Your sales team needs a performance boost. How can you ensure your feedback drives lasting change?

In my experience, the best way to determine if feedback to your sales team has been effective is to follow up with them on how they have applied it. Ask them how it has made a difference in their growth. Also, in sales, numbers always tell a story. Analyze their production results with them and determine the key factors to their growth. Was it your feedback? Or was it something else? Lastly, ask them for feedback on your feedback. Was it beneficial? Using these tactics will ensure your feedback is actually effective for your sales team.

Begin by identifying and communicating concrete goals and expectations tailored to each team member's strengths and areas for improvement. Use a balanced approach, combining positive reinforcement with constructive criticism to motivate and inspire confidence. Follow up consistently with regular check-ins to monitor progress, offer additional support, and adjust strategies as needed. Finally, create a culture of accountability and continuous learning by celebrating achievements and addressing setbacks collaboratively, ensuring that feedback leads to sustained performance improvements.

I implemented a routine with weekly 30-minute 1:1 sessions focused on brief deal updates and extended strategy discussions on selected deals. Additionally, I scheduled daily 30-minute Zoom office hours where team members could drop in for immediate coaching. This structure encourages reps to be efficient in their updates and specific in their coaching requests. While being available for ad-hoc coaching, these dedicated sessions foster a culture of continuous learning and development, ultimately enhancing team performance.

Begin with the highest impact goal, like meeting quota, and identify underlying objectives, such as increasing late-stage conversion rates or improving conversion from call two. Develop mini goals to support these objectives, such as “gather prospect metrics and pain points during discovery, address how the product solves their issues, and schedule the demo on the call.” This approach ensures that coaching is specific, actionable, and easy to track, helping reps achieve tangible progress and lasting change. Each coaching session should include a clear mini goal.

In my previous role as an enterprise AE, a sales coach significantly impacted my career. His coaching was consistent, required my time and critical thinking, and was delivered in manageable pieces. Each session included three specific recommendations tied to mini goals. We reviewed my progress in the next session, discussing implementation and outcomes. This routine helped me climb the company leaderboard quickly, eventually winning 50% of qualified leads. The key takeaway: helping reps win instills best practices, fostering long-lasting change and boosting overall team performance.