An experienced manager can offer a follow-up email in seconds. That may help with this one opportunity. A coaching conversation can help the rep handle the next buyer more thoughtfully.
Start with the moment, not the rescue plan
Ask the rep to reconstruct the last few minutes of the call:
• What did the buyer say just before asking for information?
• What did you learn about the problem and its impact?
• What next step did both of you agree to?
The answers may reveal that the rep introduced a solution before learning why the issue mattered. Or perhaps the buyer asked for a deck because no clear reason to meet again had emerged. These are possibilities to examine, not conclusions to impose.
Help the rep choose and practice
Once the rep identifies the gap, ask, “If you could replay that moment, what would you ask?” Have them say the question aloud. Make it sound like something they would actually use, then practice the buyer’s likely response.
Agree on one specific action for the next call. For example, the rep might ask about the cost of the delay before demonstrating the product. At your next one-on-one, ask what happened when they tried it.
There is still a place for teaching. If the rep lacks a tool or example, offer one after you understand the gap. Then invite them to adapt it in their own words.
Heather’s Gem: A useful coaching question helps the rep hear the gap in their own conversation and choose a better next move.
This is how a manager builds judgment beyond a single stalled deal. The rep leaves with a behavior to practice and a way to assess it, even when the manager is not on the buyer call.
Related reading: Coaching vs. Managing: What Do Your Sales Reps Really Need? and The #1 Reason Most Pipeline Meetings Fail
If your managers need a repeatable way to develop the team, book a conversation with Heather
