1:1 Cold Call Coaching Session Template
A structured, minute-by-minute 20-minute coaching conversation guide, with scripted manager lines, that turns a call review into real skill-building instead of a critique session.
How to use it
Run this weekly per rep, always prepped in advance with one call and one specific moment picked out, never walk in and freestyle off a general impression of "how calls have been going."
What's inside
- Pre-session prep step: manager scores 1–2 calls and picks exactly ONE moment beforehand
- 5 timed segments (0–2, 2–5, 5–8, 8–14, 14–18, 18–20 min) with word-for-word manager scripts
- Rep self-assessment step before the manager gives their own read
- Live in-session practice/role-play of the specific moment, not the whole call
- Commitment and follow-up fields to close the loop before the next session
- A hard rule against reviewing more than one moment per session
A 20-minute structure that reviews ONE moment from ONE call deeply, instead of skimming five things and changing none of them.
Before the session (manager prep, 10–15 min)
- Listen to 1–2 of the rep's recent calls.
- Score them using the Call Monitoring & Coaching Scorecard.
- Pick exactly one specific moment (a timestamp, not a general theme) to build the session around.
- Identify which rubric dimension (from the Cold Calling Skill Level Rubric) that moment maps to.
Session header
- Rep:
- Date:
- Call(s) reviewed:
- Primary skill focus (one rubric dimension):
- Manager:
0:00–2:00: Set the frame
Manager says: "Before we get into it: how do you feel your calls have been going this week, on a gut level?"
Purpose: the rep talks first. Sets a non-defensive tone before anything specific comes up.
2:00–5:00, Rep self-assessment
Manager says: "I listened to your call with [Account] on [date]. Before I say anything: what do you think went well, and what would you change if you could redo it?"
Purpose: builds the rep's own self-coaching muscle. Listen for whether they can self-diagnose accurately, that itself is data.
5:00–8:00: Play or describe the moment
Manager says: "There's one specific moment I want to zoom in on: around [timestamp], when [prospect] said [X]. Let's listen to that together."
Play the clip, or read the exact exchange verbatim. Then ask: "What were you thinking in that moment?"
8:00–14:00: Diagnose the skill, not the outcome
Manager says: "The result of that moment was [outcome]. Let's separate that from the skill: what's actually happening here is [name the rubric dimension, e.g., 'the objection-handling step where we acknowledge before we respond']. Where do you think that came from?"
Then build the better version together: "If you rewound that 10 seconds, what's a different way in?"
14:00–18:00, Practice it live
Manager says: "Let's run it right now, I'll be [prospect] and say exactly what they said. Try the new approach."
Run the specific moment twice, not the whole call. Motor-memory practice beats discussion alone.
18:00–20:00, Commitment & close
Manager says: "What's the one thing you're taking into your next block of calls from this?"
Rep states it in their own words. Manager logs it below.
Session log
- Commitment (one sentence, rep's own words): _______________________
- Next check-in date: _______________________
- Skill dimension to re-score next session: _______________________
Hard rule: Never review more than one moment per session. Depth beats coverage, a rep who fixes one thing for real beats a rep who nods along to five things and changes none of them.