# Sales Manager Coaching Cadence Checklist > The exact weekly, monthly, and quarterly rhythm top sales managers run to build rep skill on purpose, instead of only coaching when a forecast is already in trouble. Free checklist for sales managers. Topic: [Sales Leadership & GTM Strategy](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/sales-leadership-gtm-strategy/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/sales-manager-coaching-cadence-checklist/ ## How to use it Print it and run it as your standing operating cadence: check items off in real 1:1s and pipeline reviews, and use the monthly heat map to pick your team's next skill focus. ## What's inside - Weekly 1:1 agenda built around one named skill, not deal status - Weekly call/recording review checklist (minimum 2 calls per rep) - Weekly pipeline coaching pass to diagnose the skill behind stuck deals - Monthly skill scorecard update per rep - Monthly live ride-along/shadow session - Monthly team skill-gap heat map - Quarterly peer-manager calibration session - Quarterly Individual Development Plan (IDP) refresh - Quarterly team skill investment plan - Annual full skill audit + manager self-audit Use this as your running operating rhythm. Print it, pin it, or drop it into your weekly planner. Each cadence block has a purpose statement, so you never confuse "checking the numbers" with "coaching the skill." ## Weekly (every week, no exceptions) ### 1:1 with each rep (30 min) Purpose: build skill, not just review deals. - [ ] Rep opens: "What's one thing you tried this week that worked, and one that didn't?" - [ ] Review 1 specific skill you're both tracking on their development plan (not the whole pipeline) - [ ] Ask: "What's the hardest conversation on your calendar next week, and what skill does it call for?" - [ ] Give one piece of specific, behavioral feedback from a call or email you observed this week (not "good job": name the technique) - [ ] Agree on one micro-commitment for the coming week (a specific technique to try, not "close more deals") - [ ] Close by asking: "What do you need from me to get unstuck?" ### Call/recording review (minimum 2 calls per rep per week) Purpose: catch skill patterns before they become quota misses. - [ ] Pick calls at different pipeline stages (not just late-stage: you'll miss discovery and qualification gaps) - [ ] Score against your competency rubric (not a gut-feel "that was fine") - [ ] Note 1 strength to reinforce and 1 gap to develop: never more than one of each per call - [ ] Timestamp the exact moment the skill showed up (or should have) so feedback is concrete - [ ] Log the observation against the rep's skill scorecard, not just in your head ### Pipeline coaching pass (before your forecast call) Purpose: diagnose *why* a deal is stuck: the skill behind the stall, not just the stage. - [ ] For every deal stuck >14 days in a stage, ask: "What skill is missing here: discovery, multithreading, negotiation, or something else?" - [ ] Separate "deal has a real blocker" from "rep hasn't done the qualifying work" - [ ] Coach the skill gap in the 1:1, not in a public pipeline review - [ ] Flag any deal where the rep can't answer "what does the customer's world look like if this fails": that's a discovery gap, not a deal problem ## Monthly - [ ] Update each rep's skill scorecard (competency-by-competency, with evidence/examples, not just a number) - [ ] Run one live ride-along or shadow session per rep (or shadow a live call if remote): observe, don't rescue - [ ] Build a team skill-gap heat map: which 2–3 competencies are weakest across the team right now? - [ ] Pick one team-wide skill focus for the month based on the heat map (e.g., "multithreading into economic buyer") and reinforce it in every 1:1 - [ ] Recognize one rep publicly for a specific skill demonstration (not just a number hit) in a team forum - [ ] Review your own coaching notes from the month, are you giving the same feedback repeatedly? That's a training gap, not a rep gap ## Quarterly - [ ] Run a calibration session with peer managers: compare how you're each scoring the same competency, using 2–3 shared call recordings - [ ] Refresh each rep's Individual Development Plan (IDP): current level per competency, target level, and the specific practice plan to close the gap - [ ] Review team skill investment: what training, peer-shadowing, or content does the team need next quarter? - [ ] Revisit your weakest-competency heat map from 90 days ago: did coaching actually move it, or just the number? - [ ] Identify your bench: which reps are ready for stretch accounts, mentoring juniors, or a leadership track, based on skill evidence (not tenure) ## Annual - [ ] Full skill audit per rep against your competency framework: feed this into comp/promotion conversations, not just quota attainment - [ ] Manager self-audit: pull 5 of your own coaching notes from across the year: are they specific and skill-based, or generic ("great job," "keep pushing")? - [ ] Rebuild next year's team skill investment plan from this year's evidence, not from what's fashionable **Rule of thumb:** if a 1:1 or pipeline review ends without a rep naming a specific skill they're working on, it wasn't coaching, it was a status update.