Leaders often expect reps to drive one-on-ones, but the best leaders prepare beforehand with a clear point of view and desired outcomes, treating their reps like internal customers who deserve preparation.
Instead of focusing on a large quota, leaders should reverse engineer it. Calculate the number of deals needed based on win rate and average contract value, then break that down into weekly opportunity creation goals for reps.
Effective coaching follows a three-step process: Identify a metric-based performance gap, validate the specific rep behaviors causing it, and then co-create a coaching plan focused on improving those behaviors, not just the lagging metric.
Best Case: Qualified deal, but the timeline is fuzzy. Most Likely: The buyer has explicitly confirmed they will make a decision within your timeline. Commit: The buyer is actively taking steps (e.g., paperwork, security review) to fulfill that confirmed timeline.
Instead of a standard inputs-to-outputs funnel, structure dashboards to start with top-line results (attainment, forecast). Then, drill down into pipeline mix, pipeline generation, and finally, activities. This tells a clear story of what's driving the results.
Prioritize and reward consistent performance over occasional blowout quarters. Sustained execution, driven by strong foundational activities, is more valuable and reliable than volatile results with huge swings from quarter to quarter.
For managers with large pipelines to review, asking three core questions can quickly get to the heart of a deal's health: Why do they need to buy? Why won't they buy? And why do they need to buy now?
Have reps spend the first week of each quarter identifying 10 high-value accounts (double the average contract value) with a strong business case. This 'big rock' approach focuses efforts on deals that can cover 50% of their quarterly pipeline needs.
Encourage reps to take full ownership of their total pipeline number. Use sales math to show them how self-sourced deals, which often have higher contract values, give them more control over their success than relying purely on inbound or SDRs.