In reality, they are monitoring.
There is a difference.
Monitoring sounds like:
“Make more calls.”
“Ask more questions.”
“Follow the process.”
Coaching sounds like:
“What happened in that conversation?”
“Why do you think the prospect reacted that way?”
“What would you do differently next time?”
Monitoring focuses on activity.
Coaching focuses on improvement.
The problem is that many sales teams have plenty of monitoring but very little coaching.
And when coaching is inconsistent, performance becomes inconsistent too.
The goal isn’t to listen to more calls.
The goal is to help people become better at sales conversations.
That’s where real coaching starts.
In your team, are managers primarily monitoring activity or actively coaching behaviour?
Originally published 11 June 2026 on LinkedIn. Follow Eric Stijnman on LinkedIn for more sales coaching and leadership insights