Frontline sales managers rarely have enough time to coach every salesperson on the team as often as they'd like. Most managers allocate that time by skill level: more time for salespeople in the middle of the pack, since that's where coaching produces the biggest return on the time invested in coaching (i.e., “move the middle”). But skill level only tells half the story. A salesperson also must be receptive to coaching for that time to pay off.
Coachability is a specific, observable trait, not a vague impression of whether someone seems like a team player. A salesperson who asks for feedback, acts on it, and adjusts their approach afterward will convert coaching time into changed behavior. A salesperson who nods along and changes nothing will not, regardless of how much time a manager invests.
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Sales organizations that coach well see it show up directly in results. SBI research finds that sales managers who devote three or more hours a month to coaching each of their teams reach 107% of team quota, compared with 82% for teams that receive no coaching at all. That gap is the return on a manager's most limited resource: time.
A good rule of thumb for allocating your coaching time is to spend:
The idea here is that you should spend most of your time coaching salespeople with medium skills. These salespeople will provide the highest return on your time investment as you develop average performers into high performers. Low-skilled reps may require too much time commitment to help, while high performers have some room for improvement, but don’t need lots of coaching.
But what do you do if you are extremely limited in your time available for coaching?
If that’s the case, then in addition to considering the skill level of your salespeople when allocating your coaching time, you should also consider their relative coachability. Are they receptive to your ideas? Do they want to improve? Are they enthusiastic about their work? A coachable rep has an internal motivation to improve and do better.
Here are the four signal categories to check when assessing how coachable a salesperson is, and the specific behaviors within each one.
This salesperson:
This salesperson:
This salesperson:
This salesperson:
A salesperson who shows most of these behaviors across all four categories is highly coachable: invest the time and expect it to convert into changed behavior. A salesperson who shows few of them is a low-return investment no matter how many hours a manager puts in. If that's the case, the more useful question shifts from how to coach this person to whether coaching is the right management action at all, or whether performance counseling is the better fit.
Use the checklist to better allocate your coaching time, particularly among two equally skilled salespeople. For example, two medium-skill salespeople don't automatically deserve equal coaching time within the 60% target described above. One who shows strong signals across all four categories will convert coaching hours into real skill gains; one who consistently resists feedback won't, even with the same number of hours invested. Coachability is the adjustment layer on top of the skill-based split, not a replacement for it.
What does it mean for a salesperson to be coachable?
A coachable salesperson actively seeks feedback, doesn't get defensive when it's critical, and demonstrably changes behavior afterward. Coachability is a pattern of specific, observable actions, not a general attitude or personality trait.
Is coachability the same as skill level?
No. Skill level measures how good a salesperson currently is at a given selling skill; coachability measures how likely they are to improve when given feedback. A highly skilled salesperson can be low on coachability, and a developing salesperson can be highly coachable.
What should a manager do if a salesperson isn't coachable?
Coaching a salesperson who consistently shows low receptivity is a poor use of limited management time. Investigate the root cause first, since it may be a motivation or expectations issue rather than a skill issue, and consider whether performance counseling is the more appropriate management action.
How should coachability affect how I allocate coaching time?
Skill level determines the general split of coaching time (typically weighted toward medium performers), but coachability should adjust that allocation within each group. A medium-skill salesperson who is highly coachable deserves more time than one who consistently resists feedback.
Can a salesperson become more coachable over time?
Yes, though it usually requires addressing the underlying cause of the resistance directly rather than simply continuing to coach through it. A change in approach, expectations, or trust between manager and salesperson can shift receptivity over time.
SBI's Sales Coaching™ program gives frontline sales managers a repeatable model for assessing skill and receptivity together, so coaching time consistently converts into changed behavior. Schedule a consultation to learn how we can help your team direct coaching time where it will pay off.