# Peer Coaching Conversation Guide & Paired Session Template > A complete mechanics guide for running rep-to-rep peer coaching pairs: not a buddy programme, but a structured skill-transfer system with timed agendas, prompt cards, and a session log managers can review without sitting in. Built for teams where manager coaching time is scarce and skill gaps are real. Free guide for sales managers. Topic: [Coaching, 1:1s & Feedback](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/coaching-1-1s-feedback/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/peer-coaching-conversation-guide-paired-session-template/ ## How to use it Use the pairing matrix to assign pairs before your next team meeting, hand each rep their role-specific prompt card, and set the first 30-minute session within the week. Review completed session logs fortnightly to spot whether behaviour change is showing up in calls and pipeline activity. ## What's inside - Pairing criteria matrix mapping skill-gap level against experience level to produce valid pairs - Clear rules on when peer coaching works and when it will actively make things worse - 30-minute session agenda with named segments and minute-by-minute timing - Word-for-word prompt cards for the coaching rep and the rep being coached - Structured feedback-exchange protocol so both parties give and receive meaningfully - One-page session log template the manager reviews asynchronously - Manager cadence guide for rotating pairs and spotting stale pairings - Observable behaviour-change indicators so managers can measure whether sessions are working ## What This Is, and What It Isn't This is a structured skill-transfer system between reps. It is not a buddy programme, a mentoring scheme, or a substitute for manager-led performance conversations. **Use peer coaching for:** - Specific, observable call techniques (objection handling, discovery questioning, talk-time ratio) - Process skills (CRM hygiene, pipeline staging discipline, email sequencing) - Product knowledge gaps where a peer has recent win experience - Onboarding acceleration: getting a new rep to competent faster **Do not use peer coaching for:** - Performance issues or PIPs: this creates liability and peer resentment - Motivation problems: a struggling rep paired with a peer is a morale risk for both - Compensation disputes, role fit questions, or anything that needs HR involvement - Situations where the "coach" rep has the same gap, you're spreading bad habits --- ## Step 1: Pairing Criteria Matrix Pair on two axes: **skill-gap severity** (how urgent is the gap?) and **experience delta** (how much more capable is the coaching rep?). | | Low Experience Delta (0–6 months more) | Medium Delta (6–18 months more) | High Delta (18+ months more) | |---|---|---|---| | **Narrow gap** (one specific behaviour) | ✅ Strong pair: peer close enough to relate | ✅ Strong pair | ⚠️ Risk of condescension; use sparingly | | **Moderate gap** (2–3 linked behaviours) | ⚠️ Coaching rep may not have enough range | ✅ Best pairing zone | ✅ Works if coaching rep is coached on delivery | | **Wide gap** (systemic skill weakness) | ❌ Not appropriate: needs manager or L&D | ⚠️ Only if gap is skill-based, not attitudinal | ⚠️ Consider whether manager coaching is overdue | **Before pairing, the manager confirms:** - [ ] The coaching rep is genuinely strong in the target skill (not just senior) - [ ] Neither rep has a live performance concern - [ ] The gap is skill-based, not effort or attitude-based - [ ] Both reps have been briefed on the purpose, no surprises --- ## Step 2: The 30-Minute Session Agenda Run this every fortnight. Both reps protect the slot. | Segment | Time | Who Leads | Purpose | |---|---|---|---| | **Focus alignment** | 0–3 min | Manager sets this in advance via session log | Confirm the one skill being worked on this session | | **Rep being coached shares a live example** | 3–10 min | Rep being coached | Plays a call recording, shares a written email, or walks through a recent live situation | | **Coaching rep asks prompt questions** | 10–18 min | Coaching rep (using prompt card) | Structured exploration: no monologuing, no "here's what I do" | | **Feedback exchange** | 18–25 min | Both | Structured give-and-receive (see protocol below) | | **Commitment + log** | 25–30 min | Both | One behaviour each will do differently before next session | **Hard rules:** - The coaching rep does not share their own examples until the feedback segment. The session is not about them. - No call recording played should be longer than 3 minutes. Clip it in advance. - Both reps complete the session log before they leave the call. --- ## Step 3: Prompt Cards Print or share these digitally. Each rep has their own version. --- ### Coaching Rep Prompt Card Your job is to ask, not instruct. You are not the manager. You are not delivering a training course. **Opening (Focus Alignment):** > "What's the one thing you want to get better at in this session? Just one." **During the example (Exploration):** > "Walk me through what you were thinking at that moment." > "What were you trying to achieve when you said that?" > "What did you notice about how they responded?" > "What would you do differently if you could replay it?" **If they're stuck:** > "When I've been in a similar spot, the thing I've found useful is [one specific behaviour]. Does that feel relevant here?" **Avoid:** - "You should have said…", reframe to "What might have happened if you'd tried…?" - Telling your own story for more than 60 seconds - Giving more than two suggestions per session --- ### Rep Being Coached Prompt Card You drive this session. Bring a real example. Vague hypotheticals produce nothing. **Prepare before the session:** - Pull a specific call, email, or conversation from the past two weeks - Know the outcome: what happened, what you wanted to happen - Have one question you actually want answered **During exploration:** - Answer honestly. Don't perform. This isn't a roleplay. - If you're not sure why you did something, say so. **During feedback:** > "The one thing I want feedback on specifically is [X]." > "Is there anything I'm not seeing that you think is getting in my way?" --- ## Step 4: Feedback Exchange Protocol Both reps give and receive in the final segment. This is non-negotiable, one-directional feedback creates hierarchy and kills the dynamic within three sessions. **Sequence:** 1. **Rep being coached goes first**: states one thing they're going to change and why > "Based on what we talked about, I'm going to [specific behaviour] because I think it'll change [specific outcome]." 2. **Coaching rep gives one piece of specific feedback**: not a rating, not a compliment sandwich > "The thing I noticed that I don't think you've named yet is [observation]. I've seen it show up when [context]. It's worth thinking about whether [question]." 3. **Rep being coached gives feedback to the coaching rep**: yes, this is required > "The question you asked that helped me most was [X]. The bit that felt less useful was when you [Y], I think it would land better if [alternative]." This keeps the coaching rep improving their coaching skill. Without it, coaching reps plateau and sessions go stale. --- ## Step 5: Session Log (One Page, Manager Reviews Asynchronously) Both reps complete this together at the end of the session. Manager does not attend. --- **Session Log** Date: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ | Coaching Rep: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ | Rep Being Coached: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Skill focus this session:** **Example discussed (brief description: no names, no client detail):** **Key insight for the rep being coached:** **Behaviour commitment (rep being coached):** I will \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in the next two weeks, specifically when \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Feedback to coaching rep (one observation):** **Did you have enough time? Y / N: if N, what ran over:** **Manager: flag this session if anything needs follow-up? Y / N** --- Manager reviews logs weekly. They are looking for: commitments that are too vague, sessions that consistently run over (agenda discipline problem), and whether the same focus area keeps appearing (escalate to structured training). --- ## Step 6: Manager Cadence: Pairs, Rotation, and Measurement **Pair rotation:** Every 8 weeks (4 sessions). Rotating prevents dependency and exposes reps to different coaching styles. Exception: if observable progress is still in flight and both reps want to continue, extend by one cycle only. **How to know whether it's working: observable indicators:** | Behaviour | How to measure | |---|---| | Talk-time ratio improving | Call recording analysis (before/after) | | Discovery question volume increasing | Call scorecard, weekly sample | | CRM fields completed correctly | Pull a pipeline hygiene report | | Email reply rates up | Sequence analytics | | Rep self-correcting on calls | Manager spot-check, rep self-report | If after two full cycles (8 sessions) there is no observable change in even one indicator, the pairing is not working. Options: change the pair, escalate to manager coaching, or question whether the gap is actually skill-based. **Quarterly manager review, three questions:** 1. Which pairs produced observable behaviour change? 2. Which coaching reps are developing coaching skill themselves (potential team leads)? 3. Which gaps keep reappearing across multiple reps? (That's a training need, not a peer coaching need.) --- ## When to Stop a Pairing Immediately - Either rep raises a concern about the dynamic, act the same day - Performance management begins for either rep - The coaching rep starts using sessions to vent about the team or manager - Session logs are being skipped or filled in after the fact Peer coaching works because it's low-stakes and peer-led. The moment it carries formal weight or one rep has authority over the other, it stops being peer coaching.