# Pre-1:1 Coaching Prep Sheet: Competency, Evidence & Target Behaviour > A four-minute template managers complete before every coaching 1:1, forcing them to name the competency gap, cite hard evidence, and commit to one target behaviour before the conversation starts. Makes the preparation phase a visible, completable artefact rather than something that just doesn't happen. Free template 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/pre-11-coaching-prep-sheet-competency-evidence-target/ ## How to use it Print one sheet per rep per fortnight, or keep a rolling digital copy for each person you coach. Complete all three mandatory fields and pass the 'not ready to coach' gate before you open the meeting. File completed sheets so the session-link field can connect each session to the last. ## What's inside - Three mandatory fill-in fields: named competency, concrete evidence, one target behaviour - Session-link field that connects this prep to the previous session's target behaviour - "Not ready to coach" gate with a binary pass/fail check before the session opens - Short reference list of named coaching failure modes with plain descriptions - A what-counts-as-evidence guide to stop managers confusing activity data with skill data - A target behaviour formatting rule to prevent vague direction - A "when this prep goes wrong" section naming the three most common mistakes managers make filling it in - Notes on when NOT to run a development-focused 1:1 at all > Complete this in the ten minutes before the session. Coaching quality lives here, not inside the conversation. --- ## How to use this sheet One sheet per rep per session. Fill in every field. If you cannot complete a field honestly, stop: the gate at the bottom will catch you. File each completed sheet. The session-link field at the top of the next sheet closes the development loop. --- ## Session header | Field | Your answer | |---|---| | Rep name | | | Date | | | Session number (with this rep) | | | Previous session's target behaviour (copy from last sheet) | | | Did the rep attempt the target behaviour since last session? Yes / No / Unclear | | --- ## The three mandatory fields Complete all three. If you cannot fill in any one of them with specifics, you are not ready to coach. Do not open the meeting. --- ### Field 1: Named competency gap Write the competency you are coaching, not a personality trait, not a number, not a general impression. **Wrong:** "She just lacks confidence." **Wrong:** "His pipeline is thin." **Right:** "Discovery questioning: she closes down customer responses with yes/no follow-ups rather than extending them with open probes." **Right:** "Call-to-close sequencing: he advances opportunities to proposal before establishing commercial urgency." > If you cannot name the competency in a single sentence, you have not yet diagnosed the gap. Review a call recording or a deal review before you proceed. **Your answer:** ``` Competency gap: ``` --- ### Field 2: Concrete evidence Name the specific observation or data point that tells you this is the gap. One or two examples, not a pattern you feel. **What counts as evidence:** - A specific moment in a recorded call ("At 4:12 in the Discovery call with [Company], she asked 'Does that make sense?' and moved on when the buyer said yes, without probing what it meant for their timeline.") - A deal inspection finding tied to a skill ("Three consecutive proposals sent without a documented pain point in the CRM notes.") - A direct observation from a joint visit or live listening session with a named date. **What does not count as evidence:** - Win rate or conversion data alone. That is outcome data. It may point you toward a gap but it does not name one. - "I've noticed over time that..." without a specific instance. - Feedback from another manager passed to you second-hand without you reviewing the underlying call or deal. **Your answer:** ``` Evidence (specific, dated where possible): ``` --- ### Field 3: One target behaviour Name the single behaviour you want the rep to attempt before the next session. One. Not three. Not a theme. **Formatting rule:** A valid target behaviour completes this sentence: "Between now and our next session, I want you to [do X] when [Y situation occurs], so that [Z outcome]." **Wrong:** "Work on your discovery." **Wrong:** "Be more consultative in calls." **Right:** "In your next three discovery calls, after the buyer answers a question, ask one follow-up that starts with 'what does that mean for...' before moving to the next topic." **Right:** "Before you send the next proposal, write one sentence in the CRM notes that names the cost of inaction the buyer stated in their own words. If you cannot write that sentence, do not send the proposal yet." **Your answer:** ``` Target behaviour: ``` --- ## The "not ready to coach" gate Answer all four questions honestly before you open the meeting. If any answer is No, pause and fix it first. | Gate question | Yes / No | |---|---| | Can I name the competency gap in one sentence without using personality language? | | | Is my evidence a specific observation, not a feeling or a metric alone? | | | Is my target behaviour observable and completable before the next session? | | | Does this session build on or close out the last session's target behaviour? | | **If any answer is No:** You have a pipeline review or a performance conversation, not a coaching session. Those are legitimate, but name them correctly and prepare differently. --- ## Failure modes: know them before you start These are the three most common ways coaching prep fails. Read before you fill in the sheet. **Recency bias.** You coach whatever happened last week because it is vivid, not because it is the highest-leverage gap. Fix: look at two or three sessions of evidence across time before you choose your competency. **Pipeline-level diagnosis.** You see a weak pipeline and diagnose "prospecting." Prospecting is not a competency; it is a category. The actual gap might be telephone opener quality, ICP targeting, referral ask frequency, or ten other things. Name the specific skill inside the category. **Vague direction.** You identify the gap correctly but the target behaviour you set is a quality ("be more direct") rather than an act ("state your recommendation before you give your reasoning, not after"). Reps cannot practise qualities. They can only practise acts. --- ## What to do with this sheet after the session - Write the rep's response to the target behaviour in the notes field below. Did they accept it? Push back? Reframe it? - At the start of the next prep sheet, copy Field 3 from this sheet into the session-link field and record whether the behaviour was attempted. - After three sessions on the same competency with no visible change, escalate: this is either a skill gap that needs a different intervention (role-play, training, shadowing) or a will gap that needs a different conversation. **Post-session notes:** ``` Rep's response to target behaviour: Any adjustment to the target behaviour agreed in session: Carry forward to next sheet: Yes / No ``` --- ## When NOT to run a development-focused 1:1 This sheet is for coaching sessions. Do not force it onto a session that is actually something else. - If the rep is in a performance improvement process, this template is insufficient. You need documented expectations, not a single target behaviour. - If the rep's number is at serious risk this quarter, deal strategy and pipeline inspection come first. You can coach inside that conversation, but do not pretend a coaching session fixes a forecast problem. - If the rep has just had a significant personal event or is visibly not in a state to receive development feedback, name that, reschedule the coaching work, and use the time differently. --- ## Quick reference: competency categories Use these to help name the gap in Field 1 if you are struggling. These are categories, not competencies. You still need to go one level deeper. | Category | Example of a named competency inside it | |---|---| | Prospecting | Telephone opener: securing ten seconds past the first objection | | Discovery | Multi-threading: identifying and engaging a second stakeholder in the same account | | Qualification | Exit criteria: recognising and voicing misfit to the buyer directly | | Presentation / demo | Relevance sequencing: leading with the buyer's stated priority, not the product roadmap | | Objection handling | Objection separation: distinguishing a logistics objection from a value objection before responding | | Negotiation | Anchor discipline: holding the first number under pressure rather than immediately conceding | | Closing | Commitment specificity: gaining a named next step with a date, not a 'yes in principle' | | Account management | Expansion trigger recognition: identifying a change event that opens a new conversation | --- *Template built for ThinkWork Sales Enablement Resource Library. Free to use and adapt.* ## The thinking behind this [The Coaching Conversation Starts Before You Open Your Mouth. Most Managers Skip That Part.](/blog/coaching-prep-the-manager-skill-nobody-trains/) is the argument this resource puts to work.