Diagnose Before you Coach

Before we jump in to coaching we need to diagnose what’s going wrong

Let’s say you listen to a rep’s discovery call 

The rep missed the pain & never reached business value.

So you note it down for your next 1:1 to do coaching

But what if it’s not an ability issue 

What if the rep:

• doesn’t actually understand what “good” looks like?

• isn’t putting enough prep into calls?

• lacks confidence speaking to senior buyers?

• has mentally checked out?

It’s easy to jump straight into coaching without diagnosing what’s happening under the hood.

In our manager training we use the TEAM framework to ensure managers are coaching the right thing

Targets: quota performance / meeting expectations

Effort: Are they consistently putting in the work?

Ability: Do they actually have the skill yet?

Motivation: Do they actually want to improve?

You treat a rep differently if they are putting in all the effort & have high motivation but aren’t hitting targets vs. a rep who has all the skills but isn’t putting in the effort.

It shapes our coaching & management approach. 

Let’s tease out the framework:

T - Targets

Does the rep actually know what’s expected?

Not vague expectations like:

• “run better discovery”

• “multi-thread more”

• “create urgency”

Be really specific!

Examples:

• “Every discovery should uncover a quantified business problem.”

• “Every deal above €50k should have at least 3 stakeholders engaged.”

• “Every outbound sequence should include a customer-relevant point of view.”

Explain why these targets are important to them. 

E.g. More stakeholders = higher close rates

E - Effort

Are they consistently putting in the work?

Sometimes the issue isn’t skill.

It’s:

• poor preparation

• low activity quality

• lack of follow-through

• inconsistent execution

A - Ability

Do they actually have the skill yet?

This is where most managers naturally go first.

But ability is only one piece of performance.

If the issue truly is ability:

• demonstrate the skill

• break it into smaller components

• roleplay it

• practice repeatedly

• reinforce over time

Also; reps can know it intellectually without being able to execute under pressure.

We’ll come back to enabling ability in later newsletters.

M - Motivation

Do they actually want to improve?

This is often the hardest one to talk about.

A rep can know the target, understand the skill, be capable of doing but still not care enough to consistently apply it.

Sometimes motivation issues come from:

• burnout

• lack of belief / confidence after setbacks 

• fear of failure

• feeling disconnected from outcomes

If the root issue is motivation, more tactical coaching usually won’t solve it.

That conversation has to become more human. 

To summarise:

To coach reps properly we first need to play doctor and diagnose the problem first

Before your next 1:1, ask yourself:

Is this a Targets, Effort, Ability, or Motivation issue?

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why is diagnosis important before coaching a sales rep?

Because the same performance issue can have very different causes. A rep who lacks skill needs a different intervention from someone who understands the job but is inconsistent, disengaged or unclear on expectations.

How can a manager tell if a problem is about targets or expectations?

Check whether the rep knows exactly what good performance looks like. Expectations should be specific and observable, such as engaging three stakeholders on larger deals or uncovering a quantified business problem during discovery.

How should managers coach a genuine ability gap?

Break the skill into smaller components, demonstrate it, roleplay it, practise it repeatedly and reinforce it over time. Explaining the framework once is rarely enough.

What should a manager do if the real issue is motivation?

Tactical coaching is unlikely to fix a motivation problem on its own. The manager needs to understand what is driving the disengagement, whether that is burnout, low confidence, fear of failure or disconnection from the outcome, and address that directly via a more human conversation.