# Demotivated Rep Coaching Guide

> A word-for-word conversation framework for diagnosing whether a slump is a skill gap, a will gap, or a fixable circumstance, with a 3-condition test for whether you actually have grounds for a PIP.

Free guide for sales managers. Topic: [Psychology, Mindset & Productivity](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/psychology-mindset-productivity/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/demotivated-rep-coaching-guide/

## How to use it

Use this as your script for the next 1:1 with a rep whose numbers have slipped: read the three diagnostic questions verbatim if you need to, then route using the table before deciding on any performance action.

## What's inside

- Pre-conversation homework checklist (4 items) before you sit down
- Word-for-word conversation opener that avoids leading with the dashboard
- The 3 diagnostic questions (skill / will / circumstance) with what each answer reveals
- A routing table mapping what you heard to the next coaching action
- The two-commitment close (one from you, one from them) with a scheduled follow-up
- The 3-condition PIP test, only move to a formal PIP if all three are true
- 3 explicit "what not to do" traps managers fall into

### Diagnosing skill, will, or circumstance: before you write a PIP

**Why this matters:** Most managers respond to a slump with either a pep talk (works for about a week) or a PIP (works for compliance, not for recovery). Both skip the diagnostic step. A slump has exactly three possible root causes: skill, will, or circumstance, and each one requires a completely different conversation. Guessing wrong wastes a quarter and a rep you might have kept.

## Before you sit down: do your homework (15 minutes)
Do not walk in cold. Pull:
- [ ] Last 90 days of activity metrics (calls, meetings booked, pipeline created): not just closed-won
- [ ] Last 90 days of conversation/call quality if you have it (call recordings, coaching notes)
- [ ] Anything that changed in the last quarter: comp plan, territory, manager, team, product, personal life you're aware of
- [ ] Your own honest answer: "Have I actually coached this person in the last 30 days, or just reviewed their numbers?"

## Step 1: Open without the number (2 minutes)
Do not open with the dashboard. Open with the person.

> "I want to check in on you, not just your pipeline. I've noticed [specific, neutral observation, e.g., 'you've had fewer meetings on the calendar the last few weeks'] and I want to understand what's going on before we assume anything. This isn't a performance conversation, it's a 'let's figure this out together' conversation."

Then stop talking. The most common mistake here is filling the silence with your own theory before they've answered.

## Step 2: Ask the three diagnostic questions
Ask all three, in this order, even if you think you already know the answer. Take notes on *how* they answer, not just what they say.

**1. The skill question:**
> "Walk me through your last discovery call, step by step. What did you ask, and what did you do with what they told you?" Listen for: can they describe a structure at all? Do they know what "good" looks like even if they didn't execute it? If they can't describe the mechanics of the skill, that's a **skill gap**, not a motivation problem.

**2. The will question:**
> "When you sit down to prospect or make that next call, what's actually going through your head?" Listen for: dread, resentment, "what's the point," comparison to a better quarter. If they can describe the skill correctly but don't want to do it, that's a **will gap**: and your next question is *why* the will dropped (burnout, comp change, lost belief in the product, feeling overlooked, a personal event).

**3. The circumstance question:**
> "Is there anything happening: on your patch, in the product, at home: that's making this quarter harder than it should be, that I might not know about?" Listen for: territory changes, a bad batch of leads, a product gap they keep hitting, a personal situation. If yes, you have a **circumstance** problem layered on top of whatever else you find: fix this first, because no amount of skill or will coaching survives a genuinely broken circumstance.

## Step 3: Route based on what you heard

| What you heard | Likely root cause | Where to go next |
|---|---|---|
| Can't describe the skill mechanics | Skill gap | Training plan + shadowing + role-play reps (see Skill/Will framework) |
| Describes skill correctly, doesn't want to do it | Will gap | Motivation conversation: dig into *why*, don't just cheerlead |
| Something changed that isn't their fault | Circumstance | Fix the circumstance first; re-diagnose in 2 weeks if the slump continues |
| All three show up together | Compound / at-risk | Don't try to fix everything at once: pick the one causing the most damage right now and start there |

## Step 4: Close the conversation with one commitment each
- [ ] You commit to one specific thing you'll do differently (fix the circumstance, add a coaching session, change nothing)
- [ ] They commit to one specific, observable action for the next 2 weeks (not "try harder": something you can both check: "3 role-played cold opens with a peer before Friday")
- [ ] Put a date on the calendar right now for the follow-up: don't leave it to "let's check in soon"

## The PIP test
Only move toward a formal PIP if, after this conversation and one real coaching cycle (2–4 weeks) with a genuine attempt at the fix:
- [ ] The circumstance has been addressed and performance still hasn't moved, **and**
- [ ] The skill has been coached and practiced and still isn't landing on real calls, **and**
- [ ] The will conversation happened honestly and the rep still isn't re-engaging

If you can't check all three, you don't have evidence for a PIP yet, you have evidence you skipped a step.

## What not to do
- Don't diagnose from the dashboard alone: activity metrics tell you *that* something's wrong, never *why*.
- Don't lead with the PIP as a threat to "motivate" them: it collapses the will category into fear, which looks like compliance for two weeks and then relapses.
- Don't fix the circumstance and skip the will conversation, a fixed territory doesn't repair a rep who's stopped believing they can win.