrete behaviour to practise, decide how the manager will help and review the effect after enough time has passed. Allocate coaching time where it can address a significant, changeable constraint. The ZenRecruit teaching case uses this diagnostic approach; its characters and company are a composite created for discussion.
03 · A fictional example
Put it into a business.
Two salespeople miss target. One receives suitable enquiries but loses buyers during discovery; the other reaches the proposal stage and stalls. Their manager reviews calls. The first practises questions about the customer's problem. The second rehearses how to confirm the decision process. Both track the relevant stage for six weeks, alongside lead quality and eventual sales.
04 · Bring it into the room
For each salesperson, what evidence identifies the stage and behaviour that coaching should address?
One decisionOne next actionOne way to check
Where this note comes from
An original explanation drawn from my saved learning material. The worked example is fictional.
Harvard OPM · Unit 3Course reading or session material
ZenRecruit - Sales Coaching and Performance Reviews
PDF pp. 1, 3–7; sales process and coaching decision; Unit 3 Sales overview pp. 1–2
These notes collect my interpretations and applications. The schools and authors retain their original teaching materials.