Sales Manager Coaching Cadence Checklist

Use this as your running operating rhythm. Print it, pin it, or drop it into your weekly planner. Each cadence block has a purpose statement, so you never confuse "checking the numbers" with "coaching the skill."

Weekly (every week, no exceptions)

1:1 with each rep (30 min)

Purpose: build skill, not just review deals.

• Rep opens: "What's one thing you tried this week that worked, and one that didn't?"
• Review 1 specific skill you're both tracking on their development plan (not the whole pipeline)
• Ask: "What's the hardest conversation on your calendar next week, and what skill does it call for?"
• Give one piece of specific, behavioral feedback from a call or email you observed this week (not "good job" — name the technique)
• Agree on one micro-commitment for the coming week (a specific technique to try, not "close more deals")
• Close by asking: "What do you need from me to get unstuck?"

Call/recording review (minimum 2 calls per rep per week)

Purpose: catch skill patterns before they become quota misses.

• Pick calls at different pipeline stages (not just late-stage — you'll miss discovery and qualification gaps)
• Score against your competency rubric (not a gut-feel "that was fine")
• Note 1 strength to reinforce and 1 gap to develop — never more than one of each per call
• Timestamp the exact moment the skill showed up (or should have) so feedback is concrete
• Log the observation against the rep's skill scorecard, not just in your head

Pipeline coaching pass (before your forecast call)

Purpose: diagnose why a deal is stuck — the skill behind the stall, not just the stage.

• For every deal stuck >14 days in a stage, ask: "What skill is missing here — discovery, multithreading, negotiation, or something else?"
• Separate "deal has a real blocker" from "rep hasn't done the qualifying work"
• Coach the skill gap in the 1:1, not in a public pipeline review
• Flag any deal where the rep can't answer "what does the customer's world look like if this fails" — that's a discovery gap, not a deal problem

Monthly

• Update each rep's skill scorecard (competency-by-competency, with evidence/examples, not just a number)
• Run one live ride-along or shadow session per rep (or shadow a live call if remote) — observe, don't rescue
• Build a team skill-gap heat map: which 2–3 competencies are weakest across the team right now?
• Pick one team-wide skill focus for the month based on the heat map (e.g., "multithreading into economic buyer") and reinforce it in every 1:1
• Recognize one rep publicly for a specific skill demonstration (not just a number hit) in a team forum
• Review your own coaching notes from the month — are you giving the same feedback repeatedly? That's a training gap, not a rep gap

Quarterly

• Run a calibration session with peer managers: compare how you're each scoring the same competency, using 2–3 shared call recordings
• Refresh each rep's Individual Development Plan (IDP): current level per competency, target level, and the specific practice plan to close the gap
• Review team skill investment: what training, peer-shadowing, or content does the team need next quarter?
• Revisit your weakest-competency heat map from 90 days ago — did coaching actually move it, or just the number?
• Identify your bench: which reps are ready for stretch accounts, mentoring juniors, or a leadership track, based on skill evidence (not tenure)

Annual

• Full skill audit per rep against your competency framework — feed this into comp/promotion conversations, not just quota attainment
• Manager self-audit: pull 5 of your own coaching notes from across the year — are they specific and skill-based, or generic ("great job," "keep pushing")?
• Rebuild next year's team skill investment plan from this year's evidence, not from what's fashionable

Rule of thumb: if a 1:1 or pipeline review ends without a rep naming a specific skill they're working on, it wasn't coaching — it was a status update.