Your sales managers spend time reviewing calls, giving feedback and agreeing on improvements.
Sales call coaching should help managers see whether that feedback actually changes behaviour in the next conversation.
But what happens when the salesperson makes exactly the same mistake in the next call?
Take a familiar example.
A salesperson repeatedly opens conversations with:
“We’re the market leader, the biggest and the best.”
The manager explains why those claims mean little to a customer who hasn’t yet explained what matters to them.
The salesperson agrees.
Next call? Same opening.
Why Feedback Doesn’t Always Change Behaviour
So what hasn’t changed?
Repeating the feedback probably won’t solve it.
The salesperson may understand the feedback perfectly well. But understanding why something isn’t useful doesn’t automatically mean they can stop doing it.
Perhaps it’s a habit. Or they’re uncomfortable starting without a company pitch. They may genuinely believe those claims create credibility.
You don’t know yet.
And that’s where coaching becomes interesting.
Instead of explaining the same thing again, listen to the call together.
“What were you trying to achieve with that opening?”
“How do you think the customer perceived it?”
“Looking back, what could you have done differently?”
Let the salesperson think. Let them find an alternative in their own words.
Then practise it.
And listen to what happens in the next real conversation.
What Should Change in the Next Call?
The real test of call coaching isn’t whether the salesperson agrees with the feedback. It’s whether their behaviour changes when the next customer picks up the phone.
For sales managers, that’s an important distinction.
If the same behaviour keeps returning, another explanation may not be what the salesperson needs.
They may need help understanding why they keep doing it, an alternative they believe in, and enough practice to make it natural.
That’s where focused coaching based on real sales conversations can support managers and their teams.
How often does your team discuss the same improvement without seeing it applied in the next call?
#SalesCoaching #SalesCallCoaching #SalesLeadership
