The Fastest Way to Improve a Sales Rep: Fix One Thing

When coaching sales reps, don’t try to fix everything.

Look for one change that:

• Creates the biggest immediate impact
• Is realistically coachable right now

That means:

• Studying your reps closely (calls, meetings, recordings)
• Giving specific, actionable direction—not vague advice. However, don’t just tell them what to do. Involve them in why. Lead them to the conclusion so they discover it along with you.
• Knowing the craft well enough to coach it
  • If you don’t, that’s fine. Bring in someone who does.
• Leaving everything else alone
  • You can’t improve five things at once. Coaching works in stages.

A quick example

Pablo Quinones was a strong cold caller.

Good pitch.
Tenacious.
Loved talking to people.
And—importantly—it worked.

But I noticed something subtle.

His tenacity created tension.
Any objection or half-formed thought from a prospect, and he pushed hard for the meeting or fought the objection.

The fix wasn’t a new opener.
It wasn’t some “objection handling” tactic.
It wasn’t a new pitch.
It was focus.

We listened to calls together and changed one rule:

When a prospect says something vague or unclear, stop everything and learn more until it’s fully understood.

That’s it.

The result?

• Conversations slowed down
• Pablo stayed present
• Discussions got deeper
• Disqualification happened faster
• Qualification got much stronger

Same rep.
Same effort.
One small adjustment.

Conclusion

Great coaching isn’t about volume.
It’s about precision.
It’s about your technique.

Find the one lever that matters now.
Pull it.
Then move on to the next.