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For many sales leaders, the question isn't whether sales coaching is important—it’s finding the time to do it effectively.
Sales coaching often takes a back seat to hitting quotas, closing deals, and meeting month-end or quarter-end deadlines.
However, providing consistent, high-quality coaching is one of the most impactful ways to ensure long-term success for your team.
But how can you coach a growing team at scale without compromising quality?
In this post we will be talking about different aspects of sales call coaching, but more importantly: sales call coaching software.
Why?
One of the main reasons for doing so is because technology is rapidly evolving. Especially, when we talk about sales oriented businesses where you have to make calls for outbound leads conversion, there’s a high probability that your business is using a software to streamline these processes.
And, if the answer is yes, which we think it is already, then sales coaching takes an entirely different context.
Here’s to understanding sales coaching, and sales call coaching, alongside different software to help you ease into improving your conversions.
What Is Sales Coaching?
Sales coaching is the ongoing process of guiding sales reps to improve their skills, meet targets, and build lasting customer relationships. Unlike a one-time training session, effective sales coaching involves regular support, actionable feedback, and tailored development plans.
Think of it as the difference between teaching someone how to swim and coaching them to win an Olympic medal. Great sales coaching helps reps navigate challenges, overcome objections, and refine their techniques over time.
It involves a mix of:
- Skills-based training: Teaching fundamental sales techniques.
- Technology-based tools: Leveraging AI and analytics for real-time assistance.
- Support and encouragement: Creating a culture of growth and collaboration.
Every sales manager will have their own approach, but consistency and personalization are key. Sales coaching works best when it’s structured, ongoing, and adaptable to each rep’s unique needs.
Now if we talk about sales call coaching, that would mean understanding the dynamics of sales calls, and improving your chances of closing more deals.
That being said, the given “problem” with sales calls is that both sides aren’t interacting face to face. As a result, since there’s a lack of human involvement for as long as facial interaction is concerned, you are depending on your conversational skills to do everything for you.
That’s why, sales call coaching always requires a bit of extra effort, as compared to your traditional sales based interactions with walk in prospects and vice versa. The latter are already convinced to some extent, they just need additional knowledge about the product, why it’s better than X, and so on and so forth.
Why Sales Coaching Matters
Sales coaching is a big deal because it’s about business scalability in the end.
Plus, coaching hones your sales teams skills, so that it’s a significant improvement over those competitor’s whose teams haven’t been coached yet, or they are entirely using a sales call coaching software to get the training wheels up and running.
With that being said, yes, a sales call coaching software is a good choice and highly effective. However, no matter how good a call coaching tool is, it’s not leveled up to the human element.
Our best advice would be to take the coaching part in combination with a sales call coaching software, and a seasoned sales person.
This would blend into a super effective training program that’d take your team’s skills, chances of better business scalability, more deals and everything else to the next level.
Now, as long as the reasons associated with the “why” factor, here are some of them that you need to know:
1. More Closed Deals
The ultimate goal of any sales team is to drive revenue. Coaching gives reps the tools they need to overcome objections, position products effectively, and close more deals.
2. Better Customer Relationships
Well-coached reps don’t just focus on the immediate sale—they think long-term. They ask the right questions, build trust, and ensure customers see value, which can lead to higher retention and upsell opportunities.
3. Improved Employee Engagement
Sales can be a tough gig. High-pressure environments often lead to burnout and high turnover. Coaching shows reps that their growth matters, increasing job satisfaction and reducing churn.
4. Higher Team Morale
A collaborative coaching culture fosters a sense of camaraderie. Reps feel supported and are more likely to share insights, celebrate wins, and learn from challenges together.
Best Sales Coaching Techniques and Tools
While traditional coaching often involved managers sitting in on calls and giving feedback afterward, modern tools make it possible to scale coaching without sacrificing quality.
Let’s take a loot at some techniques and how a sales call coaching software can enhance each one:
1. Live Coaching on Sales Calls
Live coaching involves providing feedback to reps during their calls. While this can be effective, it’s resource-intensive and hard to scale.
How Software Helps:
Real-time call transcription and analysis:
Platforms like Trellus.AI provide live transcriptions and sentiment analysis, helping managers identify when a call is going off track.
The sales coaching app allows them to jump in with actionable guidance or provide tips based on real-time data.
At the same time, this can also be done without a manager’s intervention.
Trellus gives cues in real time so that your salesperson can have better cold call objection rebuttals. The sales coaching app does so through an M.L. and NLP-based AI model that recognizes the ongoing calls’ behavior patterns and then makes suggestions where needed.
2. Automated Coaching with AI
One of the most significant advancements in sales coaching has been using AI-powered tools to provide real-time, actionable guidance to sales representatives during their calls.
Imagine having a virtual coach right beside each team member, offering tailored insights and strategies at the exact moment they’re needed.
That’s the power of automated coaching with AI.
These tools operate quietly in the background during live calls, analyzing the conversation as it unfolds. They detect keywords, customer sentiment, and conversational patterns to provide on-the-spot assistance that can help sales reps steer the dialogue in the right direction.
How AI Coaching Tools Work
At the heart of this innovation are features designed to support reps in a seamless, intuitive way.
For instance, "smart prompts" can surface pre-programmed guidance based on specific words or phrases mentioned by a prospect. If the discussion turns toward pricing, competitors, or other high-priority topics, the software offers precise suggestions for how to respond effectively.
Here’s a closer look at what makes automated AI coaching so transformative for sales teams:
Pre-Programmed Cheat Sheets for Real-Time Support
Imagine your sales rep is deep in a call, and the prospect suddenly raises a concern about the pricing structure. Without the need for a manager to intervene, AI tools instantly display a pre-configured cheat sheet tailored to address that concern. These cheat sheets are crafted in advance to provide succinct, persuasive responses or clarify frequently misunderstood points about your product or service.
For instance, if a potential customer mentions a competitor’s name, the AI tool could trigger a competitive analysis card/ cue, outlining key differentiators or value propositions to highlight.
These prompts eliminate the guesswork for reps and ensure they’re always equipped with the right information, even in high-pressure moments.
Automated Reminders for Objection Handling
Handling objections is a skill that even experienced sales professionals can find challenging.
AI coaching takes the pressure off by delivering timely reminders based on the flow of the conversation. If a prospect hesitates, citing concerns about timelines or implementation complexity, the software gently nudges the rep with proven strategies for handling those specific objections.
This feature isn’t just helpful for new hires—it ensures consistency across the entire team. Whether someone is on their 10th sales call of the day or their very first, they receive the same high level of support to navigate objections confidently.
Guidance Aligned with Sales Methodologies
One of the standout benefits of AI-powered coaching is its ability to integrate seamlessly with widely recognized sales frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) or SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff). These methodologies provide structure and focus, and AI tools ensure reps stick to them during calls.
For example, if a sales representative fails to probe adequately into the prospect’s timeline for decision-making, the software can prompt a relevant question, such as:
"Could you share more about your timeline for implementing a solution?"
As a manager, if you were to keep your sales reps anchored to a proven methodology, these tools would elevate the overall quality of each interaction, ultimately improving conversion rates.
Why This Matters for Training and Development
Automated AI coaching isn’t just a tool for handling live calls—it’s a powerful resource for training and developing your team over time. For new hires, it acts as a safety net, providing instant support while they gain confidence and mastery in their roles. Instead of waiting for feedback after the fact, they receive actionable insights during the moment that matters most.
For seasoned reps, AI coaching helps reinforce best practices and uncover areas where they might still have room to grow. Everyone on the team benefits from a consistent coaching standard that scales effortlessly, regardless of team size or the number of calls being handled daily.
Other Benefits of a Sales Coaching Software
- Pre-programmed “cheat sheets” that appear when specific keywords are mentioned.
- Automated reminders for objection handling or product positioning.
- Adherence to sales methodologies like BANT or SPIN.
This makes it easier to train new reps and ensure consistency across the team.
3. Post-Call Coaching
Post-call coaching involves reviewing call recordings or transcripts to identify areas for improvement.
How Software Helps:
- Analytics dashboards that show metrics like call duration, conversion rates, and keyword trends.
- Custom tracking for frequently discussed topics (e.g., pricing or competitors).
- Playlists of example calls for training purposes.
For instance, managers can create playlists of high-performing calls to showcase best practices or compile “what not to do” examples for constructive feedback.
4. Behavior and Action Coaching
Sometimes, it’s not about the call itself but the habits and actions that reps need to build, like following up promptly or qualifying leads effectively.
How Software Helps:
AI tools like Trellus evaluate whether reps are meeting specific criteria during calls. This provides managers with actionable insights without requiring them to listen to every call.
Example:
If a scorecard includes “Ask about the decision-maker,” the AI can track whether reps are consistently meeting this criterion and flag areas for improvement.
Advanced Coaching Strategies
1. Coaching for Newer Reps
New sales reps often need more hand-holding to build a solid foundation. Focus on:
- Teaching core sales skills.
- Familiarizing them with your product or service.
- Encouraging high call volumes to gain experience quickly.
Pairing new reps with seasoned mentors can also accelerate their learning curve.
2. Coaching for Experienced Reps
Tenured reps may need less foundational training but benefit from:
- Advanced techniques for negotiation and upselling.
- Insights into emerging competitors or industry trends.
- Encouragement to experiment with new approaches.
AI coaching tools can provide data-driven feedback to help them refine their strategies.
Choosing the Right Sales Call Coaching Software
Not all sales coaching tools are created equal. Look for software with features like:
- Real-time transcription and sentiment analysis to enable live coaching.
- AI-powered suggestions for scalable, automated coaching.
- Customizable scorecards to track adherence to methodologies.
- Call analytics and reporting to identify trends and areas for improvement.
- Integration with your CRM to streamline workflows.
Some top options include:
- Trellus
- Gong
- Chorus.ai
The Future of Sales Coaching
As sales teams grow and the role of technology evolves, coaching will increasingly rely on AI-driven tools to provide real-time, scalable support.
The best coaching strategies will blend technology with a human touch, ensuring reps feel empowered while delivering measurable results.
With the right tools and techniques, you can enhance your team’s performance, boost morale, and drive long-term growth.