---
name: sales-call-coaching
description: Analyze sales calls using conversation intelligence platforms, score call quality against defined rubrics, provide coaching feedback, create personalized development plans, and track rep improvement over time. Use when reviewing call recordings, coaching new or underperforming reps, building call quality standards, conducting weekly call reviews, or analyzing team-wide call trends. Triggers on phrases like "call coaching", "call quality review", "conversation intelligence", "call scoring", "rep coaching", "call feedback", "call analysis", "Gong coaching", "call rubric", "call performance improvement", "sales coaching framework", "call best practices".
---

# Sales Call Coaching

Systematically analyze sales conversations, score performance against rubrics, and drive measurable rep improvement through structured coaching.

## Call Scoring & Quality Framework

```
CALL SCORING RUBRIC (100 points total)
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Category 1 — Opening & Agenda Setting (15 points):
  → Personalized opener referencing specific prospect detail (5 pts):
     "I noticed [Company] just closed Series B — congrats. Wanted to understand how
     you're thinking about [problem area] during this growth phase."
     vs. generic: "Thanks for taking the time today."
  → Set clear agenda with time commitment (5 pts):
     "I'd like to spend the first 20 minutes understanding your [challenge], then
     show you how similar companies addressed it. Does that work?"
  → Established credibility with specific, relevant proof (5 pts):
     "We just helped [similar company] reduce [metric] by X% in Y weeks."
     (Not: "We work with a lot of companies.")

Category 2 — Discovery & Questioning (30 points):
  → Ask-to-talk ratio: Rep speaks <40% of call (10 pts):
     Target: 35–40% rep talk, 60–65% prospect talk
     Below 30%: Not gathering enough information (too passive)
     Above 50%: Pitching too much, not listening (too aggressive)
     Gong/Chorus auto-calculates ratio with timestamps
  → Open-ended questions used (minimum 5) (5 pts):
     "Tell me about..." "How does..." "Walk me through..."
     Not: "Do you..." "Is it..." (yes/no questions)
  → Covered all discovery areas (5 pts):
     Current state (what they do now)
     Pain points (what's broken)
     Business impact (cost of inaction, quantified)
     Goals (what success looks like)
     Timeline (when they need solution)
     Budget/authority (decision process)
  → Follow-up probing on key answers (5 pts):
     "You mentioned [pain] — how long has that been an issue?"
     "What's that costing you in time/money?"
     "Who else is affected by this?"
  → Identified quantified business impact (5 pts):
     Prospect stated specific numbers: "$50K annual cost", "20 hours/week wasted"

Category 3 — Presentation & Value Delivery (20 points):
  → Referenced specific discovered needs (not generic pitch) (5 pts):
     "You mentioned [pain] — here's how we address that..."
     vs. standard pitch regardless of conversation
  → Benefits-over-features communication (5 pts):
     "This saves your team 15 hours per week" (benefit)
     vs. "It has automated workflow" (feature)
  → Relevant social proof (case study, testimonial, data) (5 pts):
     Shared example matching prospect's industry, size, or situation
  → Appropriate pacing (not too fast, not too slow) (5 pts):
     Checked for understanding: "Does that make sense so far?"
     Adjusted based on prospect engagement signals

Category 4 — Objection Handling (15 points):
  → Acknowledged objection without arguing (5 pts):
     "That's a fair concern — let me understand more about [specific issue]."
     vs. "That's not right — let me explain..."
  → Explored root cause before responding (5 pts):
     "Help me understand — is it the price itself, or the ROI timeline?"
  → Provided specific evidence (data, case study, demo) (5 pts):
     "Here's what [similar company] saw within first 90 days..."

Category 5 — Closing & Next Steps (20 points):
  → Clearly summarized value and agreement (5 pts):
     "Based on our conversation, we can help you [achieve X] by [doing Y]."
  → Defined specific next steps with owners and deadlines (5 pts):
     "I'll send the proposal by Friday. You'll review with [stakeholder] by next
     Wednesday. Then we schedule the demo for the following week."
  → Confirmed mutual commitment (5 pts):
     "Does that timeline work for you?" (explicit confirmation)
  → Calendar invite sent or meeting time confirmed before call ends (5 pts):
     "I'm sending a calendar invite for Thursday at 2 PM now."

TOTAL SCORE: ___ / 100
  80–100: A — Model call, share as best practice
  60–79: B — Solid call, minor improvement areas
  40–59: C — Needs coaching on specific categories
  20–39: D — Fundamental skills gap, intensive coaching required
  <20: F — Critical intervention needed, manager involvement

PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS BY REP EXPERIENCE:
  ┌────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
  │ Rep Level          │ 0–6 mos  │ 6–18 mos │ 18–36 mo │ 36+ mos  │
  ├────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┤
  │ Avg call score     │ 45       │ 58       │ 70       │ 78       │
  │ Discovery coverage │ 60%      │ 75%      │ 85%      │ 92%      │
  │ Talk ratio target  │ <45%     │ <42%     │ <40%     │ <38%     │
  │ Meeting conversion │ 15%      │ 22%      │ 30%      │ 35%      │
  │ Win rate           │ 12%      │ 20%      │ 28%      │ 32%      │
  │ Sales cycle        │ 65 days  │ 52 days  │ 45 days  │ 40 days  │
  └────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┘

  → Coaching focus should target closing the gap from current level to next level benchmark
  → Reps scoring below level benchmark for 3+ consecutive weeks: escalate to manager
```

## Coaching Cadence & Process

```
COACHING CADENCE BY REP LEVEL
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

New Rep (0–6 months):
  → Weekly call review: Manager reviews 5 calls/week with rep (30-min session)
  → Bi-weekly role-play: Practice specific scenarios (discovery, objection handling)
  → Shadowing: Sit in on 3+ live calls/week with top performer
  → Daily feedback: Quick 5-minute check-in after first 3 calls of the day
  → Monthly development plan update: Adjust focus areas based on score trends
  → Gate: Must reach avg score >50 to progress to 6-month mark

Developing Rep (6–18 months):
  → Bi-weekly call review: Manager reviews 3 calls/bi-week (20-min session)
  → Monthly role-play: Practice advanced scenarios (executive selling, multi-threading)
  → Shadowing: 1 call/week with top performer or peer coaching session
  → Weekly 1:1: Broader coaching beyond calls (pipeline, strategy, motivation)
  → Gate: Must reach avg score >60 to progress to senior rep track

Senior Rep (18–36 months):
  → Monthly call review: Manager reviews 2 calls/month (15-min session)
  → Quarterly role-play: Practice new products, new competitive scenarios
  → Peer coaching: Lead coaching sessions for junior reps (develops leadership)
  → Gate: Must maintain avg score >65; <60 triggers return to bi-weekly review

Top Performer (36+ months, score >75):
  → Quarterly call review: Spot-check 1 call/quarter (10-min session)
  → Mentorship: Formal mentoring assignment (1–2 junior reps)
  → Content contribution: Create best practice guides, coaching materials
  → Conference speaking: Represent company at industry events

COACHING SESSION STRUCTURE (30 minutes):
  Block 1 — Call Review (10 minutes):
    → Manager and rep listen to call together (or watch highlighted clips)
    → Rep self-assessment first: "What do you think went well? What would you change?"
    → Manager provides structured feedback using rubric scores
    → Discuss 2–3 specific moments with exact timestamps
    → Focus on ONE primary improvement area (not overwhelming with too many points)

  Block 2 — Skill Building (10 minutes):
    → Practice specific skill: Role-play objection handling, discovery questions
    → Rep practices new approach, manager provides real-time feedback
    → Record practice session for self-review
    → Reference best practice example from top performer call

  Block 3 — Action Plan (5 minutes):
    → Specific action: "Next 5 calls, focus on asking 3+ follow-up questions per answer"
    → Measurement: "Track your follow-up question count in CRM notes"
    → Timeline: "We'll review this specific area in our next coaching session"
    → Accountability: "Send me a note at end of week with your self-assessment"

  Block 4 — Motivation & Support (5 minutes):
    → Acknowledge progress: "Your discovery score improved 15 points this month"
    → Address roadblocks: "What's getting in the way of this improvement?"
    → Career development: "How does this skill connect to your goals?"
    → Open floor: "Any other topics you want to discuss?"

COACHING DOCS (Documentation per Session):
  → Call reviewed: Name, date, type (discovery, demo, negotiation, etc.)
  → Rubric scores: Category-by-category breakdown
  → Key moments: Timestamps + transcript excerpts
  → Improvement area: ONE primary focus for next period
  → Action plan: Specific, measurable, time-bound goal
  → Rep self-assessment: Rep's own view of performance
  → Manager notes: Context, concerns, observations
```

## Team Coaching & Best Practice Sharing

```
TEAM-WIDE COACHING FRAMEWORK
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Weekly Team Call (60 minutes):
  → Best Call of the Week (15 minutes):
     - Play anonymized clip from top-performing rep
     - Discuss what made it effective
     - Extract 2–3 learnings applicable to all reps
  → Common Challenge of the Week (20 minutes):
     - Identify most frequent issue from coaching sessions
     - Group discussion: How to handle this scenario
     - Manager demonstrates recommended approach
     - Quick role-play exercise
  → Metric Spotlight (10 minutes):
     - Share team-wide call quality trends
     - Individual progress updates (positive reinforcement)
     - Celebrate improvement milestones
  → Pipeline Check-In (15 minutes):
     - Reps share 1 deal they want help with
     - Team provides brainstorming and support

Monthly Coaching Report (distributed to all reps):
  → Team average call score: [X] (trend: ↑/↓ vs. last month)
  → Category breakdown: Where team excels, where team needs improvement
  → Individual progress: Top 5 improvers (points gained)
  → Best practice highlights: 3 specific techniques that worked
  → Common pitfalls: 3 recurring issues to avoid
  → Resources: Recommended listening (podcasts), reading, training modules

Best Practice Library:
  → Curated call clips by category:
     - Best openings (5 examples)
     - Best discovery sequences (5 examples)
     - Best objection handling (10 examples by objection type)
     - Best closings (5 examples)
  → Written guides:
     - Discovery question bank (50+ questions by category)
     - Objection handling playbook (30+ objections with responses)
     - Email templates that get meetings
     - Competitive battle cards
  → Access: Shared drive or sales enablement platform (Seismic, Highspot)

Team Scorecard Competition:
  → Monthly contest: Highest call score improvement wins
  → Prize: $100 gift card, parking spot, lunch with VP, or similar
  → Leaderboard: Anonymous score averages posted weekly
  → Focus on improvement, not absolute scores (motivates all levels)
```

## Conversation Intelligence Platform Setup

```
CONVERSATION INTELLIGENCE CONFIGURATION
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Platform: Gong.io (or Chorus by Salesforce, Conversable, Zoom Intelligence)
  Cost: $30–$60/rep/month (typically $360–$720/month for 12-rep team)

Auto-Detected Signals (configurable):
  → Competitor mentions: Alert when prospect mentions [Competitor A, B, C]
  → Price discussions: Flag when pricing, discount, budget discussed
  → Commitment language: Detect "we'll sign", "let's move forward", "yes"
  → Objection language: Detect "concern", "expensive", "not sure", "complicated"
  → Next step language: Detect "next week", "send proposal", "follow up"
  → Sentiment analysis: Positive/neutral/negative sentiment per call segment
  → Talk ratio: Automatic calculation of rep vs. prospect speaking time

Call Tags & Categorization:
  → Call type tags: Discovery, Demo, Follow-up, Negotiation, Executive Briefing
  → Outcome tags: Meeting Booked, Proposal Sent, Lost, Champion Identified
  → Deal stage: Auto-advance stage based on call content and outcome
  → Custom tags: Rep-specific tags for tracking (e.g., "needs legal review")

Manager Dashboard:
  → Team call quality overview (average scores, trends)
  → Individual rep scores with historical comparison
  → Call library: Searchable by topic, competitor, outcome, rep
  → Automated alerts: Risk calls (negative sentiment, objections)
  → Best practice library: Top-rated calls curated by manager
  → Rep coaching recommendations: AI suggests improvement areas per rep

Integration Setup:
  → Zoom/Teams/GMeet: Auto-record all sales meetings
  → CRM: Auto-log call summaries, update deal stages
  → Email: Track email conversations as part of call context
  → Slack: Post call alerts and summaries to relevant channels
  → Calendar: Auto-detect sales calls from calendar events
```

## Edge Cases

- **Rep resists coaching** (defensive, dismissive of feedback):
  → Approach: Frame as "data-driven insight" not "criticism"
  → Technique: Have rep self-assess first, then compare to actual score
  → Evidence: Show specific timestamps and transcripts (data, not opinion)
  → Escalation: If resistance continues after 3 sessions, formal performance discussion
  → Root cause: May be skill gap, confidence issue, or misalignment with role
  → Timeline: Address within 30 days or consider role reassignment

- **Enterprise deal calls** (60–90 minute executive briefings):
  → Scoring adjustment: Weight executive presence and strategic thinking higher
  → Focus areas: Business outcome framing, ROI quantification, executive rapport
  → Different rubric: Less emphasis on questioning technique, more on strategic value
  → Duration: Scoring takes 2–3x longer due to call length
  → Best practice: Score only key segments (opening, value presentation, closing)

- **Self-serve / PLG calls** (15–30 minute expansion conversations):
  → Scoring adjustment: Weight usage discussion and expansion identification higher
  → Focus areas: Understanding usage patterns, identifying expansion triggers
  → Different rubric: Less emphasis on formal discovery, more on data-driven insights
  → Metrics: Expansion revenue per call, upgrade conversion rate

- **International / multi-language calls**:
  → Translation: Use AI transcription with translation (Gong supports 20+ languages)
  → Cultural sensitivity: Adjust scoring for cultural communication differences
  → Local best practices: Country-specific calling norms and etiquette
  → Time zone: Score calls recorded across time zones with proper timestamp handling

- **Call recording compliance** (legal requirements):
  → Two-party consent states (US): CA, FL, IL, MD, MA, NV, NH, PA, WA — must inform all parties
  → One-party consent states: Most other US states — only caller needs to consent
  → International: GDPR requires explicit consent for recording in EU
  → Best practice: Always inform: "For quality purposes, this call may be recorded."
  → CRM note: Log consent received or declined for each call
  → Non-consent: If prospect declines recording, rep uses manual notes instead

- **Manager coaching capacity** (too many reps, too little time):
  → Ideal ratio: 1 manager to 6–8 reps for effective coaching
  → Overloaded ratio (>10 reps/manager): Delegate peer coaching, reduce call review frequency
  → Automation: Use AI-powered coaching tools for initial call scoring (manager reviews flagged calls)
  → Prioritization: Focus coaching time on reps below benchmark or on critical deals
  → Alternative: Dedicated coaching role (separate from quota-carrying manager)